With more than three dozen formal applications to look over, Northern Colorado officials are expected to have their new football coach on campus soon, perhaps as early as next week.
That’s when the two or three finalists will be brought in for interviews.
“The applications are rolling in,” said Ken McConnellogue, vice president for university advancement, who is supervising the search. “We’re getting a lot of interest from all ranks of coaching, from the NFL to Division I-A to Division II. We’ve already got about 30 to 40 ‘aps’ on file, and our athletic director (Jay Hinrichs) has had an additional 60 to 70 inquiries.”
Among the candidates who have formally applied are three with strong local ties: Bob Stitt, head coach at the Colorado School of Mines; Brian Cabral, longtime linebackers coach and assistant head coach at Colorado; and Marty English, linebackers coach at Wyoming.
Stitt and English had stints at UNC under Joe Glenn, now the head coach at Wyoming.
“I was there for 22 years as a player and coach and had a great experience,” English said. “You can say we have a mutual interest. Greeley’s always been a wonderful place for me and my family.”
“Ever since I left there in ’89 on Joe’s staff, it’s been my goal to get back there,” said Stitt, who directed Mines to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2004.
McConnellogue said there’s no timetable for the hiring, “but we hope to pare the list down by early next week, and we’d like to finish before the holidays. At the same time, we need to not be hasty about our decision, because this is a big decision.”
He said the search committee will recommend “no more than five prospects” to Hinrichs within the next few days, “then bring in not more than three to the campus for interviews.”
The new coach will replace Kay Dalton, who was fired last week after six seasons in which he posted a 36-31 record, going 2-9 and 4-7 his final two seasons as the Bears made the transition from Division II to Division I-AA.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
