Boise, Idaho – Bill Trenbeath gave Dan Hawkins his first college head coaching job at NAIA Willamette University in Salem, Ore., in 1993 and followed him to Boise State two years ago. Since they parted this year, Boise State (9-0) is in line for a $14 million BCS bowl and Hawkins’ 1-9 Colorado Buffaloes are looking at their worst season in more than two decades.
“There are days when I feel for him because I don’t think any coach wants to go through losing,” said Trenbeath, who is helping Boise State in its $35 million stadium renovation, set for completion in 2008. “I think you can learn all the lessons you need to learn through winning. He had a pretty good idea when he was leaving here. I took him at his word, and I believed him that he was looking for a new challenge.
“As it turns out, Colorado has been a pretty big challenge.”
All at Boise State feel for Hawkins’ struggles, but few feel they will last long.
“If anyone can go through that and be OK, he’s the guy for that,” said coach Chris Petersen, the offensive coordinator who replaced Hawkins. “It’s just the way he thinks. I don’t even call him a glass half-full guy. I call him a glass overflowing guy.”
Hawkins left Boise State with a 53-11 record and four Western Athletic Conference titles in five years. He made the Broncos the nation’s highest-scoring team in the 2000s. He also left a Boise State team with 19 returning starters.
“I feel bad for him and the coaches down there because they’re very good coaches, but I knew personally going there it wouldn’t be an instantaneous change,” quarterback Jared Zabransky said. “It’s going to take a few years to adapt to his philosophy and the way those coaches do things.”
For 14th-ranked Boise State, there were no bitter feelings among the players.
“A guy’s got to do what he’s got to do,” Zabransky said. “We also knew some things needed to change around here. And we’re grateful for the situation we’re in.”
What kind of changes?
“Not necessarily a coaching change but we knew something needed to change when you go 9-4 and your standards and goals are a lot higher than that,” he said.
Star tailback Ian Johnson said this team is much closer.
“We are a unit now,” Johnson said. “You don’t walk down the sideline and hear, ‘Ah, man, the offense is struggling.’ Or ‘Ah, man, the defense can’t stop the pass.’ If the offense makes a mistake, the first thing I do is I walk to the defense and say, ‘Hey, stay with us. Believe in us. We’re going to get it done.”‘
Will Hawkins, who Johnson said was “good to all of us,” get it done at Colorado?
“If they give him time,” Johnson said. “But bigger conferences haven’t been known to give time.”
