Air Force Academy – Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh said Tuesday he plans to move quickly to find a replacement should football coach Fisher DeBerry decide to retire. But Mueh still believes the veteran coach will decide to return for a 24th season after they meet this week to discuss the future of the program.
Air Force, 4-8 this year, has had three consecutive losing seasons.
“I think we’d do it as we did a couple of years ago when we lost a basketball coach,” Mueh said from New York, where he attended the Hall of Fame induction of former Air Force star Chad Hennings. “We were astounded by the response of interested people. I’m sure we’d get the same kind of interest in a football job. We would be open-minded in looking for an alternative.”
Mueh’s goal would be to have a replacement named by Christmas. However, Mueh said he continues to believe DeBerry, 68, will return to lead the Falcons. DeBerry, 169-109-1 at Air Force, could not be reached for comment.
“We haven’t had an opportunity to talk since the end of the season,” Mueh said. “I need to talk to Fisher to see where we are. I sense that he will be back. He’s been making all the noise that you hear from a coach who is looking toward next year.”
Names already are circulating on the coaching grapevine about a replacement should DeBerry step down. One name being mentioned is Troy Calhoun, a former AFA quarterback and now the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.
“He’d be on a list,” Mueh said of Calhoun. “He’s been here as a player and was trained by Fisher.”
There will be at least one change on DeBerry’s coaching staff. Capt. Blane Morgan, a former AFA quarterback and a military assistant on the coaching staff the past five seasons, is leaving the academy. He no longer can fill the military coach’s slot and could stay only if a place opened on the civilian side of the coaching staff.
“I’d love to be part of this program getting back to where it was when I was playing,” said Morgan, who helped lead the Falcons to a 12-1 record in 1998. “But right now there aren’t any positions open on the civilian side of the staff.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
