FORT COLLINS — When Steve Fairchild left Colorado State soon after the 2000 Liberty Bowl win, he was in the bottom half of the Mountain West Conference pay scale.
With his return Wednesday, the Rams’ new head coach is in the top third, with a five-year contract worth at least $700,000 a year.
Money didn’t sound like the deciding factor for Fairchild, who was formally introduced Thursday via a teleconference from the Buffalo Bills’ office.
“I’ve always dreamt of being a head coach, and it seems like that dream has always been of Colorado State,” said the Bills’ offensive coordinator and 1981 CSU grad. “When (athletic director Paul Kowalczyk) called and offered me the job, it was one second with a big grin on my face that I accepted.”
Fairchild’s annual pay marks a $150,000 raise from predecessor Sonny Lubick, and there will be an additional $300,000 in the pool to pay assistants. Fairchild’s contact includes numerous incentives for conference titles, bowls and awards.
Fairchild said he immediately contacted Larry Kerr, CSU’s defensive coordinator from 1993-2002, to ask him to return to Fort Collins. Kowalczyk said it was like hiring “two head coaches.”
Kowalczyk said Fairchild was front-and-center in the search all along. Two candidates, including a minority candidate, received phone interviews; Kowalczyk wouldn’t disclose either one.
Kowalczyk said he first contacted Fairchild on Nov. 30, three days after Lubick’s news conference. Kowalczyk went to Buffalo last Friday and extended the offer Monday.
“I like the fact he is old-school, black-and-white, no-nonsense kind of guy. It plays into my school of thought,” Kowalczyk said.
He pointed to other recent hirings nationally, including Air Force, for a trend of hiring a coach with school ties.
As with the $500,000 buyout for Lubick, Kowalczyk did not say where he would get the funds for additional staff salaries.
“We’ll figure that out,” Ko- walczyk said. “It’s my job to make that work.”
According to a recent USA Today survey, the only Mountain West coach paid considerably more is TCU’s Gary Patterson at $1.2 million. BYU did not disclose Bronco Mendenhall’s salary.
Fairchild, who has always coached on the offensive side, said he won’t commit to an offensive scheme until he completes his staff and has a chance to evaluate the returning talent.
“Nebraska wasn’t always Nebraska until Bob Devaney came along. Colorado State wasn’t Colorado State until Sonny Lubick came along,” Kowalczyk said. “Nebraska then hired Tom Osborne. No pressure here, Steve, but I sort of expect Steve to be our Tom Osborne.”
As for returning the Rams to the top of the MWC after a four-year slide, Fairchild said it would take “hard work, and you don’t flinch. You keep pounding.”
The new coach paid every respect to Lubick, including a desire to keep him as a friend and mentor.
“The things I’ve been able to accomplish in the coaching profession is due in large part to him,” Fairchild said.
Kowalczyk, who took heat after firing Lubick, said the reaction to Fairchild’s hiring has been “extremely positive.”
“I haven’t quite gone from the outhouse to the penthouse yet, but the reaction is good,” he said.
Fairchild, who said he enjoys the recruiting part of college football, planned to personally contact a dozen recruiting commitments.
Just a few players were on hand Thursday because of final exams.
“This is a load off my mind. It makes it a little easier (going into semester break),” returning defensive end Tommie Hill said. “It’s an early Christmas present.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Fairchild’s deal
A look at the five-year contract of new Colorado State football coach Steve Fairchild:
ANNUALLY
$350,000 Base salary
$350,000 Additional income, which includes media, radio/TV, public relations
INCENTIVES
$25,000 Conference championship or co-championship
$20,000 Conference coach or co-coach of the year
$30,000 National coach of the year for Home Depot/Dodd/Robinson ($60,000 maximum in same year)
$20,000 Non-BCS bowl game appearance with minimum seven regular-season wins
$100,000 BCS bowl game appearance
$25,000 BCS final rankings top 25
$50,000 BCS final rankings in top 10 (in lieu of top 25 ranking)
$250,000 BCS final No. 1 ranking (in lieu of top 10 ranking)
