AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun is staying at the academy.
Calhoun was believed to be a strong candidate for the University of Tennessee’s coaching job, but Thursday he said he was staying at Air Force for his fourth season.
“We are more than grateful and proud to be closely involved with the character building of our cadets and the mission of the United States Air Force Academy,” Calhoun said in a statement. “We are diligently recruiting and working with our team to prepare for the upcoming season. We look forward to coaching and being a part of the Air Force Academy team, both on and off the field, in 2010.”
Calhoun did not indicate whether he had been offered the Tennessee job. He had a team meeting in the afternoon, which led to speculation he would be leaving for Tennessee. He had been prominently mentioned as a leading candidate to replace Lane Kiffin.
Calhoun is 25-14 in three seasons at Air Force, including three consecutive trips to the Armed Forces Bowl.
AFA defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, meanwhile, has interviewed with Texas A&M for a similar position. He played at Air Force and was an original member of Calhoun’s staff.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
