Colorado State athletic director Jack Graham has reached the interview phase in his search for the school’s next football coach.
“We started off with a massive list of prospects, whittled it down to a reasonable list and then to a manageable list,” Graham said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Now we’re in the process of going out and interviewing coaches.”
Graham fired Steve Fairchild on Sunday.
The new athletic director said he does not have a specific target date to hire a coach, but would like one in place no later than early January, so the new coach can be at the American Football Coaches Association convention, which begins Jan. 8 in San Antonio.
“We need to have our head coach in a position where he can be talking to prospective assistant coaches and offensive coordinators to come to work with him and build a team. So there is a practical date that I’m looking at.”
Among potential candidates known to have an interest in the job are former Colorado coach Gary Barnett and current Notre Dame wide receivers coach Tony Alford.
Northwestern offensive coordinator Mick McCall said he has not been contacted by CSU. He went to school at Southern Colorado, now known as CSU-Pueblo, whose coach, John Wristen, might also be a candidate.
“The process, of course, is an enormous sense of urgency around completing the process without sacrificing quality,” Graham said.
Graham recently had dinner with former CSU coach Sonny Lubick, who is not a candidate for the job but offered advice on the process.
“It was an opportunity for me and other people to talk to Sonny about the process,” Graham said. “Sonny is not just a good football coach, he’s a very smart guy, and he understands how to run an organization. He’s a disciplined thinker.
“So tapping into Sonny’s expertise is always useful. He’s a wealth of knowledge. We’ve engaged Sonny in the process, and he’s being very helpful to me.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
