Hawkins Goes From Bronco to Buffalo

Anytime football fans start chucking trash or other debris on the field at a home game, it could mean one of two things. First, it could be a terrible call by the Men in Black (and White), changing the course or outcome of the game. Or it could be the disgust from the home team not even able to compete with its opponent.

In the Cleveland Browns' case several years ago against Jacksonville, the first situation was the cause of the beer cans thrown onto the field and at referees.

But anytime football fans are forcibly ordered to exit the stadium with 10 minutes remaining in the game, it could only mean one thing — typical Colorado Buffalo football. On November 25 of this year, fans were heated with the overall performance of their team, which just brain farted and forgot to show up for this pretty important Big 12 matchup, losing to Nebraska, 30-3. The Cornhuskers didn't win it — Colorado lost it by itself.

If that loss was damaging, the next game was downright self-destructive. In the Big 12 championship game, Texas obliterated Colorado, 70-3. They won by 67 points, a margin better fit for a basketball blowout! What's worse, losing wasn't the only problem for this Buffalo football program ridden by controversies, rape accusations, and players accepting money.

Coach Gary Barnett could have made up for all the scandals by winning big games. I mean, isn't that what Ohio State does?

Anyway, Barnett and the scandals on his back had to go after his 7-5 season, and Dan Hawkins had to come after his 9-3 WAC championship season. Hawkins had to come to bring new enthusiasm back to Boulder. He had to come to bring a clean slate back to the program. And after Colorado's last two games of getting outscored 100-6, the winningest active head coach in Division I-A football (84.1%) obviously had to come to bring a new offensive design that would actually score points.

Sometimes an unreputable or a consistently unsuccessful program is all the more attractive to a coach who is ready to start a new chapter in life. Leaving a program that they had built themselves to build another? Coaches do it all the time.

Thad Matta left Xavier basketball after posting a 78-23 record in three years to get the Ohio State University back to a competitive and highly-regarded level. What did the Buckeyes do in 2004-05? They were the only team to beat Illinois in the regular season.

Charlie Weis left the New England Patriots after the 2004 season with three Super Bowl rings to be the head coach of a Notre Dame program surrounded by a lot of tension from the firing of coach Ty Willingham. Many saw it as "premature" or "racially-driven." What did the Irish do in 2005? They went 9-2 and earned themselves a spot in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.

The point here is that this is almost like missionary or charity work, helping the poor and less fortunate. Whether the goal is to be some sort of savior or not, it's sure nice to be known as the one who rewrote history for a certain school. The 45-year-old Hawkins, who signed a five-year deal, couldn't have come at a better time to pick up the pieces of a broken program.

The University of California-Davis graduate went 53-10 in five seasons at Boise State, leading the Broncos to the MPC Computers Bowl against Boston College on December 28. Hawkins will coach in that game, and then after that, it's time to head southeast to the Rocky Mountains.

Sure, it's been more than rocky for Colorado football, but Hawkins isn't doing anything out of the norm to take that job, to take up this new challenge. The Buffaloes couldn't man up to the challenge of Nebraska or Texas this year, but besides beating those teams next year, there is one more thing Hawkins will have to prove to a new city. Remember the girl from Tic Tac commercials? Yeah, she couldn't breathe without a Tic Tac, but can Dan Hawkins win without the Smurf Turf? We'll have to get back to you on that.

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