CSU lost to Utah 27-3 on Saturday. I thought it was 20-7 for the entire weekend, as I left early from the game for the first time I can remember on Saturday.

Besides a fantastic Gartrell Johnson III (aka the Predator or Triplesticks) run for 44 yards on the first series of the game and a two nearly-completed bombs to Damon Morton from backup quarterback Billy Ferris, the Rams weren't ever in contention.

While it was a surprise to see Ferris in the game, it seemed to be a shake-up long overdue, until the news that it was only temporary, not something that would continue.

Since the coaching staff appears resigned to lose, I am going to assume they will be resigning at the end of the season. That means CSU will be needing a new coach, so I will play CSU Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk, and try to find the next head coach for CSU.

I will start with coaches at smaller schools that could be looking to move up, but keep in mind with most teams having at least three or four games remaining, a lot can change in the next few weeks to determine which coaches will be available.

The up-and-coming candidates (in no order):
JD Bookhart:
Positives: A former CSU wide receiver who learned the West Coast offense under Mike Shannahan in Denver. Also led Akron to consecutive winning seasons in first two years, including a MAC title and Motor City Bowl (sounds horrible, but that is the prize of winning the MAC) berth in 2005.

Negatives: A sub-par season last year and what looks to be another one this season (consecutive losses to Buffalo and Temple) show that while Bookhart can coach, his recruiting skills are questionable. Will only have four years experience as a head coach.

Overall: CSU doesn't have a lot of money, so he would be a cheap candidate. Can he win with his own players?

Craig Bohl:
Positives: Leads the top-ranked FCS (formerly known as Division I-AA) North Dakota State Bison, who just last weekend beat Minnesota of the Big Ten. Former top assistant at many FBS (formerly known as Division I-A) schools, including eight years as the linebackers coach for Nebraska during their glory years in the mid-1990s.

Negatives: Seems very committed to NDSU, and it is unlikely that CSU would be a huge step up for him, especially if he can keep it going at NDSU. He will definitely soon be on the radars of Big 10 schools, so why risk it to go attempt to turn around a struggling program. CSU just stole NDSU's old basketball coach Tim Miles, so I doubt they would be willing to watch us swoop in to take another.

Overall: Would be a great get for CSU, but I don't know if we could sway him from what he has going.

Bobby Hauck:
Positives: In charge of the perennial FCS title contender University of Montana. He has led the Grizz to the Big Sky Championship all four years at the school, and currently has them undefeated again. Worked under Rick Nuehiesel at CU, so familiar with what it takes to recruit to Colorado. No buyout on his contract, and CSU could triple his current contract and still not reach the current $500,000 a year Sonny (look at #76) reportedly receives.

Negatives: He worked at CU under Neuheisel, a time when CU didn't really run a tight ship, and has also recruited some troubled (or worse) players to Billings. Wyoming coach Joe Glenn was the previous coach at Montana, and he hasn't done anything spectacular for the 'Pokes. Hauck is from an almost entirely Grizz family, so it may be hard to tear him from the job.

Overall: Last year Hauck was up for some pretty big jobs (Minnesota and Stanford), but the problems in the program this summer might scare off a few teams this year. Hauck would have to show he will run a clean program at CSU, where we have seen too many problems with our athletes in the past year, but he is a proven winner and he knows the area. Convincing kids to come to Fort Collins is will be no tougher than Bozeman.

If he leads Montana to the FCS Championship, then he might work his way to a more prestigous football school than CSU.


* Stay tuned for an update soon of high level assistants (like Air Force with Troy Calhoun) and retreads (like Pete Carrol at USC) for CSU to go after.