BOULDER — The home run Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn thought he hit on his last football hire turned out to be three called strikes down the middle. As he steps up to the plate for his next hire, he knows his own future at CU depends on how far he drives the ball.

If he listens to the Buffaloes’ fan base, he’ll give Bill McCartney, the winningest coach in school history and winner of the 1990 national title, a long look.

“There’s a great amount of interest,” said former CU quarterback Joel Klatt, a radio talk-show host on 87.7-FM The Ticket, of fans’ support toward Mac. “It’s all the way to the point where I don’t know if another decision can be made because of the support.”

McCartney wants the job, and Bohn said he’ll definitely talk to him. He is far from the slam dunk his supporters might assume, however, due in part to his age, 70, and concern among many that CU can do better than going back in time.

At this early point, one day into Bohn’s search to replace Dan Hawkins, McCartney appears the most viable candidate if only because the other names believed to be atop CU’s wish list might not be gettable.

Sources close to the search say Bohn’s A List includes Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, both of whom are long shots. Calhoun is a rising star and may wait for another opening down the road he views as more attractive. Bellotti is retired from coaching and has no ties with CU.

On Bohn’s B List, sources say, are names such as Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain; Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops; interim CU coach Brian Cabral; former Buffs Eric Bieniemy and Jon Embree, both NFL assistants; and Mullen High School coach Dave Logan. Louisiana State coach Les Miles, a former CU assistant, remains the holy grail, but the Buffs likely can’t compete financially for his services.

McCartney last coached 16 years ago and would be considered a huge gamble for Bohn to put back on the sideline having been away from the game so long. Bohn himself appears to be looking more long range early in his search, but McCartney will definitely get a shot.

“Bill McCartney is a viable candidate for us to consider,” Bohn said. “No question about it. He’s a great statesman for our program and he’s a national championship coach and we recognize that Coach McCartney will be somebody we’ll have an interest in exploring.”

In a Denver Post online poll, McCartney was running a close third behind Logan and Miles. Many fans envision Logan coming in under McCartney’s wing and being groomed as his successor. Logan, 56, has won five state titles with Mullen, Chatfield and Arvada West.

However, Bohn has no interest in hiring a coach with a coach in the waiting.

“I’m not saying we wouldn’t do it, but it doesn’t appear to make a lot of sense for us at this point,” Bohn said. “We want an established person in charge.”

How McCartney’s role would be perceived is one big issue surrounding his potential hiring.

“People are divided about what kind of role he should play,” said Sandy Clough of Sports Radio 104.3-FM The Fan and a Denver talk show host for 31 years. “Some say name him coach, give him a four- or five-year contract or maybe have some sort of successor in place. Give him two or three years and clearly identify a transitional figure.

“But I’d say 55 to 60 percent (of callers) are kind of like, ‘Come on. Let’s leave the past in the past. Let’s move ahead with a younger guy who’s a little more attuned to the Pac-12.’ “

A younger guy, perhaps, like CU took a chance on when it named McCartney head coach to succeed Chuck Fairbanks in 1982. McCartney took over a debt-ridden program that was among the worst in Division I-A, and after three years of ineptitude the Buffs began an upward climb that culminated in winning the 1990 national title.

His program was not without issues, however. In 1989, Sports Illustrated reported that at least two dozen football players had been arrested from 1986 to ’89 on charges that included rape and burglary.

By the early ’90s, McCartney cleaned it up, and Rashaan Salaam won the school’s first Heis man Trophy in 1994.

Then, at the end of that season, McCartney shocked the country by quitting, primarily to promote Promise Keepers, his own Christian-based men’s organization. He has not coached since.

McCartney will say little publicly during the search process. “I won’t interview through the newspapers,” he said. However, he did say he has been receiving lots of support for a possible return. “It’s been overwhelming and very gratifying,” he said.

Boosters are mixed in their opinion of him.

“I think he’d be very successful,” said booster Chris Renfrow, a ’98 grad. “When everybody thinks ‘McCartney,’ they think back to the glory days. Expectations must be tempered. But smoothing things over with the fan base, people know he cares. People know he’s done it before.”

Tim Thomas, Class of ’70, was a season-ticket holder for 15 years and isn’t sold.

“There’s always going to be a little bit of nostalgia,” Thomas said. “I have a lot of CU friends, and I haven’t heard anyone bouncing off the walls over the prospects. Part of it is the age factor. I realize Joe Paterno won 400 games but I’m not sure you revitalize a program with a 70-year-old.”

John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com

University of Colorado football coaching prospects



A look at possible candidates for the job (in alphabetical order):

A LIST

• Mike Bellotti. Former Oregon coach and current ESPN analyst wants to coach again but said “only if it’s the right fit.” He’s never been to Boulder, and if he ever compares Colorado’s 20th-century facilities with Oregon’s 21st-century ones, he’ll likely see it isn’t the right fit.

• Troy Calhoun. He has made Air Force a consistent bowl team and is just down the road. He’s an Air Force grad and Air Force guy. When asked Tuesday about the position, he said, “I have only one answer: We’re doing everything we can to get ready to play New Mexico. You’re allowed to have those ideas. We won’t.”

• Bill McCartney . CU’s career-wins leader wants the job and has support from a big chunk of fan base. However, he’s 70 and hasn’t coached in 16 years. He might be a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Then again, he has a national title ring.

• Les Miles. He’s reportedly tired of teeming pressure at LSU, but he just beat Alabama so he’s cool again. An LSU administrator said Monday that the school doesn’t want him going anywhere. He loved Boulder as a McCartney assistant in the 1980s, but with a $3.95 million salary, he’d have to take a 50 percent pay cut.

B LIST

• Eric Bieniemy. Former Colorado All-American and current Vikings running backs coach has never been a coordinator, which could be a landing spot if McCartney gets the job.

• Brian Cabral. All Colorado’s interim coach has to do is sweep the last three games and get into a bowl. Since 1970, there have been 31 in-season coaching changes. Only one interim — Clemson’s Dabo Swinney — had a winning record. He was retained.

• Jon Embree. Bieniemy teammate is a Redskins assistant who falls under the same category. Those two and McCartney could resurrect a lot of the 1990 aura.

• Dave Logan. Local high school coaching icon has mass support. CU athletic director Mike Bohn won’t do a coach-in-waiting and would likely consider him only if he used his ties to organize a whopper of an NFL-laden staff.

• Jim McElwain. Offensive coordinator helped Alabama to last season’s national title and Mark Ingram to a Heisman Trophy. He’s a Montana native and Eastern Washington grad and wants to get back out west.

• Mark Stoops. Florida State defensive coordinator spent the previous six years in the same job at Arizona working under brother Mike. Mark knows the Pac-12, and the Stoops family has a history of success.

John Henderson, The Denver Post