Dan Hawkins (American football) explained

Dan Hawkins
Current Title:Director of Player and Staff Development
Current Team:Idaho State
Current Conference:Big Sky
Birth Date:10 November 1960
Birth Place:Fall River Mills, California, U.S.
Player Years1:1978–1980
Player Team1:Siskiyous
Player Years2:1981–1982
Player Team2:UC Davis
Player Positions:Fullback
Coach Years1:1983–1985
Coach Team1:UC Davis (assistant)
Coach Years2:1986–1987
Coach Team2:Christian Bros. HS (CA)
Coach Years3:1988–1991
Coach Team3:Siskiyous (OC)
Coach Years4:1992
Coach Team4:Sonoma State (DC)
Coach Years5:1993–1997
Coach Team5:Willamette
Coach Years6:1998–2000
Coach Team6:Boise State (OC/TE/ST/RC)
Coach Years7:2001–2005
Coach Team7:Boise State
Coach Years8:2006–2010
Coach Team8:Colorado
Coach Years9:2013
Coach Team9:Montreal Alouettes
Coach Years10:2015
Coach Team10:United States national team
Coach Years11:2015
Coach Team11:Carlstad Crusaders (OC)
Coach Years12:2016
Coach Team12:Vienna Vikings (OC)
Coach Years13:2017–2023
Coach Team13:UC Davis
Admin Years1:2024–present
Admin Team1:Idaho State (Director of Player and Staff Development)
Overall Record:156–92–1 (college)
Bowl Record:2–3
Tournament Record:4–2 (NAIA playoffs)
1–2 (NCAA D-I playoffs)
Championships:2 NWC (1996–1997)
4 WAC (2002–2005)
1 Big Sky (2018)
1 CFA Mount Hood Division (1995)
Awards:Eddie Robinson Award (2018)
Big Sky Coach of the Year (2018)
WAC Coach of the Year

Danny Clarence Hawkins[1] (born November 10, 1960) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Willamette University from 1993 to 1997, Boise State University from 2001 to 2005, and the University of Colorado Boulder from 2006 to 2010, and the University of California, Davis from 2017 to 2023, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 156–92–1. Hawkins was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for five games in 2013 before he was fired mid-season. Between 2011 and 2016, he worked as a college football analyst for ESPN.

Education and early positions

Danny Clarence Hawkins grew up in Bieber, California, in the northeast corner of the state. [2] He attended junior college at College of the Siskiyous in Weed and transferred to UC Davis, where he played fullback,[3] and earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1984. He later completed a master's degree in educational administration from St. Mary's College in 1993.

He began his coaching career at UC Davis under coach Jim Sochor the fall before he graduated, spending three years there (1983–1985). He then served as head coach at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento for the 1986 and 1987 seasons. He spent four seasons (1988–1991) as the offensive coordinator at the College of the Siskiyous, then served as defensive coordinator at Sonoma State in 1992.

Head coaching career

Willamette

In 1993, Hawkins became the head coach at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and led the Bearcats to a 40–11–1 overall record (.779) in five seasons. In his final season Willamette was 13–1, falling 14–7 in the 1997 NAIA Division II National Championship Game.

Boise State

Hawkins moved up to NCAA Division I-A football at Boise State in 1998 as an assistant under first-year head coach Dirk Koetter. After three seasons, Koetter accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, and Hawkins was promoted from assistant head coach to head coach on December 2, 2000. In 2004, Hawkins was honored with his second Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year title in three years. Through the 2005 season, he compiled a 53–11 record (.828) in five seasons as Boise State's head coach, including a 37–3 record (.925) in WAC competition with four straight WAC titles. Only Walter Camp, George Washington Woodruff and Bob Pruett had more total wins in their first five years of head coaching. He holds a 31–game WAC winning streak, the longest in conference history.[4] One of his first hires at Boise State was Chris Petersen as his offensive coordinator; Petersen was a quarterback at UC Davis while Hawkins was an assistant coach, and was the wide receivers coach at Oregon under head coach Mike Bellotti. Petersen succeeded Hawkins as head coach following the 2005 season, when Hawkins departed for Colorado.

Colorado

Hawkins was introduced as head football coach at the University of Colorado on December 16, 2005.[5] Hawkins was signed to a five-year contract paying him $900,000 annually with incentives totaling to $1.5 million.[6] Hawkins took over the Colorado football program from Gary Barnett, who had spent some of his tenure mired in controversy.

Hawkins earned national attention in February 2007 during the National Signing Day press conference. He passionately expressed his disappointment in the attitude of a player's parent who had anonymously complained about the reduction in the players' time off before the summer conditioning program started, famously saying "It's Division I football! It's the Big 12! It ain't intramurals! You've got two weeks after finals. You've got a week at July 4th. You've got a week before camp starts. That's a month! That's probably more vacation than you guys (reporters) get. And we're a little bummed out that we don't get three weeks? Go play intramurals, brother. Go play intramurals."[7]

Prior to the 2009 season, Hawkins, under fire for his performance at Colorado thus far, publicly pledged "ten wins no excuses". The team ended that year with a 3–9 record. On November 26, 2009, Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn announced that Hawkins would return as head football coach for the 2010 season, despite an overall record at Colorado of 16–33.

On November 6, 2010, Colorado blew a 28-point fourth quarter lead over the Kansas Jayhawks and lost, 52–45, the biggest collapse in the 121-year history of Colorado football.[8] While still nursing that large lead in the fourth quarter, Hawkins continued to have his team throw the ball on offense instead of running it, allowing Kansas time to mount its comeback. There has been widespread suspicion Hawkins made that choice because he was more concerned about his quarterback, son Cody Hawkins, breaking the school's all-time passing record than winning the game.[9]

After the Kansas loss, Hawkins was criticized for cutting his contractually-obligated post-game interview with radio station KOA short after just two questions and 27 seconds. After the interviewer asked him why Colorado didn't run the ball more to protect their shrinking lead, he dismissively replied, "We were playing football moving it both ways. A tough day. Thanks, guys."[10]

As it turned out, it would be the last game Hawkins would coach at Colorado. He was fired on November 9, 2010.[11] He was making approximately $1.5 million a year including incentives and base salary; his buyout was approximately $2 million. Longtime assistant Brian Cabral finished out the season.

Broadcasting

Between 2011 and 2016, Hawkins served as a college football analyst for ESPN.[12]

Montreal Alouettes

On February 19, 2013, Hawkins was named the new head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. On June 27, 2013, Hawkins won his first game as Alouettes head coach, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Winnipeg. On August 1, 2013, he was fired by the team after starting the season 2–3. He was replaced by the general manager Jim Popp.[13]

US national team and Europe

Hawkins coached the 2015 United States national American football team at the 2015 IFAF World Championship to a gold medal.[14] In 2015, Hawkins served as offensive coordinator for Carlstad Crusaders in the Swedish Superserien winning the national title and European Champions League. In 2016 Hawkins served as offensive coordinator for Vikings Vienna in the Austrian Football League.[15]

UC Davis

On November 18, 2016, Hawkins accepted an offer to become head coach of the UC Davis Aggies. He had been slated to serve as offensive coordinator at Florida International under Butch Davis when he was offered the position with the Aggies.[16]

Personal life

Hawkins is married to Misti Rae Ann Hokanson, a registered nurse. They are the parents of four grown children, daughters Ashley and Brittany, and sons Cody[17] and Drew, former Boise state quarterback.[18]

Head coaching record

CFL

Team Year Regular season Post season
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWon Lost Result
MTL20132300.400fired mid-seasonfired mid-season
Total2300.40000

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Gaullaudet . Bruce . August 4, 2017 . Let the good times roll! Hawkins football era starts in earnest . December 30, 2021 . Davis Enterprise.
  2. http://www.5280.com/magazine/2008/09/dan-hawkins-and-power-positive-thinking 5280.com
  3. http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/09/12/hawkins_dan/ ESPN Media Zone3.com
  4. Web site: 2006 . 2006 Colorado football season . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110306181837/http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3854&SPID=255&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=221170&Q_SEASON=2006 . March 6, 2011 . March 5, 2007 . CUBuffs.com.
  5. Web site: December 19, 2006 . Colorado introduces Hawkins as head coach . March 5, 2007 . ESPN.go.com.
  6. News: June 30, 2006 . Employment Agreement Between Dan Hawkins and The Regents of the University of Colorado . March 5, 2007 . USA Today.
  7. News: February 16, 2007 . Hawkins' rant getting plenty of air time . February 22, 2007 . The Denver Post.
  8. Web site: November 10, 2010 . Colorado fires Hawkins; McCartney is candidate .
  9. News: Krieger . Dave . November 8, 2010 . Krieger: Suspicion infects CU football program . Denver Post.
  10. News: Saunders . Dusty . November 8, 2010 . Dusty Saunders: Dungy's quiet style cuts through noise . Denver Post.
  11. Web site: November 9, 2010 . Reports: Dan Hawkins out at Colorado . November 9, 2010 . ESPN.go.com.
  12. Web site: November 29, 2016 . ESPN analyst Dan Hawkins is the new head coach at UC Davis .
  13. Web site: Florio . Mike . August 1, 2013 . Popp fires Trestman's replacement, hires himself . NBCSports.com . ProFootballTalk.com.
  14. Web site: June 2, 2015 . Mount Union QB Kevin Burke among players selected to play for U.S. National Team in summer World Championships . https://web.archive.org/web/20150603142159/http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2015/06/mount_union_qb_kevin_burke_amo_1.html . June 3, 2015 . June 3, 2015 . Cleveland Plain Dealer . Cleveland, Ohio.
  15. Andrew Doughty, "Dan Hawkins is new Offensive Coordinator for Vienna Vikings of Austrian Football League", Sports Illustrated Campus Rush, March 3, 2016, http://www.campusrush.com/campus-clicks-dan-hawkins-austrian-football-league-1638754387.html
  16. Brett McMurphy and Adam Rittenberg, "UC Davis hires alumnus Dan Hawkins as head coach", ESPN, November 28, 2016 http://www.espn.co.uk/college-football/story/_/id/18160026/uc-davis-aggies-tap-alumnus-dan-hawkins-head-coach)
  17. Web site: Cody Hawkins – 2009 Football Roster – CUBuffs.com – University of Colorado Buffaloes Athletics .
  18. Web site: Bishop Kelly Football Article . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204237/http://bishopkellyfootball.com/2009/03/spring-football-cefalo-a-buffalo-four-knights-at-bsu/ . March 4, 2016 . June 7, 2013.