Details Of Jim McElwain's Contract With Colorado State

The contract between Colorado State and new football coach Jim McElwain wasn't finalized until last Wednesday, and now Sean Duff of Coloradoan.com has the details. McElwain's five-year contract pays him $1.35 million in base salary plus benefits, although he'd have to pay CSU up to $5 million if he leaves before his contract runs out.

Duff explains how the situation plays out if McElwain leaves CSU:

McElwain would be on the hook for $5 million if it's in 2012, $4 million in 2013, on down to $1 million before the regular-season finale in 2016.

In addition, the contract states that Colorado State must pay at least $2 million in base salary to McElwain's staff plus a variety of other benefits.

After years as an assistant coach, including the past four years as offensive coordinator at Alabama, McElwain is getting his first chance to be a head coach with the Rams.

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Jim McElwain Will Continue As Alabama's Offensive Coordinator Through 2012 BCS National Title Game

Jim McElwain was announced as the Colorado St. Rams new head football coach on Tuesday afternoon, but he'll be wearing a dual-hat through Jan. 9 when the 2012 BCS National Championship Game pits his No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide against the No. 1 LSU Tigers. He will provide continuity for the Crimson Tide for the remainder of the season by finishing out his duties as offensive coordinator.

While this could potentially work against him, it should actually help Colorado State in the recruiting process over the final weeks leading up to National Signing Day in February. Throughout the whole game, the announcers will almost certainly mention McElwain's move to Colorado State, especially if the Alabama offense comes out slow (though, if the game is a low-scoring affair like the November contest how will we be able to tell?).

McElwain coached the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram, and had Trent Richardson finish in third place this season.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Colorado St. University Introduces Jim McElwain As New Head Coach

The Colorado St. Rams held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to introduce Jim McElwain as the new head football coach for the Rams. McElwain is currently finishing his tenure as the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide, who will be playing in the BCS National Championship this coming January.

CSU Athletic Director Jack Graham and university President Tony Frank both spoke at the press conference, detailing their search process, which included assistance from a clinical psychologist and an outside consulting firm. They also noted that Coach McElwain will begin recruiting immediately until Dec 19, which is when all universities must stop recruiting for the year.

McElwain showed no lack of confidence during the press conference, which aired simultaneously on 9News.com. Of greatest interest to the incoming coach was a change in the football program's culture, saying he wanted the program to employ a mentality that declares: "We are Colorado State, and here we come."

Despite his claim that he planned to win every game in the 2012 season, he also offered a more realistic assessment of the state of Rams football, saying, "I look forward to this challenge. I know we have a long way to go."

Coach McElwain also praised the passion of the Jack Graham and President Frank, saying, "I've never talked to a president who's more proud of his faculty and of the people who make this place great."

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Jim McElwain To Coach Alabama Through Bowl Game, Agrees To Five-Year, $7.5 Million Contract With Colorado State

The Colorado St. Rams are expected to hire the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain as their new head coach at a news conference on Tuesday. The hire has not been confirmed by Colorado State, but with Alabama's Nick Saban holding a staff meeting all signs points to McElwain leaving for Colorado State.

Details of McElwain's contract are coming out and that he has agreed to a five-year contract worth $1.5 million per year, this according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach. That amount would more than double Fairchild's base salary of $700,000. 

Schlabach is also reporting that McElwain will stay on as Alabama's offensive coordinator through Jan. 9 to coach in the BCS Championship game against the LSU Tigers. This means that McElwain will have one month where he is doing both jobs, and by doing that he would not be able to fully concentrating on either position.

The only positive thing to be gained for Colorado State to have McElwain coach through the BCS Championship game is that he would be mentioned as the Colorado State head coach, and that could help in recruiting.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Alabama's Nick Saban Reportedly Meeting With Staff After Jim McElwain Expected To Be Next Colorado State Coach

The Colorado St. Rams are holding a press conference on Tuesday to announce the football team's next head coach, who is reportedly Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain. But Alabama head coach Nick Saban is already having a meeting with his staff, as Izzy Gould of al.com reports, which we can all assume is to announce that McElwain is leaving the staff.

We'll likely need to wait for word on Tuesday to find out when McElwain will depart the Crimson Tide staff. With the Crimson Tide playing for the national title against the LSU Tigers, it is certainly an opportunity he would want to be a part of, but it would mean that it would be over a month until he can start working with the Colorado State staff (or bring in his own set of coaches).

McElwain would lose valuable recruiting time if he put off taking over his duties in Fort Collins. He could be out telling recruits, "Yeah, I could be coaching in the national title game, but I'm here because I want you to be an integral part of what I'm building here." McElwain can sell bringing his own brand of the SEC, the best conference in college football, to Colorado State and the hopes of a brighter future with it.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Colorado State Football Head Coaching Announcement To Come On Tuesday

Rumors are swirling that the Colorado St. Rams have decided on Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain to be the next coach of the football team. However, the school has not tipped its hand yet on the matter, but an announcement is expected to come on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. MT.

McElwain, should he be hired, is expected to bring a great approach to the football program, having worked under Nick Saban since the 2008 season. Saban is one of the top coaches in college football and the SEC mindset that McElwain has developed in his four season there should do well in turning around the Rams football program.

McElwain is familiar with the Rocky Mountain region as he was born in Montana, played high school football in the state and then was the offensive coordinator for Montana State from 1995-99.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Alabama OC Jim McElwain Expected To Be Colorado State's Next Head Coach, According To Reports

The Colorado St. Rams are expected to announce Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain as the school's next head coach, according to multiple reports. No word on how soon the announcement will be, though speculation was that it could happen on Monday.

McElwain was linked to the position over the weekend, and he has already turned down the Fresno St. Bulldogs and the Memphis Tigers). If he is hired, is is unknown if he will coach the Crimson Tide in the BCS National Championship Game or if he would immediately leave the university and start building the Rams up.

McElwain's had previously coached for Fresno State and developed them into offensive machines. He also did that at Alabama with the immense wealth of talent he has had to work with, namely running back Trent Richardson and quarterback A.J. McCarron this year. He previously had wide receiver Julio Jones to work with as well.

The Rams had put up three straight 3-9 records with Steve Fairchild at the helm. He and athletic director Paul Kowalczyk are no longer with the school while new AD Jack Graham is looking to make a signature move early on in his tenure at the position.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection.

Colorado State Coaching Search: Alabama Offensive Coordinator Jim McElwain Linked To Opening

The Colorado St. Rams coaching search has been quiet with no word on interviews or candidates coming from the school. Instead there have been coaches publicly saying that they are interested in this opening. So far, current Maryland Terrapin offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and former Colorado Buffalo head coach Gary Barnet have expressed interest.

Colorado State Coaching Rumors: Maryland OC Gary Crowton Interested In Job

Information on new head coach candidates for the open Colorado St. Rams job have been few and far between, but now there is a coach putting his name out there for the job. This coach is current Maryland offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. The Crowton name should sound familiar to Colorado State fans as he was the former head coach of the BYU Cougars from 2001-04, so he is familiar with the Mountain West. Plus, Crowton played one year for Colorado State in 1978.

Since his time at BYU, Crowton has served as offensive coordinator to the Oregon Ducks, LSU Tigers and curently at Maryland. Crowton was at LSU in 2007 when they won the BCS national title. 

Crowton has said he contacted the school but has not heard back from them, but he feels he would be a good fit:

"I know that league very well because I've coached in that league," Crowton said referring to his time as a head coach at BYU when the Cougars were in the Mountain West. "I think CSU is just on the verge of becoming good again, like they were back in the day when I was at BYU and Sonny was there and they had that quarterback that kind of looked like a linebacker."

If Crowton were hired he would bring an exciting offense to Colorado State as he prefers are more open attack which would be the anti-Steve Fairchild offense which was more conservative.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection. 

Colorado St. Coaching Search Update: Gary Barnett Interested In Opening

Just hours after the Colorado St. Rams announced the firing of Steve Fairchild, a very familiar name to people in the Rocky Mountain state was rumored to be interested in the position. According to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, former University of Colorado head coach Gary Barnett is interested in returning to the sideline:

Early speculation on potential candidates to replace Fairchild revolve around CSU alums. But one big-name candidate, former Colorado coach Gary Barnett, is known to be interested, according to a source. Also known to be interested is Tony Alford, a former assistant at CSU who is now the receivers' coach at Notre Dame, according to a source close to the situation.

During his seven seasons at the University of Colorado, Barnett led the Buffs to a 49-38 record. In 2001, the Buffs won the Big 12 and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. CU made five bowl game appearances in the seven years that Barnett was head coach.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection. And for news from around college football, head over to SB Nation NCAA Football.

Steve Fairchild Fired: Colorado State Head Coach Dismissed, According To Report

After three consecutive seasons with identical 3-9 records, the Colorado State Rams have decided to fire head coach Steve Fairchild, according to Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports. Fairchild was hired as the head football coach for Colorado State in December 2007.

Fairchild's first year with the Rams was actually a relative success, with the team going 6-6 in the regular season before beating Fresno State 40-35 in the New Mexico Bowl. It was Colorado State's first bowl victory since 2001, but it would also be the peak of Fairchild's stint with the Rams. Colorado State would drop to 3-9 the following season, failing to win a single conference game in the Mountain West, and they would post that identical 3-9 record over each of the next two seasons, as well.

Overall, Fairchild finishes his career at Colorado State with a 16-33 record, including a 7-24 record against Mountain West opponents. He was able to push the Rams to their first bowl victory in years in his debut season with Colorado State, but simply couldn't maintain that success beyond Year One. The Rams lost their final eight games under Fairchild after beginning the 2011 season at 3-1.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection. And for news from around college football, head over to SB Nation NCAA Football.

Colorado State To Hold Major Press Conference On Thursday Afternoon

Colorado State will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon to make a "major announcement" about the athletics department. The press conference will begin at 1:00 p.m. MT. It is widely believed to be for the firing of football head coach Steve Fairchild.

The Colorado St. Rams have one game left, against Wyoming, on Saturday before the season ends. The team currently stands at 3-8 and a loss would send the Rams to their third consecutive 3-9 season. Fairchild has had only one winning season with the team, his first in 2008. The team went 7-6 and won the New Mexico Bowl.

If the press conference isn't to announce Fairchild's firing, then that's going to be a real curveball.

For more on this story, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more news from around the Mountain West Conference, be sure to visit Mountain West Connection. And for news from around college football, head over to SB Nation NCAA Football.

Steve Fairchild's Future As Colorado State's Head Coach Is In Jeopardy

A look back at Steve Fairchild's coaching career for Colorado State, as 2011 could be his last. Fairchild is 16-31 as Colorado State's head coach over the past four years.

Steve Fairchild On Hot Seat At Colorado State

CSU AD Paul Kowalczyk will make a decision on Fairchild once the season is over.