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Jim McElwain has added Al Simmons formerly of UTEP to his coaching staff. Simmons will be the defensive coordinator.
New Colorado State Rams head coach Jim McElwain has filled his entire coaching staff except for one important position: defensive coordinator. But according to the Denver Post, McElwain said on Tuesday that he's close to making the hire that will finalize his coaching staff. No rumored names have escaped since the Rams were unsuccessful in their attempt to hire ex-Denver Broncos coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale.
McElwain, of course, did recently hire a defensive coordinator, when he took Marty English away from the Wyoming Cowboys, where he coached defense last season. But on McElwain's staff English will be in charge of only the defensive line, with the main coordinator job still left vacant.
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Colorado State is investing a significant amount of money in its in football coaching staff. Jim McElwain is the highest paid head football coach in school history, and the team's new assistants are benefiting as well. No coach on McElwain's staff will make less than $135,000.
Last season, CSU assistants averaged $123,777 with defensive coordinator Larry Kerr making the most at $200,000. Three assistants made less than $100,000. That no longer exists now.
Now, no assistant makes less than $135,000.
Related: Jim McElwain Hires 4 More Assistants, Including Wyoming Defensive Coordinator Marty English
Last season, only one Rams assistant made $200,000 or more, while the 2012 staff should have three members making at least $200,000, assuming the as-yet-unnamed defensive coordinator gets a deal similar to offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin's contract.
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. For more from around college football, visit SB Nation's NCAA football news hub.
New Colorado State football coach Jim McElwain announced the addition of four coaches to his staff on Tuesday. One of those additions comes from about an hour up the road -- Marty English is leaving the Wyoming football program for CSU.
The hirees are Marty English (defensive line), Derek Frazier (offensive line), Jeff Hammerschmidt (special teams) and Alvis Whitted (wide receivers).
The additions bring his staff to 11 members. In addition to position coaches, football operations and strength and conditioning coaches are in place.
Related: Jim McElwain Hires Tim Skipper As Colorado State Assistant Coach
McElwain still needs a defensive coordinator since English is moving to the defensive line, and says he hopes to have one soon.
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According to a report from the Denver Post, former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Don Martindale is a strong candidate for the same position at Colorado State. Martindale and new Rams head coach Jim McElwain have some history together:
Martindale and new CSU head coach Jim McElwain were on Art Shell's coaching staff with the Oakland Raiders in 2006. Martindale, 48, was spotted this past weekend on the Fort Collins campus visiting with prospects during recruiting weekend.
Martindale was the defensive coordinator for the Broncos in 2010, and then was replaced by Dennis Allen. Martindale also has coached at Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Western Kentucky at the college level.
No deal between Martindale and Colorado State has been finalized at this point.
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The Colorado State Rams have hired Billy Napier to fill a role within the team's new football coaching staff, as the school announced on Wednesday. New Rams head coach Jim McElwain made the announcement just two days after winning a BCS National Championship in final game as a coach for Alabama.
Along with McElwain, Napier spent the 2011 season as an assistant coach for Alabama. Before his short stint with the Crimson Tide, Napier was the offensive coordinator for Clemson in 2009 and 2010, and his new role with Colorado State will once again be on the offensive side of things. Clemson's offense set school records under Napier, including the most points in school history in 2009. Napier is the fifth member to be added to McElwain's new coaching staff.
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Jim McElwain is wearing dual hats as the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator and as the Colorado State Rams' new head coach. While prepping for the BCS National Championship Game, McElwain announced that Tim Skipper will be an assistant coach on his news staff.
More: Jim McElwain Prepares For LSU vs. Alabama 2012
This comes just one day after the university announced the hiring of Utah State's Dave Baldwin as offensive coordinator. Since 2006, Skipper has coached at the FBS level for the Fresno St. Bulldogs, fist as running backs coach for three years and then moving to the defense for the last three.
As the press release notes, Skipper developed current San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews into a first-round pick while at Fresno State. Skipper comes from a football family, as his father is the Tennessee Titans' running backs coach and his brother holds the same position with the Oakland Raiders.
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While Jim McElwain is preparing for the 2012 BCS National Championship with his Alabama Crimson Tide, it appears that he is also working hard at building his coaching staff for the Colorado St. Rams. McElwain is set to hire Utah State Aggies offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin to assume the same duties with the Rams, according to Kraig Williams of the Deseret News.
UPDATE: Baldwin was announced as the new offensive coordinator on Wednesday.
Baldwin developed a strong ground game for the Aggies this season with Robert Turbin rushing for 1,517 yards and 19 touchdowns. Michael Smith ran for 870 yards as well. The Aggies were sixth in the nation with 282.7 yards per game. However, Williams points out that no everyone was happy with an offense that finished 96th overall in passing:
Despite the lofty rankings, Baldwin's offense was sometimes criticized by fans for being overly conservative, specifically not utilizing the passing attack enough finishing (USU finished 96th in the country in passing yards).
McElwain assumes full time duties of the Rams once the BCS title game between Alabama and LSU ends on Jan. 9. At that point, we should start to learn who will be on McElwain's staff.
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New Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain picked up an in-state commitment on Wednesday when Highlands Ranch's Joe Hansley chose to play football for the Rams. McElwain had made an in-home visit that impressed Hansley:
"(McElwain) was really confident in his plan to change what goes on at CSU — making it more of a winning tradition and start bringing some better players in there and winning some games," Hansley said.
Hansley primarily played running back and defensive back for Highlands Ranch and was told by McElwain that he would be used as a slot back in the CSU offense. McElwain, who is still in the early stages of getting his Rams program off the ground, also encouraged Hansley to help in recruiting other high school players.
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New Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain is impressing fans and players alike with his pedigree and his energy, writes John Henderson of the Denver Post.
"Everything he said was right on point to where we want to go with this program as players," freshman safety Austin Gray said. "When he walked out of the room, you looked around and saw smiles on everybody's faces. Everybody's excited and pumped and ready to go."
Getting the players to buy in to a new philosophy or system can be a tough task for a new head coach, but by the sounds of things, McElwain made a strong first impression with Rams players, which could go a long way toward easing this transition.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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.
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.
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Colorado State To Name Al Simmons As Defensive Coordinator, According To Report
The Colorado St. Rams appear to have selected their next defensive coordinator. According to FootballScoop.com, Al Simmons has accepted the top defensive coaching role with the Rams:
Last December, the Rams hired former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain to be the new head coach of the Colorado State football team. McElwain then hired away Utah Utes offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin to take the OC role for the Rams.
Simmons has worked most recently as the defensive backs coach with the UTEP Miners, but has also worked with the California Golden Bears, the Arizona St. Sun Devils and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
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Feb 13 3:11p by Bradley Woodrum