New breed of coach, NFL Buffs

Is Dan Hawkins unique?

Is he for real?

The more stories you read, the more you have to wonder if this guy is one of the more interesting coaches in college football.

His intelligence, approach to people, the ability to bring others together to create something bigger than the whole, and inspire is mesmerizing.

You might already be able to make the distinction that he is more substance than the last social butterfly to float through Boulder, the infamous Rick Neuheisel, who could charm the pants off the media and a few recruits homes, but eventually was seen as more salesman than honest, partly leading to his downfall on the field.

The latest Hawkins tidbit, courtesy of The Boulder Daily Camera and writer Kyle Ringo, was today's article that he addressed the Boy Scouts at a leadership conference. Now, most college coaches would find a way to be too busy for such an endeavor because, after all, how many future recruits are boy scouts? Not this new breed of coach, the anti-Barnett, who was a accomplished coach and man of principle, yet was not known for being smooth and engaging with nearlyeveryone he met.

That's not a stuff on Barnett, just a realization of them being two entirely different personalities.

In Barnett's defense, Hawkins hasn't won a game yet in Boulder, Barnett won north division titles and a conference championship and rallied the community initially after Neuheisel won the lottery, getting a Pac-10 job to head back west, and for a whole lot of juice.

The advantage Hawkins has is that his people skills, seeming sincerity and football acumen might combine to make him highly successful. He will have to be mighty determined as he is facing large obstacles of resources and tradition that he will never be able to match. Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno likely wouldn't be able to overcome it. The faces of those monsters are Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

What else seems different?

The so-called directive for his assistants that encourages Hawkins staff to exercise (don't assume these men are always in great shape), eat healthy (ditto), get sufficient rest (rarely) and make sure their families are a priority (what, coaches can have a family life?). This man is going to make everyone soft. He has to be stopped!

A happy, healthy family makes a happy, healthy coach, which means he's giving his best and getting better results, right?

That remains to be seen.

The man named Hawkins, who seemingly blew in from the northwest on some wind and captured the community, may turn out to be an abject failure but it seems difficult to imagine that happening. There just seems to be something special about him, like he's a home run hire or something.

Know what I mean?


NFL Buffs...Three Buffs had bad days, as linebacker Hannibal Navies was released by Cincinnati, maybe because he couldn't keep up with the lawbreaking Bengals, quarterback Joel Klatt was dismissed by Detroit, and wide receiver/kick returner Jeremy Bloom was placed on injured reserve by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Navies came into the league as a fourth-round pick of Carolina in 1999. He also played with Green Bay, having his best season in 2003, when he registered 88 tackles.

Klatt, who went undrafted, had been facing an uphill battle with the Lions, where Jon Kitna and Josh McCown are expected to be the top 2 at the position.

Bloom was a fifth-round selection in this year's draft and just back into football. He was placed on injured reserve with an injured hamstring. Bloom without speed is like a sports car without its' engine. It doesn't matter how it handles because the experience isn't the same without the power.