Dan Hawkins still not at a loss for words after latest disastrous defeat -- but Mike Bohn was

Since late last month, it's been abundantly clear that CU coach Dan Hawkins is a dead man talking -- a man hoping against hope that his enthusiastic jabbering about his underperforming team will convince the powers that be not to give him the boot at season's end. But after the...

By Michael Roberts

November 16, 2009

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Since late last month, it's been abundantly clear that CU coach Dan Hawkins is a dead man talking -- a man hoping against hope that his enthusiastic jabbering about his underperforming team will convince the powers that be not to give him the boot at season's end. But after the Buffs fell yet again, managing just 10 points in a loss to the not-quite-powerhouse Iowa State Cyclones, athletic director Mike Bohn, among Hawkins' prime defenders, wasn't nearly as gabby, declining post-game interviews.

Has Bohn finally realized that he's undermining his own slender chances for survival every time he offers Hawkins a vote of confidence? Maybe so -- not that it matters at this point.

The fantasy that the Buffs had the slightest chance of becoming bowl-eligible has officially been dispelled; it's now a mathematical impossibility in addition to being a logical one. Hence, 2009 will go down as yet another lost season, and no amount of making lemonade out of lemons will change that fact -- although lord knows, Hawkins tried.

After the game, he told the press, "You`re always going to have failures and setbacks in your life and you have to be able to take that energy towards getting better and moving on. It`s okay to hurt. That`s part of it and you want that, but you`ve got to push that hurt in the right direction."

Like out the door? That's where Hawkins is almost certainly headed, especially given his AD's sudden case of laryngitis.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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