Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Embree Being Very Deliberate In Filling Staff
December 15, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - It's been just over a week since he was hired, and Jon Embree still is a few assistants short of a full staff. No, that's not like being a couple of bricks shy of a load, or a couple of wrenches short of a full tool box.
In fact, it's just the opposite.
Colorado's new football coach is being very deliberate, very thoughtful in filling out his staff. Of course, he understands the urgency when it comes to recruiting, re-entering that race and letting prospective recruits know who their position coaches will be.
But he also knows the importance of not being too urgent.
"I know I'm a first-time head coach, but everything is planned out," Embree said. "I'm just waiting this out. There's probably going to be a lot of frustration by fans, but I feel good about this.
"From the coaching tree, all the relationships I have, the different coaches I'll have access to, all the coaches who are interested . . . it's really been amazing. I'm getting a lot of interest and I want to hire the best guys."
Several sources have advised him not to shift into an up-tempo mode with his hires. He was en route to a meeting with a prospect last week when he received a telephone call from his former boss, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.
Know this about Embree: He's never going to be above being receptive to advice, and if comes from a head coach with Shanahan's pedigree, all the better.
"Take your time, that's when it works," Embree said Shanahan told him. "Don't try and make your decisions quickly. Think it out. You're going to be hearing from people you never imagined you'd hear from."
As Embree joked with Eric Bieniemy, his offensive coordinator who will finish his duties with the Minnesota Vikings before reporting to CU: "Hey, we might hear from Jon Gruden . . . you just never know."
That hasn't happened (yet), but since he was named CU's 24th head coach on Dec. 6, Embree has found humor in the rampant speculation about his staff. He offered a cautionary word to those trying to get ahead of the process: "I hope people understand this: until they hear me say something, don't believe it. Don't assume it because they hear somebody say, 'well, I've got a source' . . . no one knows. (Bieniemy and long-time linebackers coach Brian Cabral are the assistants officially announced.)
"People have just got to be patient. It's like panicking because you're down 10-0 in the first quarter . . . there's plenty of time left and nothing to panic about."
So Embree is neither panicking nor rushing into this, just as he won't speed into filling out his first recruiting class simply for the sake of it. As coaches like to say, he's letting the game come to him.
Embree was extremely proactive in assembling his first staff, forming his wish list as far back as June. And it wasn't a haphazard venture; the list included coaches he had worked with at past stops (including CU), had prior knowledge of as a player/coach, or had been impressed with somewhere during the recruiting process or elsewhere.
Here's one of the things I find most impressive about the group Embree is assembling: In watching staffs formed here and elsewhere, the guy doing the hiring usually has been an established head coach who brings most of his staff with him.
Not so in this case; Embree is brand new to this. He's had to rely on past associations with assistants, pitching himself and his vision for the Buffaloes as they enter a new conference to guys who, for the most part, seemed settled in other jobs. But the staffers he's contacted were awaiting his call.
Their faith in a rookie head coach is telling, both about themselves and Embree, who told his prospective hires "there are unique things" about CU and told me that atop his list of criteria, "I wanted guys around here who wanted to be here, first off. You look at my desk, all these resumes and stacks of notes. I've gotten 18 million text messages from guys wanting jobs.
"I don't want people who want jobs; I want people who want to be here. What you've got to understand is, when you don't have (multi-year) contracts, guys who thought they wanted to work with you don't want to work anymore. They'll say, 'What do you mean I don't have a contract?' You have to have people who aren't afraid of that situation.
"But at the same time they have to know that 'I'm good as long as coach is there' just doesn't work here. I have to do what is best for this program (when it comes to replacing assistants). So it takes some people who have a little bit of passion for this place."
The passion starts with Embree. His paychecks will be smaller than his predecessor's, in part because he wants a larger salary pool for his assistants.
In catching up in recruiting, he hopes his new staff can "help us right away in this recruiting cycle" with relationships formed over the years with high school coaches or maybe even prospects who still might want to play for those assistant coaches.
"You never know, but that helps a lot sometimes," Embree said. "That's how we got Maurice (Jones-Drew) at UCLA. It was all based on relationships."
It's also what has enabled Embree to get a solid start assembling what appears to be a fine first staff. This is something he doesn't want to rush - or can afford to.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
