DENVER – AUGUST 31: Head coach Dan Hawkins of the University of Colorado Buffaloes protests a call to the officials against the Colorado State University Rams at Invesco Field at Mile High on August 31, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Dan Hawkins is back on the sidelines in the NCAA.

The former Boise State and Colorado head coach, and current ESPN analyst, has accepted a job at UC Davis to become the school’s head coach.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the 56-year-old. Hawkins played with UC Davis as a fullback in the early 80’s and began his coaching career with the school as an assistant upon completion of his college career. Hawkins went on to coach at Boise State in the mid-2000s, before moving onto Colorado, where he was 19-39 over a disastrous five season stint that saw the Buffaloes make just one bowl game.

After getting fired in 2010, Hawkins has bounced from the broadcast booth to short-lived football coaching gigs. In 2013, he coached the Montreal Alouettes for five games before getting fired midseason. Hawkins also served as a coach for team America at the 2015 IFAF World Championship. He’s appeared on ESPN since 2011.

Hawkins was reportedly set to join fellow ex-ESPN analyst Butch Davis as offensive coordinator at FIU, but he took the job at Davis instead.

Hawkins will replace Ron Gould, who compiled a 12-33 record in four seasons with the Aggies – including a 3-8 record in 2016. Bringing in Hawkins, who has an established track record for success in the NCAA coaching ranks and is a UC Davis alumnus, is a nice move for a school that hasn’t won a conference title since joining the Big Sky in 2012. Can he right the Aggies’ ship? That remains to be a challenge.

[ESPN]

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