Mike BoboGeorgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has agreed in principle to become the new head football coach at Colorado State and could be introduced in Fort Collins as early as today.
The Denver Post was the first to report Colorado State closing in on Bobo, who is the last remaining member of Mark Richt's inaugural Bulldogs staff that was assembled in 2001. It is not known whether Bobo will be calling plays for the Bulldogs next Tuesday night in the Belk Bowl against Louisville.
"We'll have a plan for everything," Richt said in a news conference Saturday.
Colorado State went 10-2 during the regular season under Jim McElwain, the former Alabama offensive coordinator who was hired to replace Will Muschamp as head coach at Florida. Dave Baldwin was the interim coach for the Rams this past Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl, which they lost 45-10 to Utah.
The Denver Post reported that Baldwin said after the bowl game that he and the rest of the staff had received termination papers.
Bobo made $578,700 this season but will make $1.5 million annually at Colorado State, according to a Sports Illustrated report. McElwain also made $1.5 million coaching the Rams.
A quarterback for the Bulldogs under both Ray Goff and Jim Donnan during the 1990s, Bobo began his coaching career as a Georgia administrative assistant in 1998 and a graduate assistant in 1999. After one season as Jacksonville State's quarterbacks coach in 2000, Bobo returned to his alma mater as quarterbacks coach and became offensive coordinator late in the 2006 season.
Georgia set a program record for yards (6,547) and touchdowns (72) in 2012 and set a record for yards per game (484.2) last season. This year's Bulldogs have averaged 41.7 points per game and will set a program record even if they are shut out next week at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium.
The 40-year-old Bobo is highly regarded as a recruiter and helped Georgia land a commitment from Jacob Eason, the nation's top-rated quarterback in the 2016 class.
"We wish Coach Bobo the best," Tony Eason, Jacob's father, told 247Sports.com. "He is a great guy, and he got us to Georgia to show us what it was all about. Nothing has changed for us.
"We are still committed to UGA and have faith that Coach Richt will get the right guy for the job."
Whether Bobo takes anybody with him to Colorado State is not known. The most likely candidate from the full-time staff is offensive line coach Will Friend, who is close to Bobo and has worked the past two seasons with the added title of running-game coordinator.
Bobo interviewed last week with Colorado State officials and had a second interview this past weekend with CSU president Tony Frank. National media outlets have reported that Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost and Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi interviewed for the Rams opening but did not pursue it.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.