Davis, CA – Aggie football head coach Dan Hawkins seems to be reassembling the old band in Aggie Blue and Gold. Hawkins has hired several of his former assistants from Willamette, Boise State, Colorado, and the USA national football team in addition to keeping several assistants from last year’s team.

Gone are offensive coordinator Kevin Daft, himself an Aggie football alum, running backs coach Jim Chapin, and defensive coordinator Bert Watts. Watts was hired by former boss Jeff Tedford at Fresno State as their linebackers coach.

Paul Creighton (recruiting coordinator and tight ends), Pat McCann (wide receivers), Wes Nurse (cornerbacks), David Braun (defensive line), Tim Keane (offensive line), and Bryant Haines (linebackers) all seem to be coming back next year if the activity on their Twitter profiles hold true. All have posted photos or have been tagged in photos from the recruiting trail and are also active in tweeting about new verbal commitments.

The new additions to the UC Davis football staff are new faces to campus, but not to Hawkins.

At Hawkins’ initial press conference he stopped his speech and brought up longtime friend and former colleague Sam Young. Young, a UC Davis alumni and former coach under Jim Sochor, accepted a consulting position on the staff in a move that was predicted by posters on Aggie Sports Talk. Young will leave Modesto Junior College as the winningest coach in program history. According to the Modesto Bee, Hawkins offered Young a job in 2001 at Boise State, one which Young turned down.

On December 14, the athletic department announced Robert Tucker had been hired to become the defensive coordinator. Tucker, according to the department release, was the head coach at West Hills College until 2015 when he departed for Los Angeles Valley College compiling a 30-3 overall record along the way. Tucker was at West Hills until 2015, when he departed for Los Angeles Valley College. The connection between Hawkins and Tucker lies in the Pacific Northwest at Boise State where Tucker served as the Broncos recruiting coordinator and safeties coach while Hawkins was at the helm of the Broncos. Tucker was also a member of the USA football coaching staff in 2015 as the defensive coordinator, a team that was led by, you guessed it, Dan Hawkins.

Hawkins also selected Mark Speckman to replace Jim Chapin as the running backs coach. Speckman worked with Hawkins at Willamette as the offensive coordinator and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League as the running backs coach.

The two newest additions who have not been announced by the athletic department are Jerry Brady and Isaiah Jackson. Brady, a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls by way of American River College, was a defensive lineman during Tucker’s stint as the Cougars’ defensive coordinator. According to Brady’s Twitter page, he will be the outside linebacker coach.

Jackson served as a graduate assistant on the Sioux Falls football team and was the Cougars’ assistant defensive line coach. He most recently was part of the staff at West Virginia State University (Division II) as the linebacker and special teams coach.

Hawkins has put most of the pieces together except for one, offensive coordinator. Tucker has already been named defensive coordinator, Speckman will serve as running backs coach, and Brady and Jackson are not offensive minded coaches as they have primarily stayed on the defensive side of the ball.

One name that might fit the mold and has deep connections with both Hawkins and the city of Davis, is Paul Wulff, the current Sac State Assistant Head Coach, Run Game Coordinator, and Offensive Line coach. Wulff was born in Woodland and attended Davis High School before heading to Washington State to complete his undergraduate education. Wulff was head coach at Big Sky football power Eastern Washington before taking the reins at Washington State where he was released after three years. Since then he has bounced around but has landed back in the region and just completed his first year with the Hornets. Not so coincidentally, Wulff served as the offensive coordinator for USA football in 2015 with Dan Hawkins.

It is a short drive from J Street to La Rue Road but they are worlds apart, especially when it comes to football. The Aggies are 14-3 against the Hornets this century and 45-19 overall. Why wouldn’t Wulff want to ditch the green and gold to don Aggie Blue and Gold?

One thing is for sure, Hawkins isn’t straying far from his comfort zone as he assembles a coaching staff with deep roots not only to Hawkins, but to each other.