Down goes the interim: Rams suspend Barnes, go with Herl
FORT COLLINS» Colorado State athletic director Joe Parker walked into Moby Arena on Saturday morning, just before the shootaround for the men’s basketball team, to tell the players interim head coach Steve Barnes had been put on paid administrative leave. Assistant coach Jase Herl would lead the team against San Jose State in the afternoon game.
One important distinction? The team was notified before the media found out.
“It’s kind of weird finding some stuff out about your coach on social media before it gets to you,” said CSU guard Anthony Bonner after the Rams’ 90-79 victory.
Barnes, CSU’S associate head coach, was chosen interim coach Feb. 3 when Parker placed head coach Larry Eustachy on administrative leave. Parker, along with deputy athletic director Steve Cottingham and compliance director Shalini Shanker, are investigating Eustachy’s behavior and his interactions with players and staff. CSU is expected to wrap up its investigation within a few days. A source close to the investigation told The Denver Post last week that Eustachy would never coach again for CSU, which can avoid paying a $3 million buyout if it fires Eustachy with cause. The two sides are believed to be negotiating an exit plan.
In a statement released Saturday, Parker didn’t give a reason why Barnes was placed on leave, but team sources say players spoke up about their concerns playing for Barnes in a meeting with the athletic director a day earlier. CSU center Nico Carvacho, Bonner and Herl all declined to comment Saturday on Barnes’ removal as interim coach. Herl said he had not been told whether or not he would resume head coaching duties going forward. The Rams have a bye this week and are not expected to return to practice until at least Tuesday.
CSU players boycotted a Thursday practice last week in response to what they termed a lack of communication with Parker. It now appears both parties are on the same page.
“We voiced that we wanted to speak manto-man with (Parker) as a team,” Bonner said. “It just helped us kind of refresh our minds and be positive.”
According to multiple team sources, Barnes has been a known enabler of Eustachy’s behavior. The two have coached together since the late 1990s and were high school and college basketball teammates. CSU has not responded to inquiries as to why Barnes was put in charge of the program.
When asked last week if he’s ever spoken out against Eustachy when the coach verbally attacked a player, Barnes declined to comment, citing the pending investigation. He did say his coaching style was similar to Eustachy’s.
Barnes was also suspended in 2003 a day after he was named Iowa State’s interim head coach when Eustachy was fired. Barnes reportedly contacted family members of a player in an attempt to rally support for Eustachy, who was fired when photos of him surfaced drinking with and kissing female students at parties on the campuses of Missouri and Kansas State following games the Cyclones played here.