Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Cundiff, Pittman among interviewees for Javs' post

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Saturday, December 11, 1999

Cundiff, Pittman among interviewees for Javs' post

By George Vondracek
Caller-Times

Texas A&M-Kingsville's nationwide search for a new football coach is taking on a distinct Texas flavor.
   University officials confirmed Friday that five men, including Javelinas assistants Richard Cundiff and Don Pittman, will interview for the position vacated last month by longtime coach Ron Harms. The others who will interview are former Texas A&I assistant and head coach Fred Jonas, Copperas Cove High School athletics director and football coach Jack Welch and Hastings (Neb.) College coach Ross Els.
   James Newberry, chairman of the 13-member search committee, said in a statement released by the university that the five will interview within the next seven days. Others also may be interviewed as the search continues, Newberry said.
   Cundiff, who interviewed Friday, is a 14-year veteran with the Javs. He has been A&M-Kingsville's defensive coordinator for the past nine seasons and also served three years as a part-time coach at Baylor.
   Pittman is scheduled to interview next Friday. He has been at A&M-Kingsville for 18 years, first as offensive backs coach and later offensive coordinator.
   Jonas, the quarterbacks coach at Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State, was an A&I assistant from 1967-76 under Gil Steinke. He succeeded Steinke and compiled a 14-6-1 record before leaving for Angelo State in 1979. Jonas is scheduled to interview on Monday.
   The head coach at Hastings for the last three years, Els also was an assistant coach at Northern Iowa and Nebraska-Omaha. Els led the Broncos to a No. 1 NAIA ranking this season. They finished the year ranked ninth at 10-1 after losing to Azusa Pacific, 38-35, in the second round of the NAIA playoffs. He is scheduled to interview on Wednesday.
   Welch has been at Copperas Cove since 1994. He has been a college assistant coach at Louisiana Tech and West Texas State (now West Texas A&M) and was a head coach at Fort Scott Community College and Kansas Wesleyan. He is scheduled to interview on Tuesday.
   Harms, 63, resigned on Nov. 14 after 21 years as the Javelinas' coach. Year No. 21 was a tumultuous one in which the team was mired in a variety of academic and transfer rules violations. The NCAA paid the school two visits in its investigation into the transfer rules violations. The NCAA has yet to announce any sanctions or penalties for those infractions, which date to 1989.
   Harms continues to serve as the school's athletics director.
   The Javs won their last four games last season to finish with a 5-6 record, pushing Harms' career mark at the school to 173-71. In 31 seasons, Harms has a 219-111-4 record.



Staff writer George Vondracek can be reached at 886-3731 or by e-mail at vondracekg@caller.com

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