Matador Assistants Cut Loose : Football: Baldwin, Northridge’s new coach, continues housecleaning as Bunn, Lopez passed over.

Dale Bunn went for the whole enchilada.

He didn’t get beans.

Bunn and Rich Lopez, who spent a combined 17 seasons as full-time football assistants at Cal State Northridge, were passed over this week when new Coach Dave Baldwin starting putting together his staff.

“It’s difficult, but sometimes you have to clean house,” Baldwin said.

Bunn, 38, a three-year staff member who coached special teams, interviewed but failed to land one of three available full-time spots. This after he was passed over for the head-coaching position.

“This year’s had its bounces, hasn’t it?” Bunn said.

Lopez, 48, was offensive coordinator last fall and spent 14 seasons at Northridge. He reapplied for his old position, but wasn’t granted an interview.

“The only disappointment was that I was there for 14 years and they didn’t even talk to me,” Lopez said. “When you’ve been loyal for that long, you should at least get an interview out of respect.”

Upheaval was the normal waking state for Northridge football the past two seasons. The team stumbled to a 3-7 record last fall and was beset by off-the-field problems, including attempted murder charges filed against a starting lineman. Students twice voted down fee referendums that guaranteed increased athletic funding, leaving the program on the verge of elimination.

When the referendum passed on the third try, former Coach Bob Burt stunned his staff by accepting a coaching job at a Riverside County high school.

“It was a shock,” Lopez said. “Everybody was looking for jobs when the first two referendums failed, but when it finally passed, we thought we were all set.”

With no coach at the helm, Bunn agreed to run spring practice in the interim, though players were limited to rudimentary drills because nobody knew what scheme the unnamed coach would run.

Baldwin’s decision to cut loose the old coaching corps was hardly earthshaking--new coaches routinely bring aboard their own staffers. Baldwin thanked Bunn for holding down the fort, but elected to hire outside help.

“Dale’s a good guy,” Baldwin said. “But you need new blood. Nobody will say, ‘We did it this way last year.’ Change is not bad.”

Said Bunn: “I always knew in the back of my mind that it could be a real housecleaning.”

Hired by Baldwin were Ron Ponciano, defensive line coach at Missouri Western; Kendell Blackburn, an assistant at Mater Dei High; and Jeff Kearin, a former graduate assistant at USC.

The contracts of Lopez and Bunn expired May 31. Baldwin has four part-time positions still to fill.

Bunn, who is single, hopes to land a position as a scout or an assistant with an NFL team. Then again, he isn’t completely sure he wants to remain in coaching.

“I don’t know if this soured me on it or if I’ve just lost the urge to coach,” he said.

Lopez, who is recovering from knee-replacement surgery, said he probably will try to find a college position for 1996. His wife, a teacher at Hart High, will cover the family expenses for now.

“That’s football,” Lopez said. “Sometimes it’s one year, sometimes it’s 20. There’s no security. In this business, you have to be successful.”