LAYING DOWN THE LAW

Jeff Kearin’s law degree might come in handy someday, preferably later than sooner for the interim football coach at Cal State Northridge.

For now, Kearin, his brow reddened from two practices a day, is relishing his first head-coaching position, peppering players with encouragement, and working to prevent a motion for his dismissal in December.

“If I cheat or lose every game, I won’t get the job,” Kearin said. “I can’t predict what will happen. That’s my leap of faith.”

Uncertainty hovers over Kearin like the sun that bakes the Northridge practice field.

His name is omitted from many preseason publications, his office is the smallest among Northridge coaches. He recently was greeted by a parent offering an extended hand and an apology for not remembering his name.

The future of Northridge football, or so evidence might suggest, is in jeopardy.

Welcome back, Jeff.

Kearin, a Northridge assistant the last four seasons, insists he wouldn’t be anywhere else.

“I left here to come back here because this is one of the greatest jobs in football,” Kearin said. “I love this place. I wanted to get this job someday. I just didn’t think these would be the circumstances.”

To be sure, Kearin, 39, assumes control of a program wounded by turmoil. A two-month internal investigation into alleged violations of NCAA rules culminated with the firing of coach Ron Ponciano, the forced resignation of top assistant Rob Phenicie and a recommended two-year probation for the program.

Kearin, who left in December to become an assistant to John Robinson at Nevada Las Vegas, faithfully returned last month to provide stability to a program desperately trying to move forward. Kearin’s hiring was applauded by colleagues and players because of his background and affable approach.

“I’m real close to Coach Kearin,” sophomore quarterback Marcus Brady said. “I feel the season won’t be as much of a loss now.”

Brady, Big Sky Conference newcomer of the year last season and the Matadors’ marquee player, publicly threatened to transfer if Ponciano was fired.

He reconsidered after the hiring of Kearin, who recruited him out of San Diego Morse High.

“He was the only guy who could have held this thing together,” assistant Aaron Flowers said of Kearin. “As far as being on the field, dealing with the administration, handling the budget. . . . There were guys who could have come in and done parts of it great. But he was the only guy who could do them all.”

For his part, Kearin, the Matadors’ 11th coach and fourth in four years, can be certain only that he will earn a reported $42,500 this season and that he can reapply for the job as part of a national search in December.

Job security? Kearin, who earned his law degree from Whittier College in 1987, is confident he will be hired in December but he is taking no chances. He intends to take the state bar examination next year. He failed in his first attempt--too wrapped up in coaching.

“I grew up around lawyers and that’s where my influence was,” Kearin said. “I love the law. For me, it’s as close to the competitive environment you can get. But then I caught the coaching bug.”

Kearin, who was a quarterback at Loyola High and a longtime coach at his alma mater, entered the college ranks at USC in 1990. He has had a variety of respected mentors, including Robinson, Larry Smith and George Allen, who was grooming Kearin to become an assistant at Long Beach State in 1990 before his death after one season as coach.

Robinson, who encouraged Kearin to apply at Northridge, described him as a bright coaching mind.

“Some people, as assistants, have the ability to just look and see the overall picture,” Robinson said. “Jeff obviously has always been an overall-picture kind of guy and that will serve him well as a head coach. I thought it was a real no-brainer for him to take [the Northridge job]. He’s not going to screw it up and the people are going to like him.”

Time will tell if the fortunes of Northridge football will send Kearin scurrying for his law books. The program has been the subject of debate because of controversy surrounding the construction of an on-campus stadium, which local residents vehemently oppose. Construction plans, although approved, are in limbo because of a lack of funding.

The athletic department is under the pressure of complying with gender-equity laws, spurred by a lawsuit against the California State University system by the state chapter of the National Organization for Women.

The Big Sky Conference, which Northridge joined in 1996, mandates that members compete in football. Northridge remains a member based on conditions of a memorandum of understanding that was extended in May for a second year. But the conference has threatened to drop Northridge if the school does not follow through with several criteria, including building the stadium and upgrading other facilities.

“The [university] presidents in the conference would have to be assured that the stadium process is far enough along and that it is going to happen,” said Doug Fullerton, Big Sky commissioner. “Northridge will give us the answer in the next 12 months.”

Athletic Director Dick Dull, hired in May, and Louanne Kennedy, interim president, steadfastly deny Northridge will drop football.

Kearin, as one trained to discern fact from fiction, zealously argues that rumors of the program’s demise are simply that: rumors.

“The only people who have been saying that are the media,” Kearin said. “People have been saying since I got here: ‘Oh, they’re dropping football, they’re never going to build a stadium,’ whatever.

“When I was in Las Vegas, people were saying, ‘Why do you want to do this?’ I said, ‘You don’t know this group of kids. And I’m not going to take it unless they’re going to keep football.’

“That was the one question I had: ‘Are you going to cut football?’ When I got here, it became abundantly clear to me that football is very important to [the administration]. They’ve assured me that they are not going to [cut it]. The president flat told me and she told the team: ‘We are not going to cut football.’

“Who do I put my faith in? A reporter or the athletic director and the university president? At some point, you gotta trust the people you work for.”

Northridge forwarded a 130-page report on alleged rules violations to the NCAA, which has a variety of options, including launching its own investigation and imposing its own penalties. The NCAA is expected to make a decision within six months.

Kearin, who said he has yet to read the report, is more concerned with matters at hand. That includes boning up on an oversized paperback he keeps at arm’s length atop his cluttered desk.

“Look at this thing,” Kearin said, holding up a copy of the NCAA Division I manual. “You go through this thing and tell me you can follow every rule.”

Ponciano was dismissed for allegedly committing a number of violations, including misappropriating funds, providing players with meals and improper payments, and generally disregarding directions from the campus compliance officer.

Kearin, who along with Matador assistants was interviewed extensively by investigators, pledges an attention to detail regarding rules.

“Rules have been broken here,” Kearin said. “And rules are broken everywhere. You self-report and you move on. I have no problem with that. I stand by everything I’ve done.”