Flowers Bloom in Montana

Fallout from turmoil surrounding the Cal State Northridge football program continues to take its toll.

The latest casualty? The Matadors’ brightest young assistant coach.

Aaron Flowers, the most prolific quarterback in Northridge history, is history as a Matador assistant.

After one season as quarterbacks coach, Flowers made a fly pattern this week for Montana State, where on Thursday he already was on the job under incoming Coach Mike Kramer, former coach of Eastern Washington.

Flowers was offered and accepted the position Tuesday. He left town Wednesday.

Thursday, Flowers’ head was still spinning.

“I’m freaked out,” Flowers said. “This has been so hectic.”

The whirlwind move was emotionally wrenching for Flowers, 24, a Southern California native with strong emotional ties to his alma mater. He didn’t want to leave Northridge, and Northridge didn’t want him to leave.

Flowers, who passed for 6,766 career yards before graduating in 1997, quickly has developed a reputation as a talented football mind. Much of the credit for molding Marcus Brady into one of the West Coast’s best quarterbacks the last two seasons must go to Flowers.

But financially strapped Northridge couldn’t afford to retain him. Given the growing uncertainty of the future of Northridge football, Flowers simply had no choice.

“It’s bittersweet,” Flowers said by telephone from Bozeman, Mont. “But it was something I needed to do. It’s a great opportunity for me. They’re committed [here] to winning football games. Just the overall picture here is better.”

Aside from earning a substantial pay raise--nearly four times his $10,000 salary at Northridge--Flowers leaps from a program whose days as a member of the Big Sky Conference appear to be numbered to one of the Big Sky’s most established programs.

Interim Coach Jeff Kearin, likely to be hired this month on a permanent basis at Northridge, called the loss of Flowers “a devastating blow to Northridge football.” But he wasn’t about to stand in his way.

“If he didn’t take the job, I would have fired him,” Kearin said jokingly.

No counter offer was made to Flowers. No realistic counter offer could have been made.

Part of the reason stems from the internal investigation that rocked the program last summer.

The Northridge football budget still pays the salaries of former coaches Keith Borges and Craig Wall, despite the two being reassigned to teaching positions during the last season.

Borges and Wall have been offered a return to the staff next season, although neither has responded to the offer.

Borges and Wall in October filed a $6 million claim against the university, alleging they were the victims of retaliation for cooperating with investigators. It is unlikely Borges and Wall will return, given their unpopularity on the team.

Yet, their salaries preclude a promotion for Flowers.

“I’ve been paying two coaches who are not working [as coaches],” Kearin said. “My budget was tapped. I didn’t have any money to pay [Flowers].”

Flowers was reluctant to take a parting shot at Northridge, although he probably has cause. He looked forward to a lengthy coaching stint at his alma mater.

Yet, he claimed circumstances rapidly transformed the school into a place he no longer wanted to be. Who could blame him?

The smoke from the investigation, which led to the firing of former coach Ron Ponciano and a recommended two years probation for the program, has yet to clear. Northridge awaits a response from the NCAA regarding the findings of the investigation.

Meanwhile, events continue to unfold that indicate Northridge soon will join a revamped Big West Conference. Officials of the Big West two weeks ago toured facilities at Northridge. They are believed to be preparing to make an offer to Northridge and UC Riverside in the near future.

If Northridge leaves the Big Sky, the Matadors will compete as an independent in football. Consequently, its number of scholarships will dwindle from about 55 to 30.

All of which spelled O-U-T for Flowers.

“What with the investigation and offering [Borges and Wall] new contracts and everything else, it just kind of wears on you,” Flowers said. “I wasn’t looking to go anywhere. The only real problem I had with the school is, there’s no vision. They don’t know where they want to go.”