CSUN TURNS TO KEARIN; EX-ASSISTANT GETS 6-MONTH CONTRACT TO STABILIZE FOOTBALL PROGRAM.

Byline: Chris Branam Staff Writer

Turned down twice before, Jeff Kearin finally got the job he's wanted for years.

In a move signaling some stability for a college football program on shaky ground, Cal State Northridge hired Kearin as its interim head coach on Thursday. A CSUN assistant for almost all of the last four seasons, he becomes the football team's fourth head coach in four years.

``I really didn't think it would happen this way or this soon,'' said Kearin, who applied in 1997 and '98 to be the Matadors' head coach. He was a finalist to Ron Ponciano last year.

``The last couple of days have been hard because two good friends of mine are no longer here. It's bittersweet, to say the least.''

Kearin, who was a CSUN assistant until taking a job as the special teams coach at UNLV last December, is replacing Ponciano, who was fired last week. Another friend, Rob Phenicie, resigned under pressure as offensive coordinator on July 7.

Kearin, 39, signed a six-month contract that pays him $42,500. He will reapply for the job in December when the school conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.

Former USC coach John Robinson, who made Kearin one of his first hires when he took over at UNLV last December, compared Kearin to former Trojans assistant and current San Diego Chargers coach Mike Riley.

``Jeff's a bright guy,'' Robinson said. ``He's very steady. He deals with people really well.''

Kearin's enthusiasm for the program and the San Fernando Valley, along with his administrative strengths and coaching connections, make him an attractive candidate for the long term.

CSUN athletic director Dick Dull called Kearin ``a unifying force'' for a team shattered in the past three weeks by the departures of Ponciano and Phenicie.

``(Kearin) comes with a strong reputation as a good football coach,'' Dull said. ``I attended a team meeting Tuesday night and I posed a few people's names. . . . and he was the predominant choice of our team.''

Kearin was an assistant under three head coaches at CSUN: Dave Baldwin, Jim Fenwick and Ponciano, who was fired last week after a school investigation uncovered what university president Louanne Kennedy called ``serious and substantial violations'' of NCAA and university rules.

Brennen Swanson, a senior linebacker who set a school record with 15-1/2 sacks last season, said Kearin's hiring is a strong vote of confidence from the university administration for the football program.

``Bringing in a familiar face is huge,'' Swanson said. ``That's exactly what we needed right now.''

But Aaron Flowers, the former CSUN All-American quarterback who is now the Matadors' quarterbacks coach, had mixed feelings about Kearin's return in light of Ponciano's firing.

``We all desperately do not want to get lost in this,'' Flowers said, ``because some unfortunate things happened to coach Ponciano. It's kind of a sad day.''

Kearin coached special teams at CSUN. He was the offensive coordinator in '95, and said he would probably take on that responsibility this season. As for the rest of the staff, Dull is giving Kearin the opportunity to interview the assistant coaches.

The staff situation should be finalized by next week. Dull said defensive coordinator Craig Wall and running backs coach Keith Borges, who are on directed vacations and haven't been in the football office since early May, are still on the payroll and neither will have his contract terminated.

Swanson said he doesn't think Borges or Wall should come back.

``I think if they did come back it would be a big distraction,'' he said.

Kearin inherits a talented and experienced team. Fourteen starters return from '98, when CSUN went 7-4, including 5-3 with a second-place tie in the Big Sky Conference, earning a national Division I-AA ranking for the first time.

The Matadors, who were picked to finish eighth by the conference coaches on Tuesday, are led by three players considered among the best at their positions in the conference: Swanson, sophomore quarterback Marcus Brady and senior wide receiver Aaron Arnold.

``It's going to turn out to be a great situation,'' Arnold said. ``(Kearin) is coming in with a great insight of how things should be done around here.''

Eastern Washington head coach Mike Kramer said Kearin was a good choice for the Matadors.

``I think (Kearin's hiring) will now thrust them back into the title hunt,'' Kramer said. ``Now they've got a fighting chance. The players now can grasp on to somebody that has some familiarity with them. This could be the best thing for Northridge in the long term.''

THREE'S A CHARM

A look at the career of Jeff Kearin, who was named Cal State Northridge's interim head football coach Thursday:

Dec. 1998: Joined John Robinson's staff at UNLV as the Rebels' tight ends and special teams coach.

1995-98: Assistant coach at CSUN, in charge of special teams. Was elevated to assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator in 1998.

1991-95: Assistant coach at USC. Started as volunteer assistant and elevated to graduate assistant in 1992. Worked with quarterbacks, placekickers, punters and long snappers.

1980-91: Assistant coach at Loyola High. Helped his alma mater win a Southern Section Division I championship in 1990.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Jeff Kearin, left, with athletic director Dick Dull, hopes to stabilize Matadors football.

(2) KEARIN

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box: THREE'S A CHARM (See text)