Tomey returns to WAC
as San Jose State's
head coach

The former Hawaii coach will
take over the Spartans and
succeed Fitz Hill, a source says

SAN JOSE, Calif. » Dick Tomey, the career leader in coaching victories at Arizona and Hawaii, has been hired to revive San Jose State's struggling football program.

A school source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed yesterday that Tomey will succeed Fitz Hill, who resigned earlier in the month after four losing seasons.

San Jose State scheduled a news conference for today, but didn't disclose the reason.

The 66-year-old Tomey currently is the assistant head coach at Texas under Mack Brown, helping to prepare the team for Saturday's Rose Bowl. The Longhorns declined comment through a spokesperson.

Tomey went 158-110-7 in 24 seasons at Hawaii and Arizona, including 14 mostly successful seasons in Tucson, where he helped build the famed "Desert Swarm" defense. The Wildcats won four bowl games during his tenure, including victories in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl and the 1998 Holiday Bowl, and compiled the second-most Pac-10 victories in the 1990s.

Tomey also won 63 games in 10 seasons at Hawaii, leading the program's move to Division I. He hired Bob Wagner as his defensive coordinator, who later succeeded him as head coach for the Rainbows. After Wagner was fired by UH in 1995, he rejoined Tomey as an assistant at Arizona.

After Tomey left Arizona following the 2000 season, he spent two years as a broadcaster at KFVE-TV (Channel 5). He would later say he enjoyed those two years in the broadcast booth with Jim Leahey, but that he wanted to coach again.

Tomey returned to the San Francisco 49ers last season as an assistant defensive coach. He joined the Longhorns as Brown's assistant and the defensive ends coach in January.

His hiring is the first big decision for athletic director Tom Bowen, another former 49ers employee hired just last week. Bowen also considered former UH assistant coach Ken Margerum for the head-coaching position.