The Pistol Offense, which head football coach Nigel Burton is installing during spring drills in April and May, is a work in progress.

As practiced at Burton's former school, the University of Nevada, it's not unusual to find the team running on third and long. In Coach Burton's view, the system's passing game needs to be upgraded. And, that's one of the reasons he brought Offensive Coordinator Bruce Barnum onto his PSU coaching staff.

“Bruce is an experienced offensive coordinator and he is experienced in the passing game. The Pistol Offense passing game needs some upgrading, and he brings that expertise,” said Burton.

Under what he and Burton have in mind for the offense, “you're not likely to see us running very often on third and long. I'll be adding drop back passing to the game,” said Barnum, who came to PSU following three years as offensive coordinator at Cornell and five years as offensive coordinator at Idaho State University during a successful period during the early 2000s.

Running the Spread Offense at Cornell, Barnum oversaw an offense where five offensive line members earned All-Ivy-League honors. The Big Red led the league in passing yards and was second in total offense. In 2007, Cornell scored the second-most points for the program in 58 years.

At ISU his teams averaged 30 points per game in 2001 and 2002, when the Bengals were Big Sky Conference co-champs with Montana. In 2003, the Bengal offense scored 394 points, second-most in school history and ranked sixth nationally in passing, 20th in scoring and 21st in total offense. In 2004, ISU threw for 3,611 yards, third-most in school history and, in 2005 the running game went for over 1,700 yards and 23 touchdowns.

“I'm here to change the Pistol offense's passing game. I'm bringing my passing system, which is an offshoot of the west coast passing game. You'll see a lot of the same routes that most west coast schools run,” Barnum said.

Developed from former Washington State Coach Mike Price's offense and mentor Phil Earley, Barnum's system worked well at Idaho State.

With his Big Sky credentials, Barnum was one of the first people contacted by Burton after being named Head Coach last December. And, Barnum was thinking about it when a head coaching change was announced at Cornell.

“Here we were, all ready for Christmas ('we've got the presents, let's go see grandma') when this was dumped on us. One of the first things I did was text Nigel: 'game changed',” Barnum said.

Barnum's delighted to be back on the west coast, having prepped at Columbia River High School in Vancouver and played his college ball at Eastern Washington (he was recruited out of high school by then PSU Head Coach Pokey Allen).

Although his wife is from the East, “she loves the west coast and, in truth, I'd had enough of New York…the weather, the taxes, get me out of there.”

He's also delighted to be back in the Big Sky, which he described as a “talent-heavy league compared to east coast Championship Division leagues. Out here, if you want to play at this level, there are only the Big Sky and the Great West Conference. I love this conference. I played and coached in it.”

He's been tickled by the number of congratulation communiqués he's received from old friends out here “who've said 'I guess I'll have to be a Viking fan now'.”

The thing he enjoys most about coaching is being around student athletes.

“I like being a coach. It's certainly not about money. I enjoy being around student athletes,” he said, admitting that he carries with him letters from former players and from parents thanking him for his contribution to their lives.

He likes the chance to teach young players about the ever changing nuances of the game, how to play and “how to grow up and become solid citizens.”

The X's and O's don't change, he said, but football has gotten faster and bigger since his playing days. “In a technical sense, there aren't a lot of changes, but what has changed is the speed and size of the players. That changes a lot of things about how you play the game,” Barnum said.

So far career highlights have been winning the BSC co-championship at Idaho State. He also cited some big individual game wins, such as the year Idaho State beat Montana (2003). Other highlights include seeing some of his former players carve out successful careers at the next level.

Early into spring drills, Barnum was pleased with the talent in the PSU program. And, he was impressed with Coach Burton's approach to the game.

“Football is a mental game and I'm really impressed with how Coach Burton approaches the game, the discipline he instills in the players, the way he teaches them how to play the game,” he said.

As to this coming season, he demurs.

“I know there's a lot of talent here, although we probably need more tight ends. But, I've been away from the conference for three years and don't really know the overall talent level that well. I do know that the discipline that Coach Burton brings and his overall approach to the mental side of the game will give us a good chance. That'll keep us in some games.”

PSU is a young team, he said, an advantage when new offensive and defensive schemes are being installed.

When he's not working, Barnum likes to spend time with his family, wife Shawna and sons, 11-year-old Brody and eight-year-old Cooper, who are finishing up the school year in New York and will be joining him here in late June. It's obvious he misses them terribly.

His parents, who retired to Virginia following his dad's careers in the US Coast Guard (one of Barnum's coaching stops was offensive line and assistant head coach for the US Coast Guard Academy) and as an investigator for a local law firm, also are excited about Barnum's new position at PSU, he said.

“They have a lot of good friends here and this gives them a chance to come visit them. In fact, my dad and I just drove my car back here over spring vacation,” he said.

Burton said he's pleased that Barnum was available because “he knows the conference, he has recruited the west, he's from Vancouver and he's familiar with the area. Not to mention that he's a good guy.”

Barnum's road to PSU has been a bit of an odyssey with stops at Central Valley and Columbia River high schools and Western Washington, American International, and the aforementioned Cornell (actually, twice), Idaho State and the Coast Guard Academy.

College football coaching can be a merry-go-round as coaches frequently change jobs. But Barnum is glad to be back in the northwest, which is his home, and at Portland State.