DeKALB | On Dec. 19, NIU football head coach Joe Novak had five offensive coaches on his staff.

As of Friday, only tight ends coach Greg Bower remains with the Huskies.

“Every one [of these coaches] has doubled their pay and are going to BCS [Bowl Championship Series] jobs,” Novak said. “That’s the nature of schools like ours. If you’re hiring good people, others will notice.”

The latest school to take notice is Georgia Tech. The Atlantic Coast Conference power announced Friday John Bond, NIU offensive coordinator and assistant coach, would assume the same responsibilities with the Yellow Jackets next season.

The announcement didn’t come as a complete shock to Novak. He knew Bond had interviewed for the job and received notification of his hiring Thursday.

Bond was a front-runner for the offensive coordinator position with the Miami Hurricanes.

With Bond not moving to Miami, Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey had a chance to interview the third-year NIU coach.

“John’s success with both the running game and the passing game sets him apart,” Gailey said. “The last three years at Northern Illinois, he put together one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. But before that, at Army, they threw the ball all over the place.”

Novak said despite the loss of four offensive coaches, the Huskies’ offense will not change dramatically next season.

“Coaches come in here and learn our offense,” Novak said. “Not that we won’t go through and add new little things, but the basis won’t change.”

The 12-year coach is preparing to interview candidates to replace Bond. Of these potential replacements, some are coordinators at BSC programs, while others are former head coaches.

“I’ve got about seven or eight who have contacted me. I’ve particularly contacted two or three,” Novak said. “We’re always pleased with our coaching hires.”

Novak understands that his assistant coaches can use NIU as a stepping stone to move on to other programs. To him, it’s the nature of running a successful mid-major program. Novak said he just can’t compete with the offers, which fiscally more than double those of current NIU coaches.

While his assistants may move on to BCS programs and to more money, Novak has no intentions of moving on.

“When I came here, my career was winding down. This is my retirement spot, but not for these early coaches,” Novak said. “That’s unique for my career and my age.”

The other three coaches that have left are Sam Pittman, offensive line coach/assistant coach, to North Carolina; running backs coach Thomas Hammock to Minnesota; and wide receivers coach Carnelius Cruz.