CU Coaching Search

December 5th 

Neill Woelk: Sanders already 1-0, having won the Press Conference 

From CUBuffs.com … Less than 24 hours after his arrival, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders is already 1-0 in Boulder.

But Colorado’s newly hired football coach didn’t just win his introductory press conference Sunday afternoon. Sanders slayed it. He seized the moment, made it his — and took all who watched or listened along for the ride and left them yearning for more.

It was, quite simply, a press conference the likes of which Buffaloes faithful have seldom — if ever — seen in CU history.

Sanders delighted and dazzled a packed house and no doubt did the same to the thousands of folks who tuned in online. He vowed to win, he promised to produce a program that would yield quality young men, he pledged to make education important — and he charmed everyone by deftly mixing moments of swagger with a self-deprecating humility that fairly screamed of success.

But perhaps most importantly, he brought about a renewed sense of hope and confidence to a program that has experienced precious little of either commodity for too many years.

“All you want is the opportunity to win, to compete, to dominate, to be among the elite, to be among the best,” Sanders told a crowd that consisted of far more CU supporters than media members. “Darn it, I’m gonna give you that. We’re going to outwork ’em. We’re going to out-recruit ’em. We’re going to develop. We’re going to get our education. We’re going to graduate these young men … I just want you to know we are on the way. Not to compete but to win, not to show up but to show out, not to be among the rest but to be the absolute best.”

Sanders’ hiring completed a two-month search by CU Athletic Director Rick George, who spent countless hours researching and vetting potential candidates. His first contact with Sanders came via a short telephone call — and the two quickly struck a connection.

From that point, George began enlisting the support of CU’s administration, beginning with president Todd Saliman and chancellor Phillip DiStefano. Both were on board from the early stages and it then became George’s task to seal the deal.

Continue reading story here

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December 4th

*Must see TV: Deion Sanders Introductory Press Conference*

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*Video: Coach Sanders introduced to the team*

… You’re gonna love this … “I’m coming. Not to compete, but to win. Not to show up, but to show out” … 

*Video: Coach Sanders tours the Champions Center for the first time*

… Well worth your time, but if you are looking for great reactions, don’t be too disappointed. The tour was at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning (basically 3:00 a.m. for Sanders and his family … after a pretty long day) …

Neill Woelk: Home run? Nah. Bigger than that

From CUBuffs.com … Home run?

Nah. Bigger than that.

Colorado’s hiring of Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders isn’t just one swing of the bat. Sanders’ arrival is a program-changing, 180-degree tectonic shift that will immediately turn the focus of college football squarely on Boulder once again.

The analogy that fits?

With Colorado’s struggling football program facing a fourth-and-10 from the Buffaloes own 20, Athletic Director Rick George didn’t just try to extend the drive.

To heck with simply moving the chains.

George wanted to change the scoreboard, one that has seen Colorado on the short end of a long stick for too many years.

So George threw deep. He surveyed the field, studied the defense, considered the odds, and then ignored the conventional wisdom that suggested the Buffaloes should play it safe.

George went for the win — and if you listen closely today, you can hear Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson …

“Touchdown! Touchdown Colorado!!”

Indeed.

Colorado’s hiring of Coach Prime is in every respect a game-changing moment. His arrival signifies a renewed commitment from everyone involved, from the very top of the CU administration on down.

The message is clear: The flagship program of CU Athletics is important. Its success is integral to the overall health of every program in the department — and it is incumbent upon every stakeholder involved to ensure the program is provided every opportunity to succeed.

Only time will tell what kind of results such a commitment will produce. But no crystal ball is needed to know this much:

Colorado football is relevant again.

Overnight.

Continue reading story here

Strike up the Band!

Members of the CU marching band – and Ralphie – on hand in Boulder this morning to greet Coach Prime

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A Note from CU athletic Director Rick George to the Buff Nation

I’m excited to announce that we have hired Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders as the 28th full-time head football coach at the University of Colorado.
Coach Prime is a nationally prominent figure who will provide an unprecedented lift to our football program and our university and will instantly make the Colorado Buffaloes a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.
Coach comes to CU Boulder after an incredibly successful three years as head coach at Jackson State, where he went 27-5, won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference titles earning him back-to-back SWAC Coach of the Year honors, and in 2021 he won the Eddie Robinson Award as the season’s Football Championship Subdivision coach of the year. He is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 14-year career in the NFL, the College Football Hall of Fame, and spent nine years playing Major League Baseball.
Beyond those impressive accomplishments, Coach is a charismatic motivator whose passion and enthusiasm for his student-athletes will make him a great fit for CU Boulder.
We will officially introduce Coach at a press conference on Sunday, December 4 at 1:30 p.m. You can watch the press conference live on CUBuffs.com or via social media.
I greatly appreciate your continued support of Colorado Athletics and hope you will join me in welcoming Coach Prime to the CU family. Go Buffs!

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December 3rd

… Today … Is … This … The … Day!! … 

Coach Prime informs his team that he is leaving for CU

CU Press Release: Deion Sanders named head coach 

CU Press ReleaseDeion Sanders, known as “Prime Time” during his Hall of Fame playing career and has since transitioned into “Coach Prime,” has been named the 28th full-time head football coach at the University of Colorado, athletic director Rick George announced Saturday evening.

            Sanders, 55, joins the CU program from Jackson State University (Jackson, Miss.), where in three seasons the Tigers compiled a 27-5 record and won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference championships competing on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level; that mark includes a 12-0 record this season.  Jackson State defeated Southern, 43-24, in the SWAC title game on Saturday.

“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” George said.  “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”

At Jackson State, Sanders achieved tremendous success on and off the field as a fierce advocate for additional exposure and a level playing field for all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Sanders brought national attention to HBCUs, pushing for opportunities to highlight its talent and the culture.  In March 2022, Sanders held a Pro Day featuring athletes from four other schools in the state of Mississippi to provide a platform in front of 22 NFL teams and the Canadian Football League.  In April 2022, Jackson State became the first HBCU to have its spring football game televised live nationally on ESPNU.

“Deion Sanders’ stature transcends sports, and his hiring elevates not only the football program but the university as a whole,” said CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano.  “I’m thankful Deion has chosen to join our Buffalo family and I applaud Rick George for a truly inspired choice.  This is an exciting new chapter in the long, storied history of Colorado football and I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our students, supporters and fans to cheer on “Coach Prime” and our student-athletes next fall.”

Sanders first game as head coach for the Buffaloes will be next Sept. 2 at TCU, currently ranked third in the College Football Playoff standings.  His first home games follow on Sept. 9 against long-time rival Nebraska, with in-state rival Colorado State on tap the following Saturday.  Those two foes open the 100th season of CU’s historic Folsom Field.

            The “Coach Prime” docuseries from SMAC Productions will premiere later this month on Prime Video and cover Jackson State’s undefeated season and Coach Prime’s arrival in Colorado.

CONFIRMED! Sanders informs team he is accepting position as Head Football Coach at the University of Colorado

From BuffStampede.com … The long wait is over. Nine weeks after Karl Dorrell was fired as the Buffaloes’ head football coach, Deion Sanders has accepted Colorado athletic director Rick George‘s offer to lead the herd going forward.

“Coach Deion Sanders has just informed his team that he is accepting the position as Head Football Coach at the University Of Colorado,” reported 247Sports college football analyst Carl Reed, who was with Sanders in Jackson on Saturday.

Sanders comes to Colorado after three seasons as the head coach at Jackson State, where he went 27-5 and won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships. The Tigers are undefeated in 2022, following a 43-24 victory over Southern in the SWAC title game on Saturday.

Reed reported South Florida was also in contact with Sanders for its head coaching vacancy. Sanders said there other suitors for his coaching services while trying to deflect questions about the future leading up to Saturday’s SWAC title game.

The 55-year old Sanders becomes the 28th full-time head coach in Colorado football history. Including three interim head coaches, Sanders becomes the ninth head coach in Boulder in the last 13 years.

The CU Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Sunday at 10 am (MST) to approve Sanders’ contract, which is expected to be for more than $5 per year with a large salary pool for his staff.

From the Daily Camera … It’s now Prime time in Boulder.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders has agreed to become the next head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, according to a BuffZone source.

Sanders, 55, will be the 28th full-time head football coach in CU history, replacing Karl Dorrell, who was fired on Oct. 2. Mike Sanford had been serving as interim head coach since Dorrell’s dismissal.

Nicknamed “Prime Time” during his stellar NFL career as one of the greatest cornerbacks to play the game, Sanders now goes by “Coach Prime,” and he comes to CU after a transformational three-year run at Jackson State, an historically Black college/university (HBCU) in Jackson, Mississippi.

… According to reports, Sanders and his associates have already starting the leg work in assembling a coaching staff and they’ve already talked to recruits about potentially coming to CU.

There is speculation that Sanders will bring his son, Shedeur, to play quarterback for the Buffs. A sophomore, Sanders threw four touchdown passes in Saturday’s win against Southern. This season, Shedeur completed 70.3% of his passes for 3,063 yards, 32 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

Even with his son playing quarterback, coach Sanders will take on a major rebuilding project at CU. He will be CU’s fourth full-time head coach since 2018.

Continue reading story here

Reading the Tea Leaves – Sanders’ flight to Boulder; Special Meeting of Regents set for Sunday morning

CU Athletic director Rick George is presently in Dallas, meeting with the College Football Playoff selection committee.

As sourced out by some enterprising Buff fans, there is a private plane leaving Dallas tonight, heading for Jackson, Mississippi. Later tonight, that same plane heads for the Boulder airport. It’s not a stretch to believe that Rick George is picking up CU’s next head coach tonight, then escorting him back to Boulder.

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Oh, and there is a special Board meeting of the Board of Regents set for Sunday morning at 10:00. The topic? Personnel matter at CU Boulder – Athletics …

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ESPN – Sanders preparing to take CU job: “They weren’t exactly hiding anything”

MeanwhileFrom Brian Howell at the Daily Camera“No deal yet, but hype growing around Deion Sanders leading CU Buffs”

From ESPN … Jackson State coach Deion Sanders has been preparing to make an exit in order to take the head coaching job at Colorado, sources told ESPN on Friday.

With Jackson State on the cusp of the SWAC title game Saturday, Sanders and his associates have spent the week making inquiries to both potential members of his on-field staff and support staff at Colorado, pitching them to join him in Boulder, sources said.

A source told ESPN on Friday night that Sanders’ outreach included a call to a prominent player in the NCAA transfer portal, encouraging him to not make a decision because Sanders was heading to Colorado and wanted to recruit him there.

A different source close to a player committed to play at Colorado said that earlier this week a current Jackson State staff member called to check in on the player’s Colorado commitment. He also asked him for some film of the player to evaluate him.

“They weren’t exactly hiding anything,” said the source. “It seemed like it was a done deal.”

Internally at Colorado, according to sources, the support staff has been seen preparing material for Sanders’ hire. There’s a widespread expectation in the building that Sanders will arrive there this weekend, although the staff has not been told formally.

“They’re not doing a great job of hiding this,” said a staff source. “If he backs out of this deal, it would be a huge problem for Colorado.”

Sanders has said publicly that he’s been offered the Colorado job. All signs point to him accepting it in the next 48 hours, as all the other candidates Colorado has engaged have been stalled after interviewing weeks ago.

Continue reading story here

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December 2nd

Hopefully … Just … One … More … Day … 

Report: CU offering Deion Sanders $5 million/year (plus incentives)

From CBS Colorado … CBS News Colorado has learned the University of Colorado planned to offer Jackson State Head Football Coach Deion Sanders a starting salary of more than $5 million per year to become the next head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.

Three sources familiar with the negotiations say CU is also offering Sanders a bevy of incentives that if reached, could significantly elevate his annual salary. All three sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized by CU to release details of the tentative offer.

Those sources told CBS News Colorado’s Justin Adams the University Board of Regents approved making a multi-year offer to Sanders. Earlier this week, Sanders confirmed he had received an offer from CU, but he did not disclose the details.

According to the CBS News Colorado sources, if Sanders achieved nearly a dozen contractual benchmarks, his annual pay would increase by roughly 40%.

Continue reading story here

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December 1st

… Two Days and Counting … 

The Athletic on Cincinnati opening: “I have no substantial evidence that Cincinnati is in the Deion Sanders sweepstakes”

From Justin Williams of The Athletic … It’s why time is of the essence for Cunningham and the Bearcats, as is making the best hire for the future of a program set to enter the Big 12. I released an initial list of potential candidates this week, as did The Athletic’s Chris Vannini and Bruce Feldman.

Below is an updated list of candidates based on coaches I’ve heard have received some degree of buzz or interest for the Cincinnati job. That should not suggest this list is definitive or all-encompassing, because as we saw during the Wes Miller search with basketball, Cunningham keeps a tight lid on these proceedings. It admittedly doesn’t look too different from my initial list. There are only a couple of new additions, but it’s not a wish list, either. I’ve also trimmed off a few names that I haven’t been able to substantiate in the days since.

One name that Vannini, Feldman and I all had on our initial lists was Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, with the caveat that he might not be willing to leave the Cyclones. Multiple sources familiar with the search have confirmed that Cincinnati did reach out to express interest in Campbell for the job, but that Campbell declined to pursue it.

Are there any other sitting P5 head coaches the Bearcats could reasonably make a run at, who might be looking for a change of scenery? Jeff Hafley at Boston College? Scott Satterfield from Louisville (who happened to be a candidate in 2016)? None have emerged thus far, dividing the current options into three categories: G5 head coaches, P5 assistants and internal candidates.

G5 head coaches

Jason Candle, Toledo

Sean Lewis, Kent State (new addition)

Mo Linguist, Buffalo

Power 5 assistants

Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin defensive coordinator

Brian Hartline, Ohio State wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator (new addition)

Alex Golesh, Tennessee offensive coordinator

Al Golden, Notre Dame defensive coordinator

Cunningham’s search seems to be concentrating on candidates with Ohio/midwest roots and a similar profile to coaches who have succeeded at Cincinnati in the past. The most obvious questions are a) How willing is Cunningham to go with an internal candidate? and b) How much of a premium does Cunningham place on head-coaching experience?

It’s not necessarily a flashy batch of names overall. (Sorry folks, I have no substantial evidence that Cincinnati is in the Deion Sanders sweepstakes, aside from this industrious attendee at the UC men’s basketball game Wednesday night.) But despite what some revisionists might suggest, there weren’t many who were overly giddy about the Fickell hire at the time it was made, either.

Continue reading story here

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November 30th 

… Three Days and Counting …

*Video – Deion Sanders Jokes about CU Offer (Good)*

… The reaction to a question from Jackson State play-by-play announcer Rob Jay – I think – is very positive. Sanders could have taken the opportunity to say he was staying, or that he was still making up his mind. The announcer seems to think Sanders is coming to Boulder, and he probably knows more than we do … 

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November 29th 

… Four Days and Counting … 

One competitor out of the way? Georgia Tech may have found its new head coach

From ESPN … Georgia Tech has targeted interim coach Brent Key as the school’s next head coach, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

The deal is expected to be finalized in the next 24 hours, sources told ESPN.

Georgia Tech went 4-4 with Key as the interim coach as he took over a program that started the season 1-3 under Geoff Collins, who went 10-28 with the Yellow Jackets before being fired Sept. 26.

Key led the Yellow Jackets to wins over Pitt, Duke, Virginia Tech and North Carolina as they finished 5-7, showing dramatic upticks in energy, performance and fundamentals.

Key is a former team captain and All-ACC offensive lineman at Tech, starting 44 games from 1997 to 2000. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2019 and has served as the assistant head coach, run game coordinator and offensive line coach before becoming the interim head coach.

The sides were expected to meet Tuesday afternoon, and an agreement is expected to come together soon after. Key will be the first hire for new athletic director J Batt, who came from Alabama to help revive Tech’s athletic department, which has struggled financially and athletically in recent seasons.

The school interviewed 10 to 12 candidates, including Tulane coach Willie Fritz, sources told ESPN.

Tech struggled to lure a big outside name because of the school’s reluctance to guarantee large portions of the contract, with the amount of guaranteed money a nonstarter for some candidates.

The school owes Collins more than $11 million, and financial concerns are significant.

Pro Football Focus Predictions: Deion Sanders to Georgia Tech; Ryan Walters to Colorado

From Pro Football Focus … The end of the college football regular season means the beginning of two of the most entertaining periods of the sport: bowl games and “silly season,” better known as the coaching carousel.

There are now eight Power Five openings. Here’s who we predict to fill each job.

STANFORD CARDINAL: CHRIS PETERSEN (FORMER WASHINGTON HUSKIES HC)

David Shaw resigned after leading the Cardinal for 12 seasons, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach along the way. However, it hasn’t been pretty for Stanford over the past few seasons. The Cardinal have gone 3-9 in back-to-back campaigns and have a 14-28 record over the past four years.

Chris Petersen hasn’t coached since 2019, but he could be the man to revive this program. The current FOX analyst has had plenty of success on the West Coast. He led Boise State to four top-10 finishes in the AP poll during his eight years with the Broncos. Then at Washington, he guided the Huskies to two Pac-12 championships and even made the College Football Playoff in 2016. That’s still the most recent Pac-12 appearance in the final four.

Plus, Petersen was reportedly interested in the Stanford job back in 2011, when the Cardinal ended up hiring Shaw to replace Jim Harbaugh. If there’s any job to persuade Petersen to pick up the clipboard again, it could be Stanford.

GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS: DEION SANDERS (HC, JACKSON STATE TIGERS)

Georgia Tech needs to make a splash hire, having gone without a bowl game appearance in the past four seasons. Who better to turn things around than Coach Prime?

His Tigers are currently 11-0 and sitting at No. 5 in the FCS in just his third year as head coach. Last year, Jackson State went 11-3, including a conference championship.

Sanders has also dominated on the recruiting trail. Last year, the Tigers landed one of the nation’s top overall recruits in Travis Hunter and a top-75 recruit in Kevin Coleman Jr. despite not playing in the FBS. The program finished with the 78th-best overall class in 2022, higher than four Power Five schools. At Georgia Tech, he can potentially compete with Kirby Smart and Georgia for some of the state’s best players.

Not to mention, he has ties to the Atlanta area, as well. He not only played for the Atlanta Falcons during his Hall of Fame football career, but he also spent a few years with the Atlanta Braves during his baseball career.

The Yellow Jackets can afford to take a swing of the bat on Deion Sanders. It’d at least provide increased exposure to a program that needs it.

COLORADO BUFFALOES: RYAN WALTERS (DC, ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI)

Like fellow Pac-12 school Arizona State, the best candidate to take over at Colorado could be a former alum. Ryan Walters spent five years as a safety for the Buffaloes before serving as a student assistant there in 2009.

Now the defensive coordinator at Illinois, Walters has overseen one of the nation’s stingiest defenses. The Fighting Illini rank fifth in the country in both defensive grade (93.1) and EPA allowed per play (-0.258).

Colorado is in desperate need of a defensive rebuild. The Buffaloes have a putrid 37.3 defensive grade this season, 16 points lower than the next-worst school in college football.

Special Board of Regents Meeting set for December 7th

… It doesn’t necessarily mean that the new coach will be Deion Sanders, but it does seem to indicate that there will be a meeting to approve the contract for the new head coach … And the fact that the meeting is set for next week instead of this week seems to indicate that the announcement will be made this weekend or early next week … 

From the CU Board of Regents website

Special Board Meeting (Hold)

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November 28th

… Five Days and Counting … 

CU Players react to Sanders rumors

From the Daily Camera … Following Saturday’s game a few players were asked about the Sanders rumors.

Guard Casey Roddick said the players haven’t talked much about the rumors. Quarterback Maddox Kopp said he works out with Shadeur Sanders, Deion’s son and JSU’s starting quarterback, during the offseason in Houston.

“We work out with the same QB coach,” Kopp said. “I’m sure I may see him when I’m back (in Houston) over Christmas break. But, I have no idea (about the coaching rumors). If it happens, it happens and we just kind of go from there. Just kind of playing it by ear and kind of react when the ball comes flying.”

Freshman running back Anthony Hankerson smiled when asked about Sanders and said, “Whoever comes in here, I know they’re gonna have great leadership. And whoever comes here, I hope they know that they’ve got a locker room full of men that’s willing to fight in the toughest battle because that’s all we faced this year.”

Senior outside linebacker Guy Thomas won’t be at CU for the next coaching regime, but said he feels the Buffs simply need a great leader, regardless of who gets hired.

“That’s pretty much what I would like to see out of the new staff – a coaching staff that will bring the guys together as one unit,” Thomas said.

 

Deion Sanders confirms CU offer, but focus remains on Saturday’s SWAC Championship game

From YouTube … “Yeah, definitely, the report is true,” said Sanders “They’re not the only ones. The report is true. I’m not going to sit up here and tell you all of the business, but they’re not the only ones. And I’d be a liar if I said they didn’t (offer). You know, they did. I know they did. Everybody knows they did. So it is what it is.

“That’s not my focus right now. My focus is to win and to be dominant and then to even go on to the Celebration Bowl, my focus is right here in this beloved stadium, to be dominant Saturday. That’s my focus. I keep the main thing, the main thing. Everybody that knows me, knows that about me. I have an innate ability to focus to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Grading New Hires: Wisconsin; Nebraska; and Arizona State get high marks from ESPN

From ESPN

Kenny Dillingham to Arizona State

Is this a good fit?

Adam Rittenberg: After the Herm Edwards experiment failed, Arizona State needed a coach who understands its advantages and challenges, but someone who also brings perspective from other programs. Dillingham checks the boxes as an alum who has worked in the SEC, ACC and now the Pac-12 as an offensive coordinator. He’s incredibly well-connected in the state recruiting scene, where Arizona State hasn’t done nearly as well as it could, especially with quarterbacks. Dillingham will hire a staff with similar roots and connections, and ASU soon should keep more of the best prospects at home. His age and lack of head-coaching experience are understandable concerns, but he’s a “young old guy” in a sense, given how many prominent places he has coached. Plus, ASU has a history of hiring older coaches and not getting enough out of them. Why not try a different approach?

What will be his biggest challenge?

Rittenberg: Uncertainty surrounding the NCAA investigation and Arizona State’s administrative leadership. Dillingham takes over a program unsure of what awaits with potential NCAA penalties. Athletic director Ray Anderson’s future also remains in doubt. The circumstances are less than ideal for a first-time head coach who will have an inevitable learning curve. Dillingham will provide excitement, but it’s more important he brings stability to a program that hasn’t had much in the past year and a half. Things may get worse before they get better, and Dillingham’s ability to navigate what’s ahead could shape his tenure in Tempe.

Grade: B+

Dillingham will inject energy into the program and fan base. He looks at ASU as a dream job and understands the environment he’s entering. But young coaches often struggle under the best of circumstances, and Arizona State’s situation is far from ideal right now. Dillingham’s staff and support hires will be incredibly important, especially during what could be a rocky first few seasons.

Matt Rhule to Nebraska

Is this a good fit?

Rittenberg: Nebraska needed to reclaim its identity after the messy Scott Frost era, and Rhule has the ingredients to provide what the Huskers need. Athletic director Trev Alberts has been clear that Nebraska must improve significantly along the line of scrimmage and return to its roots as a tough, run-oriented program.

Rhule’s teams at Temple and Baylor reflected that approach, and his ability to change the style of play at Baylor (and, to a lesser extent, the Big 12) undoubtedly jumped out to Alberts and the Huskers brass. Nebraska needed a coach who understands some of the realities in the Big Ten, and who can build a team more like Wisconsin and Iowa than Ohio State. Rhule played in the Big Ten at Penn State and embraces the traits that work in the league and that Nebraska has never fully adopted.

Rhule didn’t pan out in the NFL, and some Nebraska fans may be concerned about a Bill Callahan redux (Callahan, after all, also arrived with a strong reputation for line play). But Rhule’s successful college head-coaching experience makes him different. He also has worked in different regions and should help Nebraska recapture the types of players needed.

What will be Rhule’s biggest challenge?

Wilson: The burden of history. Nebraska has lost the mystique that it earned as a powerhouse for decades. He’ll be facing blueblood expectations in the face of a changing college football landscape in which Nebraska’s reputation has fallen. The Cornhuskers have become an also-ran in the Big Ten, winning three or fewer conference games for six straight years. That won’t impact his coaching style, but when you’re at a program that has won 43 conference championships, there are still factions that expect you to restore the program to glory quickly.

Low: This is not your grandfather’s, or even your father’s, Nebraska. The game has changed. The landscape has changed and living up to the incredible standard that Tom Osborne set is unrealistic. But once fans get a taste of that kind of success, even if it was more than two decades ago, they never lose that taste. Rhule needs time to build his program the way he wants to, and it’s not going to happen overnight.

Grade: A-

Nebraska landed a proven college head coach who will immediately upgrade the team’s line-of-scrimmage play and reflect the right style of play for the Big Ten. Rhule might not be in Lincoln forever but he can stabilize Nebraska’s program and restore some of the values the Huskers lost along the way and need to finally compete regularly in the Big Ten.

Continue reading story here

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November 27th

Arizona State hires Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as its next head coach

From ESPN … Arizona State has hired Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as the school’s next coach.

Arizona State officially named Dillingham as head coach Sunday but said the hire is pending approval by the Arizona board of regents.

Dillingham is a 2012 graduate of Arizona State and a native of Arizona. He’s a former high school coach in the state and started his college career at Arizona State as an offensive assistant in 2014.

“We are proud to announce Kenny Dillingham as our new head football coach. He brings the energy, knowledge and appreciation of our state and university that is valued by all of us,” athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement released by the school. “His knowledge of the current college football landscape, learned by coaching across the nation, is needed and wanted at ASU. He will care at the highest level about our state, our alumni, our former players and every single group that is important to help us win. We look forward to working with him and all Sun Devils in making his staff successful and helping our program reach our goals.”

Dillingham, 32, will become the youngest coach in the Power 5. He replaces Herm Edwards, who was fired in September after a loss to Eastern Michigan. The Sun Devils went 3-9 after massive losses in the transfer portal and are in the throes of a major NCAA investigation.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be named the head coach at Arizona State University,” Dillingham said in a statement. “This is a special place to myself and my wife who is also a graduate. I truly believe the team we will build here is one that the state of Arizona and all Sun Devils can rally behind and be proud of as it will take everyone in the valley to help this program achieve the level of success it is due. I am excited to get to work and promise no one will work harder than the staff we will put together.”

Dillingham has worked as the offensive coordinator at Memphis, Auburn and Florida State, working for Mike Norvell and Gus Malzahn. He’s done his best work this year under the Ducks’ first-year coach Dan Lanning, who came from the defensive side of the ball.

Continue reading story here

David Shaw resigns after 12 seasons at Stanford: “It’s time”

From ESPN … Stanford head coach David Shaw has resigned after 12 seasons at his alma mater.

Shaw announced his decision to step down, effective immediately, after Saturday night’s 36-25 loss to BYU in Stanford’s season finale.

“I prayed about it, I thought about it,” Shaw said. “With every hour it seemed, it was more cemented in my head. The phrase that kept coming to me is: ‘It’s time.'”

Shaw, 50, said he had not considered resigning until earlier this past week and said he has no desire to coach another team at this point.

“I am not burnt out,” he said. “I’m healthy; I feel good. But 16 years is a long time. … 16 years of running a program, 16 years of being responsible for everything and everybody catches up to you.”

Shaw steps down as the winningest head coach in Stanford history with 96 career victories. His resignation comes after back-to-back 3-9 seasons and a stretch since 2019 where the Cardinal have gone 14-28.

Stanford is 3-16 in Pac-12 play the past two seasons, including consecutive losses to rival California.

“There are a lot of people that think this program is down. That’s what our record says,” said Shaw, who finished with a 96-54 record at Stanford. “But I look at the components. I look at the people here, the support that I’m hearing coming from our athletic director, from our university president, the people that are behind the scenes. We’re not that far away.”

Continue reading story here

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November 26th

The Athletic on CU’s offer to Deion Sanders

NoteNothing really new in this article, but posting on the offer has become all the rage, so here you go … My sentiment is the same as one poster on the message board for BuffStampede.com: I’ve been silent and staying that way until ink is dry. Too many scars … Totally agree … 

From The Athletic … Colorado has offered Deion Sanders the head coaching job, sources with knowledge of the situation tell The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Here’s what you should know:

  • Through three seasons at the helm of Jackson State, Sanders has compiled a 26-5 record. He finished the 2022 regular season 11-0, recording the first undefeated season in program history.
  • Colorado had been seeking a replacement for Karl Dorrell, who was fired in October after the Buffaloes started the season 0-5.

Backstory

Sanders brought a national spotlight to Jackson State and HBCU football during his three seasons leading the Tigers. In December, he won the recruiting battle for five-star cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2022 who had previously committed to Florida State. Sanders also has family ties to Jackson State, as two of his sons play for the Tigers. Shedeur Sanders is the team’s starting quarterback while defensive back Shilo Sanders transferred from South Carolina to play for his dad.

As an athlete, Sanders played 14 seasons in the NFL, recording 53 interceptions and 22 total touchdowns. “Prime Time” was an eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time Associated Press First-Team All-Pro, 1994 Defensive Player of the Year, two-time Super Bowl champion and first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Colorado parted ways with Dorrell on Oct. 2 after the team suffered a 43-20 loss to Arizona in which the Buffaloes allowed 673 total yards and six passing touchdowns. The program has surpassed five wins in a single season only once over the last 10 years (10-4 in 2016).

Nebraska (CU opponent in ’23 and ’24) hiring Matt Rhule

From ESPN … Nebraska has zeroed in on Matt Rhule as the Cornhuskers’ next head coach and the two sides are working on finalizing a deal in the coming days, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Rhule, who was fired by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in October, previously had successful stints in college at Baylor and Temple.

If hired by Nebraska, Rhule would replace Scott Frost, who was fired from his alma mater earlier this season.

The Cornhuskers (4-8) finished their 2022 campaign with a 24-17 win against Iowa on Friday, and an official announcement on the hire could come in the next few days, sources told ESPN.

Rhule, 47, was less than three seasons into his seven-year, $62 million deal with the Panthers when he was fired after a 1-4 start to this season. Overall, he was 11-27 with Carolina, and the team went 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points.

He was still owed more than $40 million when he was fired by the Panthers.

Rhule had a reputation for turning programs around. In his third season at Temple, the Owls went 10-2 in the regular season. A year later, he led the program to its first conference championship since 1967.

At Baylor, just two years after going 1-11 in Rhule’s first season for the Big 12 program, the Bears went 11-3 in 2020.

The Cornhuskers fired Frost on Sept. 11 after a 1-2 start to the season and promoted Mickey Joseph to interim head coach.

Continue reading story here

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November 24th – Happy Thanksgiving!

DNVR Speculation on Deion Sanders coming to CU

… And no, they don’t know any more than you or I do …

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November 23rd 

ESPN: “Momentum cooled” on Bronco Mendenhall and Tom Herman? 

From ESPN … Hiring season is here.

For more than two months, the college coaching carousel has included firings, impacting four of the five power conferences (only the Big 12 has been spared). But the time has come for schools to hire replacements, or at least close in on their top two or three targets. Charlotte kicked off the hires last week with a surprising and intriguing choice in Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi, an accomplished high school coach who has never led a college team. The school interviewed Power 5 coordinators and others with college head-coaching experience but went outside of the box with Poggi.

There’s an increased urgency to the hiring decisions, as the transfer portal will open Dec. 5 and the early signing period for high school recruiting begins Dec. 21. Assistants with teams still looking for head coaches have emphasized the need for hires to be made soon.

“We’re going to lose all our good players to the portal,” a Power 5 assistant said last week.

Wisconsin interim coach Jim Leonhard, who many think is the top candidate for the permanent job, has repeatedly stressed the need to make decisions soon.

“Teams are tampering with other teams’ players,” Leonhard said last week after a loss to Iowa, in the wake of rumors about Badgers running back Braelon Allen considering a transfer to Michigan.

Leonhard recently told ESPN: “The sooner decisions are made around here, I think a lot of people will feel more comfortable with the direction of the program.”

Decisions are coming soon, so here’s the latest we’re hearing about the open jobs around college football.

Colorado

Athletic director Rick George has been very active the past few weeks, talking to candidates with many different profiles. Until recently, two former FBS coaches not currently working — Bronco Mendenhall (BYU, Virginia) and Tom Herman (Texas, Houston) — had generated the most attention for the Colorado job. But sources told ESPN earlier this week that momentum has cooled considerably with both.

Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, a former team captain at Colorado with deep roots at the program, remains a strong candidate to watch. But Colorado has leaned more toward candidates with head-coaching experience, including Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate, the former Montana State coach. Current FCS coaches such as North Dakota State’s Matt Entz and Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor, a graduate assistant at Colorado in 1995, could get closer looks. Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, also is increasingly a name to watch. Colorado sources stress that it’s imperative the school makes a hire soon, as the roster damage could be significant if the search continues much past Saturday’s season finale.

Arizona State

ASU’s search has gone at a slower pace than others, but things seem to be getting organized for a late November push. Along with athletic director Ray Anderson, executive vice president/COO Chris Howard is expected to have a key role in the search. Former Texas and Houston coach Tom Herman certainly is an option, as he has connections to the two states (Texas and California) that ASU must mine for players.

Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham should gain consideration despite his age (32). Dillingham, an ASU alum with deep roots in the Phoenix area, has had an excellent season with quarterback Bo Nix and the Ducks’ offense.

… Now that we’ve reviewed the ongoing searches, here’s a look at other potential hot spots that could open up in the next week or so …

Stanford

The David Shaw era, which began with such incredible progress, has reached a junction. He almost certainly won’t be fired, but changes are needed for a program that is 14-27 since the start of the 2019 season. Will Shaw make the necessary adjustments, or consider stepping aside, perhaps into an administrative role at the university? Both are viable options, according to industry sources.

Read full story here

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November 22nd

CBS Sports: Ryan Walters “largely considered the favorite”

From CBS Sports … Sunday has all the indications of being a coaching free for all. There are currently eight openings now that the first has been filled with Charlotte hiring Michigan assistant Biff Poggi, but more changes are ahead.

Though pink slips have been limited over the last few weeks, teams looking to make changes are likely waiting until the regular season concludes. That means a handful firings are likely ahead this Sunday — and there may even be some programs ready to make hires now that their top candidates have moved on to postseason play.

Our final Hot Seat Rankings update earlier this month covered many of the jobs that could still come open this cycle. As such, it’s time to take one last look at some of those programs before asking who might fill the positions already vacant.

Potential future openings

  • West Virginia: In Year 4, Neal Brown is headed for his worst season with the Mountaineers — 4-8 if they lose to Oklahoma State. Does the administration even wait to hire a new athletic director?
  • Navy: It will seemingly be Ken Niumatalolo’s call after 16 seasons. The Midshipmen haven’t had a winning campaign since 2019.
  • New Mexico: Danny Gonzales is in the middle of his worst season with the Lobos (2-9, 7-23 overall).
  • Texas State: Jake Spavital, Johnny Manziel’s former offensive coordinator, is 13-34 in Year 4.
  • Texas A&M: No, not Jimbo Fisher. But he’ll most likely be convinced to hire a play-calling offensive coordinator.

Last year, there was record 31 job changes. It won’t be anywhere near that this carousel. Maybe ADs are becoming more patient. Maybe there aren’t that many jobs to fill. Going into this season, there had been 72 job changes across the last three years.

What we’re hearing

Arizona State

Watch for Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham to get a good look. ASU may fall into one of the best hires of the cycle. The talented Dillingham seems to be the leader in the clubhouse, but you never know with an administration that got rid of Herm Edwards then retained the AD who hired him (Ray Anderson). Dillingham, 32, is a proven commodity despite his relative youth. His quarterback, Bo Nix, may get a Heisman Trophy invite. Dillingham would be given all kinds of resources to turn around the Sun Devils. In the new Pac-12 (without USC and UCLA), why can’t ASU compete for a playoff spot every year?

Los Angeles Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown is said to be interested. Jackson State’s Deion Sanders has already taken his name out of the running saying he’d never go “West.”

Colorado

Northwestern defensive coordinator Ryan Walters is largely considered the favorite. Walters played safety for the Buffaloes from 2004-08. If he somehow doesn’t get the job, there is a long line of worthy contenders. Departed Auburn coach Bryan Harsin is interested, as is former Texas coach Tom Herman, former Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall and Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor. Texas analyst and former TCU coach Gary Patterson is also interested in getting back in somewhere.

Note … Ryan Walters is the defensive coordinator at Illinois … which shows you how much CBS (or anyone else) is paying to the CU Coaching search … 

Note II … Check out the Deion Sanders “quote” with regard to Arizona State opening. Message boards seem to think Sanders is choosing between Colorado and South Florida … Goes to show no one really knows what is going on behind the scenes … 

Read full story here

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October 19th 

Thinking Outside The box: Trading Coaching Salaries for NIL Enhancements

From ESPN … Perhaps this is the year we stop being numb to the waste, to the GNP of small countries being spent on coaches not coaching. The year when buyout numbers north of $10 million are no longer merely eye-popping and instead become an impetus for rethinking the spending structure.

So far, through five full weeks of the college football season, jobs are opening at a never-before-seen rate. Power 5 schools Nebraska, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Colorado and Wisconsin have already made changes. There’s a chance both Auburn and Louisville end up joining them before Halloween.

Per terms of those contracts, the five jobs would have required paying out more than $60 million in dead money. Some of that will be lessened through negotiated buyouts, including at Wisconsin.

… Can schools find creative ways to spend on players as opposed to burning millions for guys to sip Coronas in beach chairs? While blue bloods such as Alabama and USC aren’t changing course, could there be a Moneyball formula that emerges to help downtrodden programs such as Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Nebraska or Colorado bounce back?

Some college football power brokers think so.

“I think there’s a healthy reallocation of resources toward the players and less toward guaranteed contracts,” a Power 5 athletic director told ESPN. “I don’t know if that can happen overnight, but we could see it initially with assistant coaches and staffing.”

Head-coaching salaries at established powers aren’t going to go down significantly. There’s such a thin marketplace for strong candidates that the guarantees on deals aren’t likely to dip much, either. The big buyouts are an acknowledgement the coaches are in demand enough that they require long deals with big guarantees.

And the rise in early-season firings isn’t going to change, either. Schools can gain a strategic advantage with a quick hook because it allows a new coach to come in and evaluate the roster. Being prepared to attack the transfer portal and December signing day is crucial, but perhaps even more important is a new coach recruiting his own roster to avoid a postseason exodus.

While poaching a current head coach would occur on the same end-of-season timeline, hiring an assistant or someone out of the game could provide a head start. Last year, Texas Tech (Joey McGuire), UConn (Jim Mora Jr.) and Georgia Southern (Clay Helton) made their head-coaching hires in November. All three schools are currently outperforming preseason expectations.

What change can be made? A reprioritization of where schools are asking their boosters to allocate money.

Instead of asking donors to pony up for the biggest-name coach on a big-money deal, they could look for them to spend that money on NIL deals. Mid-level Power 5 schools could look to find the next Sam Pittman, the Arkansas coach who wasn’t atop anyone’s list of hot candidates when he came to the Hogs at a reasonable cost and turned the program around.

An athletic director could bring in a high-energy young coach or a proven winner at the FCS level, and with the savings on salary, offer them assurances they’ll have the resources to have flush rosters. High-end talent is required to win anywhere, and offering a coach better access to it would seemingly be the best possible recruiting technique.

“That would be a rational approach,” said another Power 5 athletic director. “It may not win the press conference, but it would make a lot of sense. I’m skeptical that athletic directors would have that kind of discipline.”

With rules changes opening the door for schools — via collectives, of course — to indirectly compensate players, it will be interesting to see if schools begin marshaling their resources differently. A school could look to divert a few million dollars that had previously been earmarked for staff salaries and put it toward players.

Schools can’t do this directly. But if the money from the local car dealership or big donors is moved to the player recruitment and retention side via the collective, it could represent a paradigm shift. For example, could the extra money Nebraska used to get rid of Frost in September have been used to get NIL deals for a top junior quarterback or a few highly regarded defensive linemen?

Coaches are the biggest stars with the biggest salaries in college football. That’s not going to change. But the infrastructure around them could. Instead of $300 million facilities — which resonated more as a recruiting tactic in the pre-NIL days — some of that money could be redirected to roster maintenance and management. Instead of $1 million defensive line coaches, could we see $400,000 defensive line coaches, with that extra cash being used on recruiting and retaining defensive linemen?

Continue reading story here

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October 18th

CU hires search firm of Eastman & Beaudine to assist in coaching hire

From the Daily Camera

Colorado has retained the search firm of Eastman & Beaudine to help with the process of hiring a full-time head football coach. According to a BuffZone source, CU has had a “high level of interest” in the job, leading to the decision to hire a search firm.

CU fired head coach Karl Dorrell on Oct. 2, with Mike Sanford taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Athletic director Rick George employed Eastman & Beaudine in 2018 and the firm helped CU in the process that brought Mel Tucker to Boulder as head football coach that winter.

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October 12th

Jon Wilner weighs in with his CU candidates

From the San Jose Mercury News … By dismissing Karl Dorrell last week, the administration gained two months of preparation time. So long as a successor is in place by early December, the Buffaloes will have a chance to salvage a 2022-23 recruiting class that’s better than you might think given the on-field product.

In fact, we began our research into Colorado’s hiring process right there — with recruiting.

Absent a head coach who can maximize the talent pipeline, the Buffaloes will be right back in this position in three or four years, mired at the bottom of the standings, looking for a head coach and hoping to recapture the glory years.

CU is a tough job, one of the toughest in the Pac-12. A chief reason for that existence is the lack of in-state talent. Colorado not only compares poorly to California but also to Utah and Arizona.

… If the local talent leans big, perhaps the Buffaloes should consider hiring a coach with that background: Someone who was an offensive lineman, has coached and developed offensive linemen or, at the very least, favors a run-heavy scheme.

The list below, grouped into three categories, is more comprehensive — we selected coaches with backgrounds in other facets of the game.

But CU should consider reverse engineering its search strategy, first determining what style of play is most likely to succeed given the talent pipeline, then finding a coach who can maximize that pool of players.

Candidates we dismissed for various reasons but might reconsider later in the search: Utah State coach Blake Anderson, UNLV coach Marcus Arroyo, former CU player/Chiefs coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Rice coach Mike Bloomgren, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, former Texas coach Tom Herman, Oregon State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, BYU coach Kalani Sitake, Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor

*** Up-and-comers

Head coaches at the Group of Five level or coordinators in the Power Five who could be desirable options come December.

San Jose State coach Brent Brennan: The Bay Area native and UCLA graduate rates an 11 when it comes to recruiting energy and community engagement, and his Spartans are on their way to a second MW division title in three years. In every regard except alma maters, Brennan is the anti-Dorrell.

Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell: One of the hottest coaches in the Group of Five is 28-3 since the start of the 2020 season. He has no experience coaching in the western half of the country and might have his pick of Power Five opportunities. In that regard, he’s both an up-and-comer and a reach candidate.

USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch: If the Trojans keep winning and the defense isn’t a hindrance, Grinch will be the top coordinator candidate within the Pac-12. He spent a few years on the Wyoming staff, then ran Mike Leach’s defense in Pullman for three successful seasons before moving to Ohio State and Oklahoma. Put him on the short list.

Read full story here

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October 7th

Athlon Sports adds some new names to the prospect list

From Athlon Sports … Karl Dorrell was fired as the head coach at Colorado on Sunday. The Buffaloes were just 8-15 under Dorrell and were off to an 0-5 start in the 2022 college football season. Colorado ranks last in the Pac-12 in scoring offense and defense and lost all five of its games by 23 or more points. Defensive coordinator Chris Wilson also was dismissed on Sunday. Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford is expected to work as the interim coach for the remainder of the year. The Buffaloes are off in Week 6 before returning to play on Oct. 15 versus California.

Who could replace Dorrell at Colorado? Here are some names to watch:

Blake Anderson, Head Coach, Utah State
Utah State is off to a slow start in 2022 (1-4), but Anderson is 63-44 overall as a head coach and has previous experience working at a Power 5 program from a stint at North Carolina (2012-13). Anderson went 51-37 and had just one losing season at Arkansas State from 2014-20. He inherited a Utah State team that went 1-5 in ’20 but guided the program to an 11-3 mark with a Mountain West title in ’21.

Brent Brennan, Head Coach, San Jose State
Brennan’s name could pop up in the search at Arizona State, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him mentioned at Colorado. The California native has Pac-12 experience from stints as a graduate assistant at Washington and Arizona, along with a six-year run as the receivers coach at Oregon State (2011-16). San Jose State is not an easy job but Brennan has brought steady progress to the program. After a 3-22 start, the Spartans are 20-16 over the last four years and won the Mountain West title in ’20.

Willie Fritz, Head Coach, Tulane
Fritz has won at every stop in his coaching career and should get a look for Power 5 openings this offseason. The Kansas native went 97-47 at Central Missouri from 1997-09 and guided Sam Houston State to a 40-15 mark over four years (2010-13). He departed the Bearkats for a two-year stint at Georgia Southern (2014-15) and guided the Eagles to a 17-7 mark. Fritz took over at Tulane in ’16 and is 35-44 at one of the AAC’s toughest jobs. The Green Wave are 4-1 through five games this season and posted at least six wins in three consecutive years (2018-20).

Alex Grinch, Defensive Coordinator, USC
Grinch’s name is likely to pop up in searches this offseason, as the Ohio native has helped USC’s defense take a big step forward in his first year with the program. The former Mount Union player has no head-coaching experience but has built a solid resume from other stints as an assistant at Missouri, Washington State, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Jay Hill, Head Coach, Weber State
If you are looking for an under-the-radar coach to watch in Colorado’s search, Hill could be a name to remember. The Utah native worked with the Utes as an on-field assistant from 2005-13 and took over at Weber State prior to ’14. The Wildcats went 2-10 in his debut but hasn’t posted a losing record in each of the last seven years. Weber State is 62-36 under Hill and has earned five trips to the FCS Playoffs.

Jeff Lebby, Offensive Coordinator, Oklahoma
Lebby doesn’t have any experience as a head coach, but he’s one of the rising stars in the assistant ranks and a wide-open style of play would certainly work in the Pac-12. The Texas native had stops as an assistant at Baylor, Southeastern, UCF and Ole Miss before landing at Oklahoma prior to ’22.

Sean Lewis, Head Coach, Kent State
Lewis runs a wide-open offense and has an entertaining style of play that would be a good fit in the Pac-12. Also, the Wisconsin native is one of the youngest head coaches (36) in the nation and a rising star in the MAC. Dino Babers’ protege went 2-10 in his debut (2018). However, the Golden Flashes – one of the MAC’s toughest jobs – are 19-17 over the last three years and won the East Division in ’21. Lewis is a native of Wisconsin and has no Pac-12 coaching experience.

Todd Monken, Offensive Coordinator, Georgia
Monken is among college football’s top play-callers and has experience as a head coach from a three-year stint at Southern Miss (2013-15). The Golden Eagles showed marked improvement over his tenure, as the program went 1-11 in ’13 but finished 9-5 two years later. Since the stint at Southern Miss, Monken has worked in the NFL (Buccaneers and Browns) and has called the plays at Georgia since ’20. Monken has no Pac-12 experience but has a wealth of experience from stops at Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State and LSU.

Read full story here

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October 6th

The Athletic: Head coaches CU “should at least ask”

From The Athletic … Paul Chryst’s ouster from Wisconsin Sunday was a surprise. But Karl Dorrell? Not at all.

Colorado is 0-5 and 4-13 in the past two seasons. The roster is dreadful by Power 5 standards. This is going to be a really tough job. It doesn’t have a great recruiting base, and it’s got a pretty shaky positioning regarding conference stability. Colorado also hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons in almost 20 years, dating back to 2004-05. There’s been just one Top 25 season in the past 20 years, a No. 17 finish in 2016 under Mike MacIntyre.

How can Colorado fix this? Who wants to try? The latter is just as important a question.

Candidates with head coaching experience

Bronco Mendenhall: Former BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is available. He’s a defensive-minded coach who had a solid run at Virginia after going 99-43 at BYU. He knows this region well and would feel like a pretty safe hire. Would he fire up the fan base? Probably not, but could he develop the Buffaloes into a bowl team? Probably.

Kalani Sitake: The guy who followed Mendenhall at BYU, Sitake would also make some sense. His teams are always very physical and play hard. Sitake has a strong recruiting reputation on the West Coast and in Hawaii, which is a big bonus. He also has a lot of Pac-12 experience and is doing an excellent job at his alma mater. He is 25-5 the past three years. BYU is headed to the Big 12 and that likely means more stability, or at least certainty, in Provo than Boulder. Would he be tempted to leave what he has for Colorado? We’re skeptical, but the Buffaloes should at least ask.

Troy Calhoun: The Air Force coach, 56, knows the area very well from his time at the Academy and as a Denver Broncos assistant. He’s a creative offensive mind and a consistent winner. In the past four seasons, he’s 28-9.

Justin Wilcox: An Oregon native, Wilcox is only 29-30 at Cal but that is a very challenging Pac-12 job for all sorts of reasons. Because of that, we think he might be open to making this move if CU makes a real push for him.

Bryan Harsin: Another former Petersen assistant, Auburn head coach Harsin might merit a look. It seems like a long shot he’s going to be in the SEC much longer. He’s 9-9 in a year and a half at a place where most of the key Auburn folks never wanted him in the first place. If and when Harsin gets pushed out, he might be worth a look in Boulder. He led Boise State to four Top 25 seasons in seven years there.

Ricky Rahne: Old Dominion’s head coach, a Colorado native, doesn’t have a ton of head coaching experience. He also doesn’t have a winning record at the Sun Belt school, going 8-10 so far, but he led the school to a bowl in his first year and then to a win over Virginia Tech in the opener this season. The former Penn State OC is expected to at least get some consideration, but obviously it’d help his cause a lot if the Monarchs, 2-3, can start piling up some wins. Knocking off Sun Belt power Coastal Carolina on the road in their next game would be a nice start.

Read full story here

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October 5th 

Another list: Three current FBS coaches would be good fits for Colorado

From YouTube … 365 Sports weighs in …

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October 3rd 

Daily Camera adds more names to the list

From the Daily Camera … But, here’s BuffZone’s initial list of candidates to keep an eye on as the Buffs go through their hiring process.

Blake Anderson, Utah State head coach: Aggies are off to a rough start (1-4), but Anderson led them to the Mountain West title last year, his first in Logan, Utah. He also won two Sun Belt titles during his time at Arkansas State. In eight-plus seasons as a head coach, he has a 63-44 record with three bowl appearances. Also has extensive experience as an offensive coordinator.

Marcus Arroyo, UNLV head coach: After going 2-18 in his first two years at UNLV, Arroyo is 4-1 with the Rebels this year (including a win over Anderson’s Aggies). Has more to prove as a head coach, but built a great reputation as an assistant, most recently as the offensive coordinator at Oregon from 2017-19. A California native and former San Jose State quarterback, he has deep roots in the Pac-12 footprint.

Jeff Grimes, Baylor offensive coordinator: Has never been a head coach, but he’s had very prolific offenses as a coordinator, both at Baylor the last two seasons and at BYU (2018-20). A long-time offensive line coach, he knows Boulder. He was the Buffs’ line coach/assistant head coach from 2007-08. Has spent the past 22 seasons coaching at either BYU or Power 5 schools.

Alex Grinch, USC defensive coordinator: Another highly respected assistant who has yet to be a head coach. He transformed the Washington State defense as the Cougars’ coordinator from 2015-17. After spending 2018 at Ohio State, he was hired as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2019. This year, he followed head coach Lincoln Riley from Norman to Los Angeles.

Tom Herman, CBS Sports: He was fired by Texas on Jan. 2, 2021, four days after his depleted roster routed CU, 55-23, in the Alamo Bowl. He went 32-18 with four bowl wins and three consecutive top-25 finishes in four seasons at Texas, but that wasn’t good enough for Texas. It’s more than good enough in Boulder. Herman also went 22-4 in two seasons as Houston’s head coach (2015-16). Prior to being a head coach, he spent 10 years as an offensive coordinator at four stops (Texas State, Rice, Iowa State, Ohio State).

Jay Hill, Weber State head coach: A Utah lifer, he may not have interest in CU – and he’s clearly a lower profile name than most on the list – but it’s worth a look. The Wildcats are 4-0 this year (including beating Utah State) and Hill is 62-36 with four Big Sky titles and five FCS playoff appearances in nine years. Prior to that, the Lehi, Utah, native and former Utah cornerback was a long-time assistant with the Utes (2001-13).

Troy Taylor, Sacramento State head coach: The engineer of high-powered offenses, Taylor finally got a head coaching opportunity in 2019 at Sac State. In his two full seasons (the 2020 season was canceled), he led the Hornets to two conference titles and he was Big Sky coach of the year both times. This year, his team is 4-0 (for the first time since 1982) and ranked No. 5 in the FCS. He was Utah’s offensive coordinator from 2017-18 and spent one year (1995) as a graduate assistant at CU.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA head coach: Now in his third season at UTSA, Traylor is the reigning Conference USA coach of the year. He led the Roadrunners to a 12-2 record and C-USA title last year. He is 22-9 overall (3-2 this year). The Texas native has previously worked as an assistant at Texas, SMU and Arkansas.

Read full list here

CBS Sports lists its potential candidates

From CBS Sports

Troy Calhoun, Air Force coach: If you want a Rocky Mountain version of Lance Leipold, Calhoun is your man. The Falcons continue to lead FBS in rushing. Four times since 2017, Air Force has won 10 games; it defeated CU again this season by 31 points. Calhoun is a former NFL offensive coordinator. Don’t worry about the triple option thing. He runs that because he’s at service academy. Calhoun would run a conventional offense at Colorado.

Ryan Walters, Illinois defensive coordinator: Rick George is going to have to take a long, hard look at this rising star. Walters played safety for Gary Barnett and Dan Hawkins from 2004-06. In 2009, he was a student assistant before embarking on a career that took him to Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois. Bret Bielema thought enough of the 36-year-old Walters to go get him from Mizzou. The Illini currently have the No. 3 total defense. Because of the complexities at CU, Walters probably needs a starter job elsewhere.

Bryan Harsin, Auburn coach: We provide this as a public service announcement, but it makes total sense. Harsin is a trout out of water in the SEC. He is much more comfortable in the cool, native streams of the West. OK, enough of the analogies. Call it a bounce back after the inevitable. But that would be the problem with the hire. Harsin would come to CU on the rebound.

Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator: This another name that must be on the list … just because. Bieniemy is an all-time hero with the Buffaloes. His accomplishments in the NFL as a Super Bowl assistant shouldn’t have to be recited. But there is the concern that no NFL team has hired him.  What might kill this candidacy is obvious: Bieniemy was Jon Embree’s offensive coordinator. Embree lasted two years.

Dan Mullen, ESPN analyst: Mullen is interested in getting back into the game after a year on the sideline following a collapse at Florida. Don’t know how his personality would mesh with Colorado, but the Buffaloes absolutely have to consider one of the best coaches not presently leading a team. Mullen has a career record of 103-61 with seven bowl wins. He remains a quarterback whisperer, and as we’ve found out time after time, if you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance.

Willie Fritz, Tulane coach: One of the most respected names in the game. Fritz showed his ability eight days ago in an upset at Kansas State, then followed it up with a win at Houston. He has coached at every level — high school, community college, Division II, FCS, FBS. A Power Five opportunity awaits. Fritz is off to one of his best starts at 4-1 this season. One drawback: Fritz is 62.

Barry Odom, Arkansas defensive coordinator: Odom is ready to put himself out there three years removed from his firing at Missouri. Arkansas went to another level defensively went Sam Pittman hired him in December 2019. Odom shaved 85 yards per game off the Hogs average from 2020-21. He also brings head coaching experience having gone 25-25 at Missouri.

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October 2nd

CU has more competition: Wisconsin fires head coach Paul Chryst

… Figures … CU can’t even keep the nation’s attention for an afternoon. There are now five open FBS coaching spots … Nebraska, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin and Colorado … CU definitely to be looked upon as the worst of the five … 

From ESPN … Wisconsin has fired coach Paul Chryst after the team’s 2-3 start, sources told ESPN.

Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season, sources said. The decision came Sunday, a day after Wisconsin lost 34-10 to Illinois, coached by former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Wisconsin fell 52-21 to Ohio State on Sept. 24, one of its worst losses in recent memory, and fell at home against Washington State as a heavy favorite.

Chryst, 56, finishes 67-26 in seven-plus seasons at Wisconsin, his alma mater. He won 10 games or more in four of his first five seasons with the Badgers, winning a Cotton Bowl and and Orange Bowl, and three Big Ten West Division titles. But the program fell off beginning in 2020, going 4-3, before a slow start to the 2021 season.

According to Chryst’s contract, Wisconsin will owe him $16.4 million if he’s fired without cause, although a different settlement could be negotiated.

Leonhard, a three-time All-America defensive back at the school, returned to Wisconsin as an assistant in 2016 and took over as defensive coordinator the following year. He has long been viewed as a potential successor to Chryst and is expected to be a candidate for the permanent job.

The Athletic: What Names Could be in the Mix?

Note … The author of the piece, Chris Vannini, opened with the names of Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun. Easy names to put on the list, but neither are realistic candidates. Hopefully, the other names on the list involved more homework … 

From The Athletic

Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was a Colorado assistant from 2007 to 2008 and has done a good job producing a physically tough Baylor offense. The Bears improved from 100th in scoring in 2020 to 40th in Grimes’ first season, and that’s up to 28th this season. Last year’s Baylor offense finished ninth nationally in rushing yards per carry. The Texas-native Grimes has coached all over the country, and he’s been a Broyles Award finalist at BYU and Baylor in each of the past two years.

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin is not quite on the market yet, but he seems destined to be fired given the struggles this season, the loss of his athletic director and the upcoming schedule. He’s never been a natural fit in the Southeast. If he’s let go during the season, Colorado could take a look. Harsin went 69-19 as Boise State’s head coach, and the program has fallen off since he left. He’s a Boise native who knows how to recruit the West Coast and in Texas, where CU needs to find players.

Oregon State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren was Colorado’s OC from 2013 to 2017. He’s familiar with the program and one of the few times it had success in that 2016 season. Lindgren’s creative and shift-heavy OSU offense led the Pac-12 in yards per play last year.

Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne is a Colorado native. He’s 8-10 in his second season at ODU, including 7-4 in his past 11 games. The Monarchs sat out the 2020 season due to the pandemic and reached a bowl game last year. This season, ODU beat Virginia Tech and nearly beat Virginia as well.

Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain had a successful run as Colorado State’s head coach, going 22-15 from 2012 to 2014, including a 10-2 season. He won two SEC East titles in three years at Florida, and he’s 21-17 at CMU after taking over a 1-11 program. He’s a Montana native with lots of familiarity with the region, but his CMU team is off to a 1-4 start this season.

Former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich was Colorado’s offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2008 and has received interest for this job before. Helfrich went 37-16 as a head coach in his four seasons at Oregon from 2013 to 2016. Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy and Oregon reached the national title game in 2014, but the Ducks fell off quickly, going 4-8 two years later. Helfrich last coached in 2019 as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator, and he’s spent the past few years as an analyst for Fox.

Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has been on the West Coast since 2017, at Fresno State and now Washington, as Kalen DeBoer brought him to Seattle. The Huskies are now 4-1, with Michael Penix Jr. leading the nation in passing.

Former USF head coach Jim Leavitt would be a long shot, but he was a candidate when the job opened in 2018. Leavitt did a remarkable job turning around the CU defense as its defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2016, before leaving for the same job at Oregon. He last coached in 2021 as SMU’s defensive coordinator, and Sonny Dykes didn’t bring him to TCU.

North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz has continued the ridiculous level of success at NDSU, with a 41-5 record and two national championships in three-plus seasons. Chris Klieman’s success at Kansas State has shown that an NDSU coach can win at the Power 5 level, and Craig Bohl continues to do a solid job at Wyoming.

Weber State head coach Jay Hill is 62-36 in nine years and has turned the Wildcats into one of the top programs in the FCS. Weber State already beat defending Mountain West champion Utah State 35-7 this season as part of a 4-0 start. Hill was a Utah assistant from 2001 to 2013, so he has a deep understanding of how that program was built.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom went 25-25 in four seasons as Missouri’s head coach from 2016 to 2019, with just one losing season. The 45-year-old inherited an Arkansas defense ranked 124th in scoring in 2019 and improved that to 39th last year.

Former Virginia and BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall has plenty of experience in the mountains and out west. He’s 135-81 as a head coach, including 99-43 at BYU and 34-28 in his final five years at UVA. The 56-year-old is a defensive coach, but Virginia had one of the most explosive passing offenses in the country in his final years. He stepped away from Virginia on his own last year but made sure to say it wasn’t a retirement.

Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters was a Colorado safety in the mid-2000s and grew up in the state. The Illini defense leads the nation in scoring this year, most recently holding Wisconsin to two rushing yards in Camp Randall Stadium. In Walters’ first season last year, the Illini improved from 97th in scoring to 29th.

Read full story here

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166 Replies to “CU Coaching Search”

  1. I am beyond excited for this and can’t wait for the immediate boost this will give us! I honest,y didn’t think we’d have a chance but was proven wrong. He was not my first choice but I am excited to see where this goes. But… hear me out. Please tell me these 2 concerns are baseless.

    1. Automatically naming his son as QB. This automatically shuts the door on better QB,s (yeah, he’s fine I guess) and smells of nepotism. We could have done without that right of the bat. Is he doing this to push his sons rise? Which leads me to point two…
    2. His talk of buddy buddy with Rick, and Rick in other quotes saying he wasn’t sure how long he would be at Colorado….made it seem like a non verbal agreement may be happening along the lines of “if I land You (dion) at Colorado, I will be on the short list of every AD or commissioner job that opens up. If I go to the SEC or BIG program next, you (Dion) have a shortcut to national prominence, right when your son finishes at Colorado” Basically, could this be a setup to a stepping stone that will leave us barren in 2-3 years after we’re gutted?

    Oh gosh the past 2 decades have made me into panicked conspiracy theorist with anxiety. I can’t just be happy with good things anymore because we never get good things

    1. Hey hutch,

      Naming his son as qb: I love each of the kids who gave it their all the last two or three years in Boulder at that position, but you’ve seen the results. Best guy was 165lbs, soaking wet. Not a stretch to think shedeur will get the gig, by earning it. Unless they find someone better.

      2) I think Rick hopes Deion will exceed expectations, fall in love with Boulder, and never want to leave. And beyond that? Rick may be thinking if/when that happens, he may be over it too.

      Neither are concerns of mine.

      Go Buffs

      1. Ck’s qb worries have to run for recruiting more qbs for depth and development even if Sheduer turns out to be a bonafide starter. I’m a little concerned about that too. Bottom line anyone has to be better than the previous nepocrat’s kid.
        I also think Prime will head to a bigger name school if he gets the job done here. He has an ego, deservedly so, and it may feel the need. Bottom line is he gets the job done. I dont think he will dinner bell mel us. Mel came from alabama which gave him auto cred for whatever that was worth. Because of the possibility of a big name school the pressure is on Prime to get the job done.

        1. QB’s will have little issue coming to play for Prime, his kid being here, or not. At least that’s my expectation. We’ll know more in the next few weeks, I reckon.

          As to mediocre Mel? 5-7, 4-8, 11-2 (including their bowl, if I’m not mistaken, driven by an NFL and nearly Heisman RB) then 5-7 with kind of a smoldering dumpster fire around it. I agree. Deion won’t do that, nor will he bail after a year.

          Go Buffs

  2. From Marcus J …
    No other coach mentioned as a candidate could bring the electricity that Deion has brought. Just last month the task of correcting all that is wrong with CU football seemed like so many hurdles to overcome that CU would be lucky to solve even half of them and get a better than expected coach; but the hiring of Deion changes everything.

    The fact that the University moved relatively quickly to make some changes to the academic transfer rules was impressive. And the bare minimum expected to have any improvement in attracting and bringing in talent through the portal. The lack of NIL opportunities was another hurdle that seems to have some life under it, AND with Deion I can see that improving greatly too.

    Recruiting to the last place program in all of the Power5 would depend on the new coach’s ability to impress the players. A coach from a top five program, which CU wasn’t getting, could bring in the 4&5 star recruits, all others would be “dating within their weight class”. But Deion will come in and immediately attract top recruits, something even an established Power5 or a great up and coming Group5 coach would struggle to do at CU; it still is CU with a 1-11 record and some recruits would be show me first.

    But Deion’s hire is so electric that CU already has a 5 star commit… for 2025! AND, much buzz among others for this class too, including a top transfer already in the portal who, Deion told that he wants to bring to CU.

    Watching Deion’s introduction to the players and there were more than a few that looked worried about their place on the team and if they can impress enough to be around this season. He really put them on notice that respect and hard work will be necessary if they want to keep their place on the team because other are coming to take them away if you don’t work for it.

    They were attentive and respectful with a bit of “oh shit, this stuff is for real!”

    It’ll be interesting to see who stays to fight it out and who leaves looking for an easier chance at playing time elsewhere.

  3. “…we already got a couple of positions taken care of ’cause I’m bringing my luggage with me”

    – priceless

  4. Sure sounds like a coach
    When he was talking to the kids it sounds like there wont be a whole lot of dead wood or “me first” left on the team.
    He’s commin
    Who was the big player in the sleeveless sweats asking about coach retention?
    I wonder if he is goin

    1. I think it was Sami, but not sure. Probably loves Chatman, and with good reason. But I bet he stays as I think he has a year left?

      Also loved the summer workout bit. We’re gonna make you want to quit.

      Go Buffs!

  5. Where does Entz land ????????????

    Hopefully, at CU also. (BUT, it ain’t gonna happen). It would be nice to have him in the wings when Coach Prime Daddy turns the program around within 3 years and has to have the Nat’l Guard cordon off his house to keep BIG TIME P-5 A.D.’s from breaking down his door.

    JUST SAYIN’…..I don’t expect Coach Sanders to be around very long when you have BIG-TIME college A.D.’s salivating at the thought of recruiting him to their school.

    HOPE IT DOESN’T HAPPEN – ‘CUattheGame’ fans. HOPIN’ 20 years down thee road that CU will still have him after having won a dozen (Or More) Nat’; Championships. I won’t be around unless they find a way to develop Monster Formaldehyde Gator Aid.

    GO COACH SANDERS. Get the ‘Woken University’ up to speed mentally and change the Woken ideology so all incoming freshmen can sing the school song backwards at warp speed.

    GO BUFFS

    1. UR prophetic Jeff. (I mean it). Been hiding your crystal ball somewhere no one else can find it????

      We’re probably two of the few who can see reality in the forecast.

      Hope Not………GO BUFFS.

    2. I mean. We’re already a dumpster fire. At least that would be an EXCITING dumpster fire.

      Plus, if ASU has shown us anything, it’s that you can get away with basically anything and not get punished

    3. There will be smoke around Boulder from here on out, no question about that, but nominally there is no more NCAA watching the store – it’s the wild west now.

      When you got nothing… you got nothing to lose.

  6. Rumor has it Denver post confirming private flight from Jackson to broomfield arriving tomorrow at 11.45pm.

    Hope it isn’t just Rick returning home.

    Go Buffs

    1. It’s tonight at 11:45 p.m.
      Same plane is leaving Dallas tonight, heading first to Jackson, Mississippi.
      Rick finishing up work with the Selection committee, picking up Sanders, and heading back to Boulder tonight.
      Special meeting of the Board of Regents at 10:00 (reportedly to approve the contract)

  7. One comment on the current speculation:

    “Because only one thing counts in this life: get them to sign on the line which is dotted.”
    —Blake

    Go get him RG…

  8. Below was an answer to ep on the other page, but decided to move it here. Of course this is all assuming Deion comes to Boulder.

    It’s too bad that when the first Mac left that CU didn’t have a coach like KW from Utah in the wings to take over… And stay!

    It’s too bad that a “home run hire” with 50-10 record or something like that wasn’t the splash hire we thought he was.

    It’s too bad that he brought his QB son and ran every other good QB off, except one T Hanson, a hero for staying.

    It’s too bad that the splash hire of an Alabama guy resulted in another school out bidding CU to steal him a year later. I will always root against MSU’s little brother for that, they were just too desperate and lazy with one donor paying for them to double dinner bell mel’s salary to steal him away.

    It’s too bad that he trashed CU on the way out about lack of financial support making a hard task of replacing him at that time of the year even harder and CU ended up where it is today.

    I’m extremely shocked that CU came up with an offer big enough to land Coach Prime. I watched the report on 60 Minutes about him at JSU (recorded just to see his story) and when they asked him about moving on to a bigger profile (and paying) job, thinking no way would CU have a chance at him.

    After all of the hand wringing over NIL & the transfer portal, along with the lack of funds/commitment to hire a top candidate had me [us] worrying that CU is going to end up a permanent have not. And now if Deion is hired and changes to the academic transfer rules at CU change to reflex what our competition is allowed happen, CU could be back in one year…

    Or CU could blow it’s wad on this experiment, but it’s way more exciting than I/we could have imagined a month ago.

    One thing for sure, this year will be very exciting to follow.

    1. Gotta admire Hanson. I think he could have played for his father as well who also a college coach somewhere. Oh the irony….and persistence

        1. Earlier I said
          beggars cant be choosers
          if you havent looked around lately we dont have any qbs. At least Sanders kid has been very successful at his level (instead of high school) and almost anyone will be a better athlete than the flim flam spawn….probably me and you included.
          Remember back when we had a WR named Simmons or something like that who was the fastest kid on the team? He hardly played because was too fast for snail midget to get the ball to.
          But I digress
          We are taking a chance on a sonny boy again. I know that. But what else can we do? At least Sanders will recruit a lot more talent at other positions….maybe Blake Purchase included.
          Whether I support it or not doesnt make a damn bit of difference and you said you would support if hired.

        2. Dude, VK, worst case scenario, we end up where we were this season. The only “worse” would be dropping from the P5… which there was fair talk of doing voluntarily. This looks like a panacea. Enjoy this!! 😀

  9. Ohhhh boy!!!! Adam Schefter, ESPN, all reporting that he’s recruiting and building his staff!!!! Please don’t break my heart Prime!!!! This is all I want for Xmas

  10. So it looks like it’s going to be Sanders….. When his name first came up I pretty much discounted it as I didn’t think he would come here and I didn’t think we would take the risk. Super excited to be wrong. Rumor mill is Sanders is trying to pull the Rb coach from OSU to be his OC and the either the safety or cornerback coach from Alabama to be his DC. Really? After 20 years of second hand coaches we get what is likely the best recruiter in the nation and a great motivator and he brings in serious OC and DC from the biggest programs…. Eric, I never got to buy Stu that beer for losing the bet this year, but if that is the price I pay to get these coaches in this year? I will pay it gladly! The rumor on the contract also has me excited 5.5-6 mm a year with up to 40% in incentives. That is the sort of contract we needed. It is enough to bring in the #1 most talked about coach in this cycle, and with those incentives it will be enough to potentially keep him past when his son graduates in 2 years….. the administration stepped up more than I ever thought they would. This may the greatest turn around in the history of College Football. I can see Sanders fully revamping our team. Our die hard fans like me are going to need to get caught up on all the names. I suspect there is going to be a flood of them. We have seen a lot of guys entering the portal, some of them like Roddick I am a bit surprised by, but I gotta say I think Sanders is going to recruit over just about everyone on this team. And more than anything our current players, which I do be,ie e have talent, are going to have to work their butts off in the off-season if they want playing time. And that is what I think was missing in much of the past decade. If you all want something to watch start watching Coach Prime on YouTube……. Stu, I will see you for the Nebraska game next year, the beers are on me as Eric has determined that that is how I need to pay off my debt…..maybe you will end up at 2 game days within 12 months…….

  11. I’m not gonna lie. This week has been torture. I wish the fricken SWAC championship was last week. We would at least have clarity at this point. I want this so bad and I think this would be the boldest hire CU has ever made. I just so badly don’t want to be heartbroken. Go buffs!
    Philippians 4:6-7

  12. What the hell does that mean “ university of Colorado planned to offer”? Did they not offer and changed their mind, was the offer more or less? Can’t wait until this ends….. but sure hope he takes whatever the offer is

  13. 5 mil? Plus incentives? That’s a lot of money. Could have made a run at Clawson for that. Oh well, going to be Deion’s show now.

  14. Prime this………Prime that……..Prime, Prime, Prime.

    I’ve beaten the Matt Entz drum relentlessly, yet NO ONE SEEMS TO BE INTERESTED….WHY ????
    It would be a big step for Entz…..and I’m certain he doesn’t have rose colored glasses. Imagine, compare a head coach’s office in Brookings, S.D. with that of Boulder…..NO CONTEST.

    THIS WOULD BE A HUNKY-DORY SITUATION FOR ENTZ…..HE WOULD BE A HAPPY CAMPER AND SO WOULD THE BUFF FAITHFUL….

    Per Coaching candidates above: “North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz has continued the ridiculous level of success at NDSU, with a 41-5 record and two national championships in three-plus seasons. Chris Klieman’s success at Kansas State has shown that an NDSU coach can win at the Power 5 level.”

    1. ND HC has his office in Brookings SD? That’s quite a commute, he’d probably take the CU job for $80k and an office at the university.
      Problem would be recruiting, and I don’t think he’d be successful at that for awhile, leaving below average talent that we already have.

  15. Another one down: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35158075/ex-texas-coach-tom-herman-says-accepted-florida-atlantic-job

    If indeed it is Deion, making the announcement early Sunday morning would be absolutely ideal from an eyeball standpoint… Deion is a storyline in both college football and the NFL so the announcement would get important exposure to a huge audience on all the networks.

    CU’s 15 minutes of fame? maybe…. but the impact to the Colorado brand could be priceless

  16. Tom Herman went to FAU. Another giant opportunity missed. Par for the course. He’ll be back at a major program in 2 years.

  17. Stuart, I look forward to reading your upcoming essay highlighting our new coach and why or why not you believe he is the best candidate.

    You have already been brave enough to share your desire for CU to make the “splash” hire by landing Coach Prime. While you shared some of your reasoning for that choice in your comment to my last post, I would like to hear more about “splash” hires in general, i. e. When is a hire officially a “splash”? If/when the “splash” leaves in two or so years (again, assuming that happens) and many of the star/splash players probably go with him (see Riley to USC for details), aren’t we basically back at the same place we started? Why haven’t we been able to find our Coach Jonathan Smith from OSU or Kyle Whittingham from Utah? (Or, again, those at UW, WSU, KU, KSU) Anymore, CU seems to gentile for such blue-collar coaches but yet isn’t Hollywood enough to keep up with the Oregon’s and USC’s of the world–so we’re stuck in middle somewhere and can’t decide who we are…right?

      1. Your essay about Prime is so spot on…even if its 2 years (hopefully 4) it is worth it. The program is rock bottom, if he uses it as a stepping stone, but leaves the program as respectable it is worth it.

  18. Haha maybe, Pro Football Focus should concentrate on Pro Football because their insight regarding GT and Sanders was none. They just went with what sounded good, not what is.

      1. Its only Tuesday. Can you imagine all the rumors, confirmations, denials there will be until we get to Saturday Night? Whats hard is that we can only hope there will be a good ending, instead of being confident there wil be. At least for me anyway.

      2. I too have noted lots of USF pondering regarding Sanders. One angle not explored in depth are facilities. Sanders obviously cares deeply about that as JSU recently announced an $80 million dollar campaign for various athletics upgrades. Same for USF in serious need and who recently announced the opening of a new indoor practice facility about 3/4ths the size of CU’s. The USF plan also calls for added upgrades including an on campus football field (they currently play home games on the TB Buccaneers field), with an overall completion date of 2026. Now enter CU with it’s stellar upgrades in place. I recently opined that CU administration isn’t known for doing “electrifying” things. In hindsight that opinion was perhaps short shrift. Sanders could take the job and immediately have top notch amenities ready and waiting. Add to that the hope that CU makes it easier for transfers to come aboard as reported and he will have more tools. By the way, it was reported in 2016 that the CU upgrades had a final cost of $177 million dollars. Adjusted for inflation that total cost would now be an “electrifying” $220 million in todays dollars

        1. If amenities are a factor, CU should definitely come out on top.
          USF may well have plans to have a new stadium by 2026, but, are there any realistic expectations Sanders would still be at USF in 2026?
          If he is at all successful, he will leave for a better gig in 2-3 years … so a new stadium would not be a selling point.

      3. Stu,
        USF is no longer on Deion’s list per Bubba the Love Sponge lol. He states he texted with Deion over the weekend and Deion stated their offer was not acceptable. Nina is based on Tampa and many on his radio crew are USF fans. Bubba states he is friends with Deion.
        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zpKyaqlK1iM

        1. That video is from Monday. There has certainly been USF buzz since then … but hopefully the man has inside info, and will be proven correct.

  19. Longtime fan of this website, first time poster. My take for the 2 cents (with inflation) it’s worth. Hiring Coach Prime would be the defibrillator this program needs, because fan interest (including my own) is very much on life support.

  20. Nothing against Prime, but he is not a fitter here in a multitude of levels.

    Anyway,

    I just want a creative mind with hyper veins that can get an OC and DC that bring the same qualities with a newness that this day and age players can see, feel, absorb and mature at incredible rates.

    Forget you fans. (especially you over 35). You wouldn’t understand it anyway as it is time to move on from the past. Period!!

    buffs phoenix eh??

    1. VK, when I first heard about Sanders I only knew about his persona and like you did not think he would fit in. I watched some about him on YouTube and how he is as a coach and I think he would fit in just fine. The persona is going to be strong for some but as a coach and as a leader of men I think he fits in real well. Not sure if you have had a chance but go watch a few episodes of the coach prime show on YouTube.

      1. RobO,

        Okay if he comes here I will support but as I stated previously a while ago, Not gonna be fooled again and be non critical of whoever it is till a bowl game is consumated.

        That is it.

        Go Buffs

        1. Alot of unknowns about his ability to coach, but the infusion of interest, his ability to make the program at least relevant is a no brainer. But you are right, bowl game…its what we need, deserve and are so wanting. BOWL GAME!

  21. Stuart:
    I am more convinced that we must have a deal in place. How could we set a Board of Regents meeting to announce “someone?” How would the administration know that we could fill the position with “someone” by the date of the meeting? We would be left to scramble to find “someone.” As my brother, also a Buff, said: that would be administrative malpractice.

    1. I think they have a commitment from Walters with an understanding that Sanders is our #1 and we will know by Saturday night, Sunday morning.

  22. Sure wish the Sanders offer had been kept secret until it was accepted. Dont know who out there still needs a coach or is still thinking about firing theirs.Now we have a week to find out if some impulse buyer “gets him before CU does.”

  23. One sports writer recently said Colorado needs a “massive roster over haul”. I agree. Unless they bring in 50 new players (if that is even possible) thru the portal , next year’s team “might” double this year’s win total.
    USC turned their program around because players in the portal wanted to play for Lincoln Riley. The same thing to a certain extent would happen with Sanders. His “name” alone will attract players. A lot of young guys want to be around someone famous, not necessarily someone who is an obscure coach they have never heard of.
    Another consideration is how many players from his current team will follow him. I suspect there is more talent there than on the Colorado team.
    I just hope the Buffs do not hire someone else and next week the sports world’s reaction is “really?”

  24. Oh….Puleeez ! Another big name at CU would last as long as a snowflake in July. If Deion Sanders were in Boulder and had the kind of success he’s had at Jackson State, he would be gone to a BIG NAME- BIG TRADITION school that has fallen on rough times in the blink of an eyelash.

    C’mon R.G., UR smarter than that. Matt Entz, Head Coach, North Dakota State is going to get romanced BIG TIME…..yet he’s just rising over the horizon as a really winning head coach – recruiter.

    Don’t forget that… So, R.G., who are your winners so far in the past ?…….big names that fell flat on their face or had as much integrity as Al Capone.

    Get it right this time R.G., or pack UR bags. CU is rapidly becoming the laughing stock of college football.

    1. Patrick – that’s got to be the hope, but we’ve been burned so many times in the past, that it’s hard not to be cynical.
      It’s not real until it’s real … five days and counting …

      1. “They are not the only ones” is stated up front multiple times. So, he has options to consider, which is what anyone would want, and a big game ahead of him. In the meantime, I hope DiStefano is stretching his capabilities and doing his best to get out of his bureaucratic mindset with commitments on what WILL be different in the transfer space. Perhaps part of the waiting includes CU solving, at least to a significant part, the transfer issue. “Making progress” in this area are words. Though Sanders has created understandable excitement, I’m not investing any emotion in it due to the history. Will be curious come Sunday. Thanks for all of the continued work on this website. You are a true Buff to the core!

  25. Rivals just reported that a high 3 star LB for OK just chose the Buffs over dinner bell Mel. Sanford is certainly making it as hard as he can to kick him to the curb. Hard to ignore, though, continuing to be glued to the bottom of not only the conference but the country and the bottom 10.

  26. Deion hasn’t said he isn’t taking the job. I feel like is he said no someone else would have the job and it would be announced.

  27. CU has had as much time to get a big time coach as nu,wu, & asu. Yet nothing? Rumors ??? We need action not silence George! Get going.

    1. Nebraska and ASU jobs have been open longer, but they didn’t announce until their season were over … and the regular season was over for their new coaches. If Oregon had made it to the Pac-12 title game, the ASU job might still be “open” until after Friday.
      Hoping that Sanders is the answer, and the delay is only due to Jackson State having a title game to play Saturday.
      If it’s not Sanders, and CU has to go to a Plan “B”, then the vitriol will be deserved …

      1. Deion looked uncomfortable in the video addressing that the rumor is true. He kept fidgeting and would not keep eye contact into the camera. If he was not taking the job, he would’ve stated right then that he has turned the offer down. I believe he is seriously entertaining leaving Jackson State. Hopefully it is CU and not another offer. He will wait to confirm until after the SWAC championship game on Saturday. Prior comment by Jason Oliver and Stu on not saying anything until then. I do not want to get my hopes up, but they are up.

  28. Stuart, I would enjoy hearing who your first choice for coach would be this time and why?

    My first choice would be Bronco Mendenhall. He has turned around every program he has been a part of and seems like a good fit for a Pac-12 team as he grew up in Utah. I’m so ready for a blue collar-type coach, i. e. Coach Mac and the current coaches at KU, KSU, UW, WSU Utah, and my new favorite… OSU who spanked the Nike Duck$. Sorry but Coach Prime is not a good fit. He would be gone at the first sign of success. We want a coach, like those mentioned above, who wants to stay and build something special at CU over time.

    1. I’m sure I’ll be devoting a full Essay to this issue next Sunday, but the short answer is Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders.
      Colorado is not just the worst Power Five team in the nation, but one of the worst teams in FBS. CU needs a massive infusion of talent, and a “splash” hire to show the Pac-12, potential realignment suitors, and recruits that Colorado is again taking football seriously. Anyone short of Sanders will not fit that bill.
      Will Sanders leave in a few years? Probably. Does that bother me? Only if he leaves after one season, and leave the job unfinished, as Mel Tucker did. If Sanders turns CU into a bowl bound program in two seasons, and leaves for greener pastures, I’ll shake his hand and wish him well, as he would have made Colorado relevant again, giving CU a better chance at a good replacement.
      No one would call Oregon a “stepping stone” program, but that’s exactly what they have become. Their last two coaches, Willie Taggert (Florida State) and Mario Cristobal (Miami) left them for greener pastures. I see no shame in being a stepping stone for Sanders, as long as he leaves the program in better shape and with a bright future … we can then get our coach who will be a CU “lifer”, and build a solid foundation for the future.

      1. Good point about Oregon. Hadn’t thought of them that way. I just believe a solid coach can get the team slowly built toward respectability and keep it that way. Coach Mac did it. I believe most every coach I mentioned above has had to build slowly. A little improvement over time with a coach who stays…please! Scheme and unique identity on offense is more important than over the top athletes… as most of the teams above demonstrate. Thank you, again, for hanging in there with this website.

        1. I agree with Stuart, I’m all in for Prime! He has the ability and national attention to build this program quickly. I believe he would stay at least two years due to the kids that would follow him here. He brings accountability, enthusiasm, confidence, and molds boys, into men. In today’s world, we don’t have time to build it as Coach Mac did. We have to get ahead of this quickly, and Prime would do that. Prime, if nothing else, is a winner. He doesn’t take losing lightly and will do everything possible to win at any level. If he leaves in two years and leaves this program with “positive” national attention and relevance…I’m in.

      2. I generally agree with you, Stuart, but I’m hesitant on two points.
        First, I remember Deion Sanders as a flashy “me-first” player. That may be an unfair assessment but that’s the impression I have. Maybe he’s a team player, maybe he’ll put the program somewhat ahead of his own plans. We’ll see regardless of whether or not he comes to Boulder.
        As to your question/comment: Will Sanders leave in a few years?” Probably. Does that bother me? … If Sanders turns CU into a bowl bound program in two seasons, and leaves for greener pastures … he would have made Colorado relevant again, giving CU a better chance at a good replacement.

        Maybe. Maybe the Buffaloes find a “good” replacement. Maybe. But TWO years and A bowl game isn’t relevance, not SUSTAINED relevance, and that’s something this program is lacking. If he were to swoop in for two years, bounce out to greener pastures, and leave a “good” replacement, I think we’ll be revisiting this conversation before this year’s freshman class graduates.

  29. Looks like Jim Leonhard just became available. Would be a great hire. Definitely worth a call. Think Stanford will be on that too. Tom Herman is the other guy who just makes so much sense here.

  30. If Deion is indeed coming to Boulder… it likely wouldn’t be announced until next Saturday evening or Sunday after Jackson State plays in the SWAC championship.

  31. Phil DiStefano steps down in the spring. The Hedge Fund known as CU is waking up that not having a competitive college football team actually does hurt academic efforts. But you heard it here… Phil is gone in the Spring and the handcuffs come off,. Garrett Riley is the right choice as new head coach. Florida has 20 of the Top 20 high school programs, Neon is going to South Florida. Please don’t mess this up…. Get Riley

  32. Sanders
    whew
    Started getting the shakes when I found out he had 2 kids that will most likely come aboard with him. At least the one who is a DB has been coached from birth by an NFL hall of famer and not an ex UC Davis fullback. If he can bring Hunter with him too I wont mind.
    Besides
    Beggars cant be choosers.
    Whoever takes the job knows he will trying to dredge the harbor to even find this team let alone bring it to the surface. Just hoping its not beyond saving.

    1. Funny thing is, the roster the next guy is getting may be better than that one Hawkins got. Especially the qb’s.

      And yes. That is sad.

      Go Buffs

      1. No one knows how good the qbs were on the roster Hawkins got. Most weren’t given the chance . They were turned into tight ends, which means they at least had size, or quit…..or?

  33. Sanders would certainly be an electrifying hire for an institution not really known for doing electrifying things in its athletics administration duties. At this point I wouldn’t bet on it happening, but the fact that there is some chatter on the subject is kind of cool. Outside of the Sanders speculation, there are a handful of other good names being mentioned, and I hope one of them takes the plunge and comes to Boulder. On a more concrete note, I’m fairly optimistic that CU will indeed adjust its transfer protocols to be more in line with most other universities….and that’s a positive development for the next HC.

  34. CU offers Sanders HC job to “show” they are serious about football and trying to make a big splash. They know he isn’t going to accept it.

    Sanders uses CU offer to leverage getting a job elsewhere. He knows CU is a death sentence for any coach, especially now with NIL and Transfer Portal

    i could not imagine a fish further out of water then Sanders in Boulder.

    Maybe everyone can speak it actually happening into existence, but I highly doubt it.

    Food Cart was never coming here, but boy did his agent leverage that into a sweet deal at Tennessee.

    Same for Sark getting a nice raise at Alabama. He was never coming to CU. He knew if he stayed a while longer he could get a massively better job in less than a year

    After we lose out on Sanders and one more bigger name. Then its an easy win to hire Walters, promote Sanford, or hire some FCS coach who can Quadruple his and his assistants incomes, so is willing to put up with anything just to get the chance at a P5

    1. So I think you are wrong here for this year. As much as Sanders would be huge for us he is a big, big risk. Yes, he is destroying the SWAC but he is doing it with a ton more talent. When he comes to Colorado he will be able to recruit but even with Sanders we are not going to be that much better than most of the teams we face and most of the time pretty equal, so your offensive and defensive concepts and coaching have to prove out and Sanders and his staff have definitely not proven that. They might, and for CU they are absolutely worth the risk. But for an SEC team? If he was really in the running he would already have the job. #2. The leak came from the CU side. This is CU putting pressure on him to say yes. This isn’t the Sanders camp trying to use CU’s interest to get others interested. I actually think Sanders wanted it quiet until his team plays for the championship but CU wants the decision made. To be frank as much as I needed to hear we made this risk I wonder if it damages the relationship. I suspect not, I suspect CU told Samders they had to release this and they had to tell their fans that they needed a decision by Dec 4th before the portal opens. I have a feeling that Sanders is deciding on staying at JSU or coming to CU. He 100% believes he can turn CU into a winner. I believe he is looking at a few things. #1. Can his some transfer to CU? I think he wants to coach his sons. Will our notoriously hard transfer requirements impede that (I suspect looking at what his sons are majoring in and their year it will not be hard). 2. Will CU be a better stage to showcase his son’s talent. Again, there are absolutely cases where lower division qb’s get drafted, but if his son does well at CU vs Jackson state his stock is going to rise…. 3. Will CU have solved the transfer portal issues. I bet this is written into the contract. And he has assurances it might even make it for this upcoming cycle which is why George talked about it when he talked to Adam and Brian. 3. Can he bring his whole staff and pay them. All of those point to CU. 4. Does he want to stay at JSU and transform it into a power 5 school? This is a hard one. It is clear he loves this school and he believes in it, what better legacy than to take JSU into the power 5. Is there any doubt that if he stays and continues having this success they will start moving up during conference realignment? By moving up there will be more money and he will be able to pay his coaches, but that will take years……and that gets me back to his sons. His son is a Sophmore. He has 2 more years which means if he wants to make the jump in competition he is going to have to do it away from JSU. If he jumps away from his dad who remains at JSU what does that say about the JSU program so he is never going to do that. His only opportunity, and Sanders knows this is for Sanders to jump and his son to follow or stay, continue to tear up the SWAC and get drafted low with a chance to prove himself. But I have a feeling both feel he could come into the PAC and dominate……. That lure has to be great……

  35. There’s insider information, from the outside, that jimmy leftwich is very interested, and the interest is mostly mutual, and the conversations are ongoing. We will confirm once the announcement is made official by our unofficial sources.

    Bo Guffs

    1. Where did you see that. Adam over on 247 and Brian have confirmed a very good offer is on the table as of today. This rumor comes from CU’s side and they don’t release that if Deion is a definite “No”. I think it was a pressure move to make Sanders commit this week so we can move on this weekend if he says no.

  36. Personally I find the CBS sports writers just awful. There predictions for the big dance are wildly wrong every year, their research is poor at best (as demonstrated by this article).

  37. Offer Matt Entz at NDSU………….and/or Chris Klieman at Kansas St.

    You have…..TWO WINNERS (with credentials to prove it). ANYONE WHO CAN RECRUIT TO ND OR KANSAS ST AND MANHATTAN CAN RECRUIT TO BOULDER.

    PLAIN and SIMPLE………….PROBLEM SOLVED.

    1. Klieman isn’t coming to Boulder…no offense. The CU job isn’t any better and Klieman has all the resources and support from the university he needs.

      I like Entz and should be at the top of the list.

  38. Well whaddayano?
    other folks are finally reconsidering guaranteed contracts. “60 million of dead money” FOR FAILURE!!! its out of control and mind blowing
    CU needs to find a new kid on the block with brains, motivation and enough confidence to accept an incentive laden contract. If he actually pulls it off he will get poached, of course by another school……..unless the school finally pays enough to keep him. What are the odds CU actually hires 2 successful coaches in a row? with all the deadbeats they have made rich in the past 15 years..in a row… you think the odds would turn around sometime.

  39. So is Beaudine the southern connection? Did he move from a small farm in KY to a mansion in Belaire? With what these consulting firms charge its entirely possible.
    I sure hope RG sticks his nose in here A LOT. He better be motivated with how his last choice turned out.
    I’m leaning on earache to be our fly on the wall /s

  40. I remember another ex sooner coach that was a total bust when he took the job here….and he was one of the most successful coaches in sooner history. Chuckie Fairbanks.
    Forget Stoops. He will want a buyout contract and more than 3 mil. He wont come anyway. If you are still under a rock or in a cave CU is No 1 in the bottom 10. That alone should eliminate any buyout contracts. Its going to have to be a young guy brave enough and confident enough to do incentives….and it probably wont be any of FCS coaches who have stellar records. They will be looking for the big bucks, buyout and teams that already have a winning structure and culture.

  41. Bob Stoops. Good coach, immediate recruiting boost. He has the pedigree to demand changes to transfer rules and admittance rules contractually. Done. Go get him George.

      1. He’s currently coaching in the xfl for $3 million a year. Why the hell not ask him? Chances are slim to none. He’s considering coaching the Sooners again when/ if they fire Venables. Says, that is the only college job he’ll take. Why not make him an offer?

      2. That’s what I think with alot of these names people are throwing out there…. Need to come back to earth and have a reality check, It’s CU, a really LOW CU, not FLA, USC or ND….

    1. Or Garrett Riley. As you may recall Bob stepped down so his brother would takeoveras HC for the Sooners as he saw so much promise in his offensive genius. Garrett, is the same age Lincoln was when he took over HC for the Sooners. I think Garrett is just as good OC as Lincoln. Haves Texas recruiting base down, and his brother and USC have best scouting report for California.

  42. I don’t know if I posted this before, or just said to friends, but the more I think about it, Troy Taylor from sac state may be a good fit.

    Go Buffs

  43. I really have to laugh at all the speculation and especially the speculators. So many experts. Buffzone writers? CBS writers? Athletic writers? espn writers?

    hahahahahahahahahahahaqhahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahaha

    What a bunch of jokesters eh?

    But oh wait. A joke is a fine definition of the buffs so (see sec short) so its a perfect match.

    My teams I root for
    ………….Buffs…coach fired…………program a disaster
    ………….badgers coach fired………program pointing down

    the shroom supply is not enough..

    Go Buff/Badgers

    Note: Oh ya the “experts” who post on this site………….all…….bunny gunny funny

    1. There are so many candidates out there. So dang many suggestions and a mountain of advice. Enough to make my head spin, even without the shrooms. How is RG and his secret committee going to be evaluate all of them?

    2. VK, I agree might as well have guys on the list like Knute Rockne, or maybe Amos Alonzo Stagg. or Bud Wilkinson, or Earl Red Blake, or Fritz Crisler, or ………….. aw forget about it as that is enough names for now.
      Until they recognize the Portal thing and can compete with NIL CU will remain like a Third World Country that resides in the Family of Nations…….only difference is This is the Family Of FBS. Sad to have had to watch this decline over the last many years

  44. So………..with Matt Entz at NDSU………….and Chris Klieman at Kansas St.

    You have…..TWO WINNERS

    Anyone who can recruit to ND and Kansas St. can recruit to Boulder.

    PLAIN and SIMPLE………….PROBLEM SOLVED.

    PONY UP R.G.

  45. For the Love of God. This isn’t difficult. Garrett Riley, TCU offensive coordinator. As well, former OC for SMU. His brother is the head coach for the Trojans, who will soon depart for the Big 10. Which means his brother has the best scouting report for California. Whoever is not on USC’s big board, gems that don’t have 5 stars, I feel brotherly love will share intel. Texas and California recruiting knowledge secured… Not to mention TCU on pace to play for Big 12 Championship. Their offense being the main reason. Get a youth infusion, pick up Riley. He’s undervalued for one more year at best unless TCU wins the BiG 12, cause then we’d be lucky to pull him.

    Also, we need to figure out a PR campaign calling out CU officials (Phil) bias to to student athletes… we should have the same qualifications as PAC 12 compatriots. Need to audit the books at the Hedge Fund called CU, do you think the Research portion of the fund doesn’t eat $8 million from time to time. Phil, people are going to wake up and realize you’re a tenured socialist.

      1. Proven winner with a stable coaching staff. Great recruiter (he definitely does that to get the talent he has at Cherry Creek). CU alum. He checks 3 boxes. He just hasn’t coached at the college level (gotta start somewhere). He does have many jobs here in CO so the pay may need to be high and he may need flexibility there however I’ll at least admit he’s a good choice IMO.

  46. OMG!!!! Where are people coming up with these trash lists!!?? Do we want to be back here in 2-3 years? I don’t. And some of these comments… Gruden, Urban, my god what are you on….
    We need some fresh, younger, innovative that brings friends and passion. No more needs CU roots, or these 2nd and 3rd hand scrubs

    1. Where was your list. I must have missed that. The lists the “professionals” are coming up with amount to a whole lot of MOTS (More of the Same). It’s what we have been doing the last 20 years almost. News flash. It has not worked!

      Hire the hot (fresh, younger, innovative) FCS head coach…check. Dan Hawkins/Mike Mac (46-77)
      Hire the guy with CU roots…check. Jon Embree (4-21)
      Hire the hot coordinator…check. Mel Tucker (5-7)

      Even if you hit on one of these, you are still looking for another one in 2-3 years (or 1 year in Midnight Mel’s case) because they get hired by someone else who can and will pay more.

      So, let me tell you what I’m on (and let you know that I have some to share)… I’m on a good batch of “let’s do something different that will make us relevant immediately”. I get the disdain for Gruden and Urban. They are flawed…which is why they could be had by CU. And these two probably are not the only ones (or even necessarily the best ones) that you could put in this bucket, just the first two that came to my mind. But, if you got one of these types, imagine what happens immediately.

  47. I have watched UTSA play a couple of times this year. They seem to have a decent program. Their coach is Jeff Traylor. When he was an assistant at Texas, he was named Big-12 recruiter of the year.
    His current team is almost all guys from TX. If the Buffs want someone who knows TX high school talent, he would be a good choice. His current salary is under $ 2M.

  48. I’m really curious to see if they can beat cal. Or at least make a game of it. Cal is not good offensively. Perhaps a new voice will provide a spark?

    Go Buffs

  49. Hmmm

    I kinda like Arroyo
    I kinda like Herman

    Buffs.

    Note: No Note. But It is sad to me HCKD could not make this work. Good guy, right attitude but he was blinded by a coupe of things it appears.
    1. His blind loyalty to b-lew
    2. His non understanding of the DC’s defense (appears nobody could)
    3. His blinded non recognition as to where the team really was in just about all areas.

    Go Buffs.

    Special note: 2500 pennies cost to ship $7.50 Worth it

    1. 7021 mt aukum rd somerset ca 95684

      I will put them in a jar next to a toilet and laugh every morning, and even harder at ever delusional, nonsensical comment you make here.

      Go Buffs

      1. delusional is a short trip for you and you and a toilet together is so real

        not a pretty pic with yur fat arse in overhang mode

        ok have a good day

        buffs
        note: that pic ooh of the hyena on the can

        1. Good effort, Spaulding. Yeah, 6′ 175lbs. Super fat. Once again, you entirely miss the mark. Except in defaulting to denigrating and being an ass (donkey, that is. That’ll do, donkey).

          Go Buffs

          1. touchy,

            175 could be in your dreams only.

            Clearly I didn’t say super fat, I said fat arse. You can deny it,….but not.

            And from a famous movie.

            That ill do pig that ill do

            Well the way I look at is that Ricks coaching miss was caused by the dastardly deed from the midnight escapee which compressed the time frame so much it is just what happened and it just didn’t work out.,

            Give him a major pass all other coaches he has hired have been pretty good But dang midnight mel, like a mortgage company, was all about him.

            gonna be interesting but i know
            the leaders of the woke gang will be all over it.

            HCKD unfortunately sealed his fate with loyalty issues…………or maybe didn’t want to admit he was wrong about some players. …………..and coaches.

            2 weeks till we see what they really got.

            Buffs

        1. 83
          Gentlemen is a large stretch.
          Seriously.
          A mortgage broker/realestate broker? Give me a break
          and a
          A retired sales/marketing executive? Yur kidding right.
          Again seriously……….

          We just be having fun. You need to see past it.

          We ain’t got a football team
          but
          we got each other

          Earache is parrot.
          And the 2500 pennies will be soaked in horse pee which he is very familiar with and totally deserves.

          Signed “the berliner”

          Go Buffs

          1. I’ll bet you double or nothing you never send anything. $25. 2500 pennies. Nuttin’. Wanna bet? You got my address. I’ll be waiting. And yeah, we have horses. Not sure what that has to do with anything though.

            Go Buffs

  50. I wish Dorrell well. He’s a good guy.

    I know nothing about anything, but I’d suggest that CU stop signing coaches to 5 year contracts at $3M per year. Instead, sign them to 5 year contracts at $4M or $5M per year, but with a university opt-out in years 3, 4, and 5. Not appealing enough to attract coaches, you say? I’d argue there are zillions of low-paid assistants who would do anything for a chance to head coach. Besides, the CU head coach who isn’t retained after year 2 still gets the guaranteed $8M or $10M, and CU doesn’t need to keep paying $10M in severance. The CU head coach who is retained after year 2 must be winning football games. Win win.

  51. Shay…You know what solves PR problems (especially ones that occurred long before the person in question came to town)? The same thing that solves the problem of paying a large sum annually to someone who has absolutely proven he knows what he’s doing at this level. WINNING! Winning solves those problems.

    Given the current college football environment, now is the time for significant bold moves. Get busy showing that CU is prepared to compete at the highest level of college football or prepare to compete in the Mountain West. There is no in between at this point.

    1. Good luck living in the land of unicorns and leprechauns. When you get back to earth let me know. Gruden would never survive 5 minutes in boulder before the woke mob would storm the castle. At the same time NFL has beens is a HUGE gamble. Do they even know how to recruit? CU needs a coach that shows he knows how to recruit more than he can coach then get good assistants that know how to coach the recruits. That is what made McCartney so good.

  52. Just watched the Press Conference. I feel so much better knowing that Rick George will be choosing our next coach. Additional comfort comes from knowing that Chancellor Phil will be staunch in his position that in no way will CU look to change its admission standards, especially for Transfers.

    This should enable us to consistently remain as the worst team in the worst P5 conference in the country.

    Whew!

    At first I was concerned when Rick again proclaimed that we expect to go to a Bowl Game every year and compete for Conference Championships every few years.

    But then I remembered he said all of that the last time he hired a coach. Of course Phil shrugging his shoulders and basically saying, “hey nothing we can do about academics” erased any doubts that I may have had that things will change and get much better. Far be it for CU to ever sink so low as to make Institutional improvements that allow its Athletic Teams to be on a level playing field with its peers.

    Yep, its all up to the next coach we hire to figure all that out.

    Of course by the time the next guy hits the wall, Rick and Phil will be retired and it will be someone else’s problem.

  53. The Buffs should go after Riley’s brother who is the OC at TCU. Garrett Riley, get him now. He’s the best up and coming coach.

  54. ALT Buff the only one of those candidate I see as somewhat realistic is Sanders. Unless CU is willing to shell out $10m plus for Meyer or deal with the PR nightmare Gruden will bring to a program in a city like Boulder I just don’t see those 2 as a true possibility. That being said CU would be able to retain a coach that is promising like Mel Tucker if they were willing to pay top money to the coach and assistants, and to tell me the money isn’t there is foolish. If you want to win you have to invest, and if you invest more money comes in, more students want to go there and the university prospers. They need to look at paying a coach in the 6-7 million a year range.

    1. Gruden in Boulder… that’s rich (ha ha!)

      they’d have the pitchforks ready before he even stepped foot in town

  55. Kansas has the guy who came out of Wisconsin-Whitwater. The Ducks once upon a time took an unknown from U of New Hampshire. Perhaps people who scout ALL coaches at ALL levels can come up with a smart guy who wants to be with the Buffs. Stay away from “name guys” or anyone with previous ties to the Buffs.

  56. Depressing is right. Either fired has beens NOooooo
    or guys who would have to instutionalized if they take the job.
    I would love to see the ndsu guy but he is line for better things too.
    Gonna have find a bright young mind down two levels who is willing to take the chance without an immediate buy out

  57. Walters would be maybe the most exciting. BUT he also feels a little bit like Frost to Nebraska.

    Honestly though Bronco Mendenhall might be the best choice just to get us back to sniffing bowl games and building for the future… But wtf happened to him at UVA?

    1. I’d love to see something like Bronco or Leavitt with a high upside coordinator as an Associate HC with a succession plan in place.

      Unfortunately, that would take a level of foresight and nuance I think CU lacks in the athletic department.

  58. Kenny dillingham might be an interesting candidate too.
    Grimes probably near the top of my list, if he’d be interested. He was offensive line coach for Hawkins, so could be a tough sell, since he knows the CU Boulder dynamic. Or maybe he likes Boulder and thinks he can turn this program around?

    Glad it’s not my job to sort out. And to say rick’s job rests on this next hire may be an understatement.

    Go Buffs

  59. Apologies for the copy and paste Stuart. Clearly we were thinking the same thing with the coaching speculation and thus I commented in the wrong place. Forgive me…

    I will say that most of the names on the list in the article depress me. Not all, but most. I’m not interested in a slow build to respectability. I want immediate results. This fan base (in my opinion) is owed that.

    With that in mind, and in no particular order, let me suggest the following:

    Urban Myer – I know the NFL was a nightmare, but this man knows how to do this and the fact that he needs a redemption story may be what a program like Colorado needs to get and keep someone like him.

    Jon Gruden – see most of the above. Same redemption story needed.

    Deion Sanders – Is Prime Time ready to take on a challenge like this? Would he want to take on a challenge like this? I think yes and yes. I’m not yet sold that Sanders really knows how to do what would need to be done at CU, but I’d absolutely give him the benefit of the doubt.

    You’ll notice one thing in common about these three names, none of them are the young hungry assistant that most people (including most recruits) have never heard of. These are splash hires with big names that could recruit immediately (HS and Transfers) and right the ship quickly. Rick George has got to swing for the fences on this one, or he will (and should) find himself next to KD on the unemployment line.

    1. You will also notice the one thing in common about these three names is that there is no way in freakin hell that any of these 3 step foot in Boulder.

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