—
Karl Dorrell: CU’s 27th Football Head Coach
—
March 10th
Athlon rates the 24 new coaching hires – Karl Dorrell gets a “C-“
… So, yes, for those scoring at home, CU’s Karl Dorrell is rated as the No. 24 coaching hire … out of 24 …
From Athlon Sports … College football’s 2019-20 coaching carousel featured 24 changes, including moves at Florida State, Ole Miss, Washington State, Colorado and Arkansas. With the carousel completed and all 24 jobs filled, it’s time to rank and grade the new hires and see how they fit with their new programs. Florida State’s hire of Mike Norvell takes the top spot in Athlon’s grades, but Ole Miss (Lane Kiffin), Washington State (Nick Rolovich) and Mississippi State (Mike Leach) aren’t far behind. Washington’s Jimmy Lake, Rutgers’ Greg Schiano and Baylor’s Dave Aranda highlight the next tier of hires for the 2019-20 cycle. Fresno State (Kalen DeBoer) and USF (Jeff Scott) ranked the highest among teams making a coaching move in the Group of 5 conferences.
Here’s a look at how Athlon Sports views, grades and ranks the 24 new coaches for 2020:
3. Nick Rolovich, Washington State
Previous Job: Head Coach, Hawaii
A head coach with a fun personality and a high-powered offense sounds a lot like former Washington State coach Mike Leach, but that’s also the best way to describe Rolovich. The former Hawaii quarterback landed his first on-field coaching job at City College of San Francisco from 2006-07 and returned to Honolulu to coach quarterbacks (2008-09) and work as the team’s offensive coordinator (2010-11). Rolovich later spent four years in the play-caller role at Nevada before becoming Hawaii’s head coach in 2016. The Rainbow Warriors won at least seven games three times over Rolovich’s four years at the helm. That stretch includes a 10-5 mark with the Mountain West’s West Division title in 2019. Washington State is one of the Pac-12’s toughest jobs, but Rolovich’s experience from another difficult job (Hawaii) and his offensive background should keep the Cougars interesting (and very relevant) in the Pac-12.
Final Grade: A
5. Jimmy Lake, Washington
Previous Job: Co-Defensive Coordinator, Washington
Chris Petersen leaves big shoes to fill, but Lake seems up to the task of keeping Washington among the top programs in the Pac-12. The California native started his coaching career at his alma mater Eastern Washington in 2000 and moved through the assistant ranks with stops at Washington, Montana State and in the NFL with the Buccaneers and Lions before landing on Petersen’s staff at Boise State in 2012. Lake followed Petersen to Seattle in 2014 and was later promoted to defensive play-caller in ’18. The Huskies finished first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense that year, followed by a No. 3 finish in 2019. In addition to coordinating some of the Pac-12’s top defenses, Lake has thrived in developing standout defensive backs and with reeling in talent on the recruiting trail. Lake will put his own stamp on the program, but ensuring a seamless transition and continuity from the Petersen era should work out well for Washington.
Final Grade: A-
9. Kalen DeBoer, Fresno State
Previous Job: Offensive Coordinator, Indiana
DeBoer previously worked at Fresno State from 2017-18 as the offensive coordinator under Jeff Tedford. The Bulldogs ranked near the top of the Mountain West in scoring in 2018, and DeBoer’s offenses were a big reason why the program won 22 games and a Mountain West title over that two-year window. The South Dakota native worked as Indiana’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and guided the unit to an average of 31.8 points a game. DeBoer also worked as the play-caller at Eastern Michigan from 2014-16 and at Southern Illinois (2010-13). DeBoer’s only previous experience as a head coach came at the NAIA level at Sioux Falls. From 2005-09, the Cougars went 67-3 and won three NAIA championships under DeBoer’s direction.
Final Grade: A-
13. Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Previous Job: Head Coach, Colorado
Michigan State was put into a difficult spot in the coaching carousel when Mark Dantonio decided to retire in early February. As a result, the Spartans had to pay big-time money to lure Tucker to East Lansing after one year at Colorado. During his only season with the Buffaloes, Tucker guided the program to a 5-7 mark but seemed to have the program trending in the right direction with a solid recruiting haul for the 2020 class. Tucker’s ties to Ohio and recruiting prowess were of interest to Michigan State, especially in a division that features Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan. Tucker also has Big Ten experience from working under Jim Tressel at Ohio State from 2001-04 and had stints with Nick Saban at LSU (2000) and Alabama (2015).
Final Grade: B
23. Steve Addazio, Colorado State
Previous Job: Head Coach, Boston College
Former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was involved in helping Colorado State find its next coach, so it was no surprise one of his former assistants landed the job. Addazio has never coached west of Indiana and isn’t the most exciting hire for one of the better jobs in the Mountain West. He landed his first on-field role as an assistant at Syracuse in 1995 and eventually made stops at Notre Dame (1999-01), Indiana (2002-04) and Florida (2005-10) before becoming Temple’s head coach in 2011. Addazio spent just two years (2011-12) with the Owls, recording a 13-11 mark before taking over at Boston College. The Eagles never won more than seven games under Addazio but had only one season of fewer than six. Addazio’s overall mark as a head coach is 57-55.
Grade: C
24. Karl Dorrell, Colorado
Previous Job: Wide Receivers Coach, Miami Dolphins
Mel Tucker’s decision to leave for Michigan State in mid-February left Colorado in a tough spot. While the pool of interested candidates would be deeper in December, the selection of Dorrell came as a surprise. The California native has previous ties to the program after a two-year stint as the receivers coach under Bill McCartney (1992-93) and a four-season run as Rick Neuheisel’s offensive coordinator (1995-98). Dorrell’s only previous stint as a head coach took place from 2003-07 at UCLA. The Bruins went 35-27 and went to bowl games in all five years of Dorrell’s tenure. However, only one season (2005) resulted in more than seven wins (10-2). Dorrell also has a wealth of experience at the NFL level, including stints with the Broncos (2000-02), Texans (2012-13), Jets (2015-18) and Dolphins (2008-11, ’19). His last stop at the collegiate level came in 2014 as Vanderbilt’s offensive coordinator. The Commodores averaged 17.2 points a game that season. Dorrell is Colorado’s third coach in three years.
Grade: C-
–
—–
March 6th
CU makes assistant coach hires official – Langsdorf named passing game coordinator
From CUBuffs.com … New University of Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell, who was hired on Feb. 23rd, announced Friday that he has completed his inaugural Buffaloes coaching staff with the addition of six new assistant coaches.
Dorrell has brought in three new assistants on each side of the ball, including a couple with familiarity to longtime Colorado fans. On offense, he has named Taylor Embree as tight ends coach, Danny Langsdorf as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Mitch Rodrigue as offensive line coach. Defensively, Demetrice Martin will coach the cornerbacks, Brett Maxie the safeties and Chris Wilson the defensive line.
Dorrell previously announced that he was retaining four full-time coaches from Mel Tucker’s staff: Darrin Chiaverini, Darian Hagan, Brian Michalowski and Tyson Summers. Chiaverini will serve as offensive coordinator and coach the receivers (the latter for the fifth straight season), Hagan will coach the running backs for the 10th year on staff, Michalowski the outside linebackers for a second straight season and Summers will return as the defensive coordinator and coach the inside linebackers after tutoring the safeties last fall in his second year CU.
A capsule look at the new CU assistants:
TAYLOR EMBREE, Tight Ends
Embree, 31, spent the last four years in the National Football League. He began his professional coaching career with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016 as a defensive assistant, and was an offensive quality control coach the last three years (2017-19) under Kyle Shanahan for the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC champions last fall.
A 2012 graduate of UCLA, he played in 50 games (starting 32) for the Bruins from 2008-11; he set a UCLA record for the most receptions by a true freshman and led the team in receiving as a sophomore and junior. He made 137 career receptions for 1,776 yards with four touchdowns, averaging 13.0 yards per catch; he is still 11th on the Bruins all-time receptions list (eighth at the time of his graduation). He signed as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers and participated in their training camp in the summer of 2013 and started his coaching endeavors with UCLA as a graduate assistant for the offense in 2014 and 2015.
He prepped at Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kan., where he was an All-District performer in both football and basketball. He is the oldest son of Jon Embree, who lettered four years at tight end for the Buffs (1983-86), was a CU assistant coach for 10 years (1993-2002) and head coach for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The elder Embree is the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the 49ers.
DORRELL ON EMBREE: “Taylor is a promising young coach. A player I recruited to UCLA, and had a productive career. He was always interested in coaching like his father (Jon), and he’s learned the trade via the NFL, first with the Kansas City Chiefs and then with the San Francisco 49ers.”
DANNY LANGSDORF, Quarterbacks & Passing Game Coordinator
Langsdorf, 47, joins CU from a brief stop at UNLV, where he was named quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator on Jan. 8; he spent the 2019 season in both roles for Fresno State after serving an offensive analyst at the University of Oregon. In all, he brings to the Buffalo staff 23 years of experience on the collegiate and professional levels, all on the offensive side of the ball augmented by some extensive special teams coaching. He has 14 years of Power 5 Conference experience, including 12 as an offensive coordinator.
Prior to his time at Oregon, he was Mike Riley’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for nine seasons at Oregon State (2005-13) and then at Nebraska (2015-17). The Beavers earned six bowl berths and the Cornhuskers two in his time with Riley, of which he coached both school’s all-time leading quarterbacks, Sean Manning (OSU) and Tommy Armstrong (NU). In-between, he was the quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants, where he worked with Eli Manning, the two-time Super Bowl champion who enjoyed one of his best seasons under Langsdorf’s tutelage.
Langsdorf began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at California Lutheran in 1996, and then served two years as a graduate assistant at Oregon State coaching the tight ends in 1997-98. He got his first taste of coaching in the professional ranks for Edmonton in the Canadian Football League, where for the 1999-2001 seasons he was the Eskimos’ offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks and receivers coach. From there, he joined the New Orleans Saints for three years (2002-04) as an assistant coach (offense quality control along with assisting with the receivers and special teams).
He played quarterback at Boise State (1991-93) and Linfield (Ore.) College (1994-95), and was also a player/coach in Germany for the Deggendorf Blackhawks.
DORRELL ON LANGSDORF: “I followed Danny’s career with my experience in the Pac-10. He’s worked with some really good coaches, especially Mike Riley, and enjoyed success at both Oregon State and Nebraska in bringing their passing games to new heights. He’s a veteran coach who has great knowledge coaching the quarterback position and has also been a coordinator. He is known for developing quarterbacks – I received a text from Matt Moore, who played for Danny at Oregon State, and he told me ‘you’ve got an outstanding coach and a great person.’” (Moore is Kansas City’s backup quarterback who filled in for the Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes was injured last fall.)
DEMETRICE MARTIN, Cornerbacks
Martin, 47, joins Dorrell’s staff from the University of Arizona, his latest stop in a coaching career that has been almost entirely in the Pacific 10 and Pac-12 conferences. In addition to having a wealth of experience in developing defensive backs, he has also been long-regarded as one of the top recruiters on the west coast.
He coached the cornerbacks for the Wildcats the last two seasons (2018-19) under head coach Kevin Sumlin, which followed six years on the UCLA staff (2012-17) tutoring the defensive backs for Jim Mora, Jr. At UCLA, he earned the title of assistant head coach in 2014, ahead of his third year on the staff. Bruin defensive backs earned a host of honors during his time there. That followed three years (2009-11) coaching the secondary for Washington after it named Steve Sarkisian as its new head coach. And prior to that, in 2006 and 2007, he was a defensive graduate assistant at Southern California, working with the Trojan secondary; USC won 2006 Pacific 10 title and defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
He began his coaching career at Monrovia (Calif.) High School, where he worked at the school for the 1999 and 2000 seasons; he moved on to his high school alma mater, Pasadena’s John Muir, coaching there in 2001, also coaching at Pasadena City College for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. The Lancers went 18-4 those two years and won the Mission Conference title both seasons and appearing in two bowl games. He remained in the junior college ranked the next three years (2003-05), serving as the pass defense coordinator and secondary coach at Mt. San Antonio College, where the Mounties played in the National Bowl in 2003 and 2004.
A native of Los Angeles, Martin starred in football at Pasadena’s Muir High School. He played collegiately at Michigan State, lettering four years as a wide receiver and cornerback (1992-95). He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1994 when he led the conference with seven interceptions. He had 10 career interceptions and was a member of two Spartan bowl teams (1993 Liberty and 1995 Independence). Martin played professionally as a cornerback for the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe (1997) and for the Houston Thunderbears (1998-99) in the Arena Football League. He signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams in the NFL and spent time on the practice squad.
DORRELL ON MARTIN: “Demetrice is a high energy, passionate coach who gets the most out of his players, both on and off the field. He has a reputation for being a great recruiter, and has outstanding experience. He’s a good communicator and teacher of the fundamentals who is also very concerned with the players’ welfare. He is very familiar with the footprint of the Pac-12 Conference with 14 years of coaching and recruiting within it.”
BRETT MAXIE, Safeties
Maxie, 58, is a veteran secondary coach of 21 combined seasons between the professional and collegiate ranks, which followed 13-year career as a defensive back in the National Football League. Maxie comes to CU from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was the defensive coordinator for the 2019 season.
A graduate of Dallas’ Madison High School and Texas Southern College, he signed with the NFL’s New Orleans as an undrafted free agent and went on to play with the Saints for nine seasons (1985-93). He played four more seasons in the NFL, with Atlanta (1994), Carolina (1995-96) and San Francisco (1997). He had 156 tackles with 23 interceptions, returning three for touchdowns, in 153 NFL games that included 104 starts.
Carolina gave him his start in coaching, as he was the Panthers’ quality control coach and worked with the defensive backs his first year after retiring as a player (1998). He then rejoined San Francisco as the 49ers assistant secondary coach for three years (1999-2001) and then took over as the club’s defensive backs coach for two years (2002-03). Atlanta then hired his as its defensive backs coach for three seasons (2004-06).
Maxie moved on to the Miami Dolphins for the 2007 season as their secondary coach, with Dallas his next stop, as he was the Cowboys defensive backfield tutor for four years (2008-11). He then served in a similar capacity for the Tennessee Titans for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, remaining in Nashville for the following two years, coaching Vanderbilt’s entire secondary in 2014 and specifically the cornerbacks in 2015. He returned to the NFL in 2016 as the secondary coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he would tutor the defensive backs for three seasons (2016-18).
DORRELL ON MAXIE: “I’ve known Brett to be a really good mentor and teacher with young people. He coached the defensive backs at Vanderbilt while I was there, and I felt he had a great connection with his players and got the most out of them. He enjoyed a long, stellar career in the NFL, and you don’t play in the league for that long without becoming a total student of the game. The players will benefit greatly from that knowledge.”
MITCH RODRIGUE, Offensive Line
Rodrigue, 55, comes to Colorado after coaching two years in the high school ranks in Alabama, but brings 27 years of full-time experience in college with him to the Buffalo staff.
He coached two years at Spanish Fork High School after a seven-year stint at the University of Louisiana (Lafayette), where served as the Ragin’ Cajuns run game coordinator and offensive line coach. In his tenure in Lafayette, Rodrigue was credited with developing an offensive line that ranked among the most efficient groups in the country. In 2014, he had brothers Daniel and Mykhael Quave named to the preseason watch list for Lombardi Award – the first and only set of brothers named to a national watch list at any position.
Prior to his seven-year run at ULL, he was a on the South Alabama staff for three seasons (2008-10), the school’s first foray into football. The first year he was heavily involved in the set-up of the program ahead of its inaugural season of competition in 2009; on the field, he was the Jaguars tight end coach. That position played a significant role in helping the offense average 439 yards and just under 46 points per game.
His first full-time coaching position was as an assistant coach at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College (1991-92). From there, he returned to his alma mater, Nicholls State, serving as tight ends and offensive line coach as well as offensive coordinator for six seasons (1993-98). He then was a mainstay at Southern Mississippi, where he spent nine seasons (1999-2007), first coaching the running back for one year, followed by the tight ends (2000-02) and the offensive line (2003-07). A valuable member of the staff in many areas, in 2006, he was named one of Rivals.com Top 10 recruiters from a non-BCS conference.
Rodrigue was an offensive lineman in college at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Junior College for one year and at Nicholls State for three years, where he helped the Colonels win the 1984 Gulf Star Conference title along with advancing to the second round of the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. He began his coaching career at Nichols as a student assistant for the 1987-88 seasons before coaching two years (1989-90) as a graduate assistant at Southern Miss.
DORRELL ON RODRIGUE: “What Coach Rod brings to us is a great amount of experience and the ability to be a great mentor to our players. What you will find out about our coaches is that we will get fully involved with our players, both on and off the field. He really is an outstanding man, he has an infectious personality and our players will gravitate to him.”
CHRIS WILSON, Defensive Line
Chris Wilson joins Dorrell in a homecoming back to Boulder, where he coached the defensive line under Gary Barnett for five seasons from 2000-04. He spent the 2019 season as a defensive assistant with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
Wilson, 51, coached All-Big 12 performers Justin Bannan and Tyler Brayton at Colorado, the latter of whom also earned third-team All-America honors, along with other familiar names to CU fans like Marques Harris, Matt McChesney, Brandon Dabdoub, Gabe Nyenhuis and James Garee. He joined Barnett’s Colorado staff from Illinois State, where he was the D-line coach the previous two years (1998-99).
From 2016-18, he was the defensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles under head coach Doug Pederson, where in 2017, the team won the NFC East with a 13-3 record and went on to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Wilson left the CU staff to join coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, his alma mater. He was the defensive ends coach for the Sooners for 2005-06, and added special teams coordinator to his duties there the next three seasons (2007-09). He moved on to Mississippi State, where he was the co-defensive coordinator and line coach in 2010 before taking over the sole coordinator role the next two years (2011-12). He went on to coach the defensive line at Georgia in 2013 and then at Southern California (2014-15) before taking the similar position for the Eagles in the NFL.
He began his coaching career at Indiana State as a graduate assistant in 1993, and was promoted to linebackers coach the following season. He was the outside linebackers coach for Northern Illinois (1995) and the defensive line coach at Northeastern (La.) State in 1996 before returning to Indiana State as its OLB coach in 1997. He then moved on to become the defensive line coach at Illinois State for two seasons (1998-99) before joining Barnett at Colorado.
A four-year letterman at linebacker for Oklahoma from 1988-91, he was a two-time team captain, recorded 303 tackles, was a three-time second-team All-Big Eight Conference performer, a third-team All-American as a junior and was on the watch list for the ’91 Butkus Award. He was recruited by and played for Hall of Fame head coach Barry Switzer. He was a 12th round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in the 1992 NFL Draft.
DORRELL ON WILSON: “Chris brings a wealth of experience both on the college and professional levels. He’s a well-respected defensive line coach who has also been a coordinator, and with the Philadelphia Eagles, a Super Bowl champion coach. This is a man who deeply cares about his players, and he knows the intricacies of the university having coached here for five seasons. He’s excited to return to Boulder.”
Dorrell indicated he will soon identify which staff member or members will coordinate the various special teams.
Others members remaining on staff include director of strength and conditioning Drew Wilson, quality control for the defense, Bryan Cook, character coach Brian Cabral, director of football operations Bryan McGinnis, director of player engagement Cymone George and operations assistant Scott Unrein.
–
—–
February 27th
Stewart Mandell on Dorrell hire: “I’ve seen some strange/questionable hires … but this one may take the cake”
From Stewart Mandell’s Mailbag in The Athletic …
Here’s my question about Colorado hiring Karl Dorrell: How? How do you even get to the point where his name comes up? I understand being turned down by a bunch of other coaches, but I could get through 100 names without even thinking about Karl Dorrell in the year of our Lord 2020. I’m genuinely mystified about this. — Andrew, Boulder, Colo.
Aren’t we all?
I’ve seen some strange/questionable hires in my day — Kansas/Charlie Weis, UConn/Paul Pasqualoni, Nebraska/Mike Riley … heck, I’ll throw Colorado State/Steve Adazzio in there — but this one may take the cake. Not because Dorrell was necessarily an awful coach at UCLA (mediocre is the more accurate word), but because it was just … so … long ago. Current recruits were in preschool the last time Dorrell was a college head coach in 2007.
And it’s not like he’s been soaring up the NFL assistant ranks since then. By all accounts he’s just been your regular old journeyman position coach for three different franchises (including two stints with the Dolphins), save for one season in 2014 when he returned to college as Vanderbilt’s offensive coordinator and got fired after producing the nation’s 119th-ranked offense. I went combing through his post-UCLA résumé, and as best I can tell the high point was as quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans in 2012 when Matt Schaub made the Pro Bowl and the team went 12-4.
So, how on earth did he even come on Colorado’s radar? Two words: Search firms. Schools pay a lot of money to these headhunters, who then try to justify their existence by identifying more than just the obvious names. In announcing the hire, AD Rick George said, “It was important that our next coach have CU ties,” understandable given they just got left in the lurch by outsider Mel Tucker. I would question the relevance of Dorrell’s most recent experience as a Colorado assistant 22 years ago, but it at least helps explain how he got on the school’s radar while on literally no one else’s.
I do want to bring up one silver lining in all of this. Dorrell is hardly the first failed head coach to get a second chance somewhere else, but more often than not, those retreads are white. See: Weis and Les Miles at Kansas, Pasqualoni and Randy Edsall at UConn, Ron Zook at Illinois, Will Muschamp at South Carolina, and so many more. Finally, we’re starting to see some black coaches afforded mulligans, like Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin and USF’s Willie Taggart. In fact, Colorado did something incredibly rare in hiring two black head coaches in succession. The Pac-12 to its credit will now have five black head coaches next season, which, sadly, is more than the entire NFL.
More than 54 percent of FBS players are black, yet just 11 percent (14 out of 130) of its current head coaches are black. The only way that’s ever going to change is if schools look beyond the obvious pool of candidates — like Colorado to its credit just did. Unfortunately for the school, however, the success rate for retread head coaches is quite low, as evidenced by those names above. (I don’t count Ed Orgeron, because he had two successful interim stints between Ole Miss and LSU). Dorrell at UCLA went 6-7, 6-6, 10-2, 7-6 and 6-6 at a program with a far better recruiting footprint and more recent history of success than CU. I fail to see why this will play out any differently than, say, Muschamp Part II at South Carolina (so far 6-7, 9-4, 7-6, 4-8).
–
—–
February 26th
Dorrell hoping to make the best of his second chance as a head coach
From the Daily Camera … Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan have won a combined eight Super Bowls as head coaches.
Pete Carroll has won a Super Bowl and two college football national titles.
Ed Orgeron is the reigning national coach of the year after leading LSU to a title last season.
All four have won championships at the highest levels of football, but all four have something else in common: they were fired after failing as first-time head coaches.
Karl Dorrell, introduced as Colorado’s new head coach on Monday, was also fired from his first opportunity to lead a team and actually had more success in that first go-round than any of the previously mentioned coaches.
Belichick, Carroll, Orgeron and Shanahan found later success by learning from that first head coaching opportunity. Dorrell, of course, has a long way to go to match their success, but more than 12 years after being fired from UCLA, he said he’s learned a few things, too, as he begins his second chance.
“We all learn through the process of a lot of situations and experiences that you go through,” Dorrell said Monday. “My first head coaching experience at UCLA, it was a very rewarding experience, to be honest with you. It was a challenge that I think I really embraced to overcome. There were a lot of different things that were in and around the program that were very challenging to fix, and we were able to do.”
… Continue reading story here …
–
—–
February 25th
Players displayed leadership during interim – Rick George: “I really appreciate their resolve and positive attitude”
From the Daily Camera … Throughout the process of changing head coaches, the group most impacted is the players.
Two weeks ago, Mel Tucker was seemingly committed to Colorado and gearing up for his second season with the Buffaloes. Two days later, he was introduced as the head coach at Michigan State.
On Monday, the Buffs finally got a replacement when Karl Dorrell was announced as the 27th full-time head coach in program history. Dorrell will be CU’s third head coach in three seasons.
Athletic director Rick George praised the players, and the seniors in particular, for how they handled the situation.
“I’m excited for our players, our student athletes, and I really appreciate their resolve and positive attitude over the past couple of weeks,” George said. “Our seniors have been incredible. They provided the leadership that this program needs on an interim basis. I couldn’t be more thankful for them. Our football student athletes are great young men.”
George said CU relied on the team leaders during the process. Twice, George and associate athletic director Lance Carl met with the seniors to keep them posted on the search. Because of that, they felt it was important to have Dorrell meet with the seniors on Sunday night at his home.
“For them, this is their last hurrah for their career,” Dorrell said. “It was a great statement of support and respect for us to do that the day prior to meeting with the team. They were very appreciative of that and we really had some great discussions. A lot of it is what you would expect kids to talk about, which was that they want to be developed. They want to go for it all. They want to use this year as a milestone for their life.”
… Continue reading story here …
–
—
Building a coaching staff Job No. 1 for Coach Dorrell
From the Daily Camera … Karl Dorrell is now in place as the new head coach of the Colorado football team. Now, he’ll work to assemble his coaching staff.
Among the first tasks for Dorrell is filling out his 10-member staff and the first name on the minds of CU fans is Darrin Chiaverini, who served as interim head coach during the transition.
“I want to thank coach Chiaverini for leading the program on an interim basis over the past two weeks, and ensuring that our student athletes were taken care of,” athletic director Rick George said. “Darrin is a great Buff who cares deeply about our program. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him.”
A former CU receiver – who was coached by Dorrell from 1995-98 – Chiaverini has been a part of the Buffs’ staff for the past four years, coaching receivers. He was co-offensive coordinator from 2016-18 and assistant head coach last season.
Chiaverini bleeds black and gold. He also interviewed for the head coaching position and had strong desire to get the job.
After Dorrell was hired, there were rumors that Chiaverini resigned, but he told Buffzone on Monday morning that he has not. However, the fact that the active tweeter has wiped his Twitter profile of CU graphics fueled the rumors.
“We would certainly like Darrin to be back and hopefully he’ll be back,” George said, “but that’s a conversation that the two of them (Chiaverini and Dorrell) will have.”
… Continue reading story here …
–
—–
February 24th
Karl Dorrell introduced to the Buff Nation
… Related … “Karl Dorrell introduced as CU Buffs head football coach” … from the Daily Camera
CU’s 27th head football coach was introduced by Chancellor Phil DiStefano and Athletic Director Rick George. Coach Dorrell spoke about his passion for CU, his general plans for his team, and his recruitment to be the Buffs’ head coach …
… Quiet spoken … articulate … thoughtful … If you are looking for a rah-rah speech from your head coach, look away …
But Coach Dorrell gave a good speech, and talked earnestly about how Colorado was the only college job he would have considered (he has maintained a home in the Boulder area, even as he has changed jobs in the NFL over the past decade) …
–
—
Press Conference Quotes (Phil DiStefano, Rick George; Karl Dorrell) …
Chancellor Phil DiStefano
Opening Statement
“Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us today. On behalf of the University of Colorado system
president, Mark Kennedy, and myself, I commend Rick George for his leadership and recruiting an outstanding
coach who can accelerate the building momentum of our football program. Rick conducted a successful
national search on a short timeline. I’m thrilled to welcome coach Karl Dorrell back to the Buffs family. I know
Karl from his past stints at the University of Colorado. I know his character, his experience and passion for
leading student athletes that makes him the right fit, at the right time, for our program. I’m thankful he decided
to join us and I’m excited to watch him get to work. I also want to thank our student athletes for their dedication
to the program during two coaching changes in the past 15 months. They are fine representatives of our
university and I know their character and enthusiasm will mesh well with Coach Dorrell as he leads them
toward reestablishing our football team as a top tier contender and competitor in our conference and nationally.
“As I noted before, the successful football program raises the profile of the university as a whole, elevating the
visibility of all of our achievements. Our student athletes often serve as ambassadors in this regard, juggling
their classroom endeavors with all the rigors of being in the spotlight as division one athletes and they’ve done
so admirably. Athletics department wide, our student athletes are currently carrying their second highest
cumulative GPA ever and our NCAA graduation success rate is 91%. Rick George stated last week that our
football program is in better shape now than it was 15 months ago, and I wholeheartedly agree. We are on the
cusp of something great. Coach Dorrell’s history at CU and high integrity gives me great confidence that he
knows how to guide the success to which we aspire, both on and off the field, while shaping young men who
live our campus imperatives of leading, innovating and positively impacting humanity. We will do all we can as
the administration to support him and our program in these endeavors.”
–
Athletic Director Rick George
Opening Statement
“Long time no see, for some of you. Welcome back and thanks for coming out today. I want to thank Coach
(Darrin) Chiaverini for leading the program on an interim basis over the past two weeks, and ensuring that our
student athletes were taken care of. Darrin is a great Buff who cares deeply about our program. I have a lot of
respect and admiration for him. I also see some of our former football players here. Barry (Remington), Dave
(Thistle), Conley Smith, it’s great that you’re here. Coach (Tad) Boyle is here. It’s about family, and it’s about us
taking care of each other. I also would be remiss if I didn’t thank Lance Carl, who was my partner in crime on
this to be able to get somebody like Karl Dorrell here. I couldn’t be more excited about that and also Eastman
& Beaudine and their support through this process.”
“It gives me great pride to introduce Karl Dorrell as the 27th head football coach at the University of Colorado.
When I sat here with a lot of you 12 days ago, I told you that we would work efficiently and effectively to find
the very best head coach for the University of Colorado. I said that I wanted a coach who shared the same
commitment and passion that I do for our student athletes and this great university and football program. Karl
shares that passion. I also said that I wanted a coach that had the same commitment that I do but also that had
the same expectations that I do for our student athletes, winning in the classroom, winning in the community,
and winning on the football field. Karl is that guy. You’ll get to know Karl but what I’ve learned about Karl is he’s
someone that has impeccable character. He’s got a maturity level that I think is important for our student
athletes. He’s got integrity, he’s got this quiet, confident passion for young people, and he has great experience
at the collegiate and professional level. He’s got contacts in the west coast and in the PAC-12 having been
here. Most importantly, he knows the history and tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes. Again, I said that I wanted
to share this search to have someone that shared the same passion for Colorado football that I do and who
believes that we can win championships with the resources we have.”
“Karl coached here during a period when this program was a perennial top 25 team. He worked for Bill McCartney in ’92 and ’93 with a lot of the talent that Lance and I recruited, just saying. He was also the offensive coordinator for Rick Neuheisel from ’95-’98. He was a key part of our success at a time period when Colorado football was relevant and when people came in here and knew that they were going to play a tough football team. He knows it can be done and knows what kind of resources we have that we didn’t have then.””He and his wife, Kim Durrell, built a new house a year and a half ago that I knew nothing about until Thursday. As you know, they love this community. They love this university. That’s one of the reasons why he’s here. His daughter, Lauren, played volleyball here last year. Both children were born here. Chandler, glad you’re here as well.”
“I’m confident that we found the right coach for Colorado, to not only build this program into a championship contender, but having sustained success for a long period of time. Finally, and most importantly, I’m excited for our players, our student athletes, and I really appreciate their resolve and positive attitude over the past couple of weeks. Our seniors have been incredible. They provided the leadership that this program needs on an interim basis. I couldn’t be more thankful for them. Our football student athletes are great young men. I know that Coach Dorrell is the right person to help them develop and grow. I truly believe we found a coach who will lead this program to many great times. With that, I’d like to introduce our head football coach Karl Dorrell.”
–
Head Football Coach Karl Dorrell
Opening Statement
“Thank you, Rick. Thank you very much, Chancellor DiStefano, Lance, and the Colorado community. Thank
you. This was a unique experience for me. This was a dream come true. You heard the last comments from
Rick about how we have a home here. Being an NFL coach and being in the NFL the last 10 years or so, it is a
very volatile business where you move around a lot. We decided years ago that Colorado is going to be our
home to stay when it was all said and done. I did have that inkling in the back of my mind though that my
fondness for this university, and getting a chance to be in this position would be a dream and it came true. I’m
very thankful. I’m very thankful to be here. My brother’s here and his wife. This is a family program.”
receiver coach, my first division one job, when I worked for Bill McCartney. I learned so much from a great
man, not only from a football standpoint but also just as a person. The one thing that you wouldn’t know about
Bill McCartney is that you know what he is through and through and what he believes in. He’s passionate
about people and he was passionate about the sport of football. In his way of teaching me early in my career
was, with these players you’ve got to make sure that when you coach them that they trust you and believe in
you. As soon as you get them to where you have a great relationship with them you will get them to do almost
anything and make them achieve the goals that they can achieve as players. That’s stuck with me for a long
time in my career. Being his receiver coach for two years had a lot of success. We know that the foundation of
our team, when Bill was the coach, was our defense. Our defense was stellar, to be quite honest, and had
great players, players that played in the league and players that made a lot of accolades along the way. They
were the cornerstone of the success. As an offensive coach, I knew that the defense was going to get the ball
back for us for us to win. There were many moments like that where that was the case in our success in the
past. I still believe that. My story of coming here in 1992 and getting a chance to work for a wonderful coach
and wonderful players was very instrumental to my makeup as I grew as a coach.”
to do great things. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in the football arena. It can be in life. They can be in a
number of different things that they have an interest in. That’s why it’s so important to know the people that
you’re dealing with. Our culture is important. I was visiting with our support staff, the coaching staff, and the
people that are in and around our program. We have some work to do. We have to understand that with me,
and in this position that I’m in, it’s important that we really get a chance to know our players and know them on
an intimate level and understand how they know what needs to be done to pride them to be successful, both
on the field and in the classroom. Also, to be there to love them when they need that, as mentors or father
favors, for them in their lives. That’s the job of a coach. Our coaches will understand that. The staff that I bring
here will have the understanding that we’ve got to be in the people business. We have to develop the player,
but first you have to care deeply about the person. That is when you get the most out of him. I made that point
in our meeting earlier this morning how that’s relevant. That’s what’s going to get us to be a championship
team. For us to be confident, poised, close knit, confident in the guy that’s next to next to you and that we all
are going to do our job, which will function into playing great football. Our coaches and culture are going to
develop our players to be tough minded, battle tested, smart, to have a love to compete and have passion for
the game, to care deeply about each other, and most importantly, have one goal in mind which is to bring a
championship. We’re going to get that done with our coaching staff. That’s part of the vision of our program.
career to be able to be led by a number of people from my coach Terry Donahue. Bill McCartney was an
instrumental piece of that and Mike Shanahan was an instrumental piece. There’s a number of really great
coaches, and legends in the game, that have given me the opportunity to grow and to learn this great game.
I’m very thankful for them to be part of my background. Our staff has to be great teachers. That’s first and
foremost. The number one asset for any university is the students within it. We need to understand that as
football coaches. We’re going to develop them to be the best person that they can be so that we get the best
player on the field. That’s our standby. I believe that success can be sustained consistently, year after year, if
we’re able to get these things done. I know for a fact we can.”
my first division one job. My kids were born here at Avista hospital right in Louisville. I lived in Lafayette the last
time I was here as an assistant and moved back to Lafayette as my homestay, even though I’ve been in the
NFL. Everything is aligned for me to be where I’m at right now, today. It’s funny how the Lord gives you those
blessings and gives you an opportunity like this that is right there in front of me. Especially for 32 years of hard
work that’s culminated in an opportunity like this. You’re going to get from me, the very best of me. You’re
going to get a guy that’s here for the long haul. I built a home to prove it, prior to getting this job.”
‘What we do as a program stays within our program, but what we do on Saturdays will be a sight to be seen.’
What we expect our players to do and what they inspire to do this year is they think they can win now. I was
encouraged by that in our meeting this morning. So guess what, we’re going forward now. We’re going to ride
their coattails. We’re going to ride and drive them to be as good as they need to be. They know that it’s going
to take hard work. They know that it’s going to take a commitment level, accountability, cohesiveness and a
connectedness. They know that a lot of those things that we will work on in the process has to be established
and built for us to be as good as we need to be. We’re going to go for it. We’re going to put a great product out
there and get it done. We’re not going to use any excuses. We’re not going to use, ‘Because I got hired this
late in the process and spring ball is around the corner.’ We’re not going to use those as excuses. We’re going
to get it done. That’s what we have to do. That’s what their expectation is. When young people are inspired to
do great things, you don’t ever want to detract from that. You want to ride that. You want them to be the best
that they can be, and they’re telling you, superficially, that they’re really, really ready to give you their best.”
“I want to thank the coaching staff last year that put together this wonderful class that was I guess ranked 35th
or 36th in the nation. That is a great class to get us a boost of energy for what we’ve already done in the
program. I’m very thankful for that. I’m looking forward to building on this process.”
“I’m here for the long haul to do that. That’s what I want you to know. This is my dream job. This is my dream
job. You’ll get the best out of me, and I’m sure that it’s going to be reflected in the players that you see play on
Saturdays. I want to thank you and I want to thank the Boulder community. I’m happy to be back home. It’s
funny how I was only spending my summers, which is the only time that I would have a chance to spend any
time here. In the NFL season, you get the summers off and you get four or five weeks off so I’m usually at my
home in Colorado here from mid-June to mid-July, and then I’m gone wherever I’m at. I was at the Jets for the
last four years before going to Miami. Now I don’t have to make those trips anymore. I’m happy to be home
and am very thankful.”
On What He Learned During His Five Years As UCLA’s Head Coach
“It’s a great question because we all learn through the process of a lot of situations and experiences that you go through. My first head coaching experience at UCLA, it was a very rewarding experience to be honest with you. It was a challenge that I think I really embraced to overcome. There were a lot of different things that were in and around the program that were very challenging to fix, and we were able to do. I think from that experience alone, it told me that it’s really important that you really build your program with the right coaches and you get to know your players at an intimate level from day one. I think that was something I didn’t do early in my career at UCLA, but I think it really expounded in a number of different ways, even as an assistant coach, how it’s helped elevate everyone’s level of coaching and of the product that you get from your players. The biggest thing I would say is, like I’ve expressed today, our players are our number one asset. Everything goes through them for their success, and I’m at an academic institution which provides the players with the resources to do the things well in the classroom and on the playing field. So, those things go hand in hand and it’s really the main important factor of everything that we’ve done.”
On What He’s Said To The Players And Recruits
“I met with the seniors last night, which I think was really a great idea from both Rick [George] and Lance [Carl] to bring them over for us to meet. Because for them, this is their last hurrah for their career. It was a great statement of support and respect for us to do that the day prior to meeting with the team. They were very appreciative of that and we really had some great discussions. A lot of it is what you would expect kids to talk about, which was that they want to be developed. They want to go for it all, they want to use this year as a milestone for their life. Those are the aspirations that I want young people to have, I want them to reach for the stars. I want them to put themselves out there and go for what they think is attainable. As a supporter of that, I want to give them whatever I can to get them to attain that goal and I think those are really important things. Like I said with the staff, they did a tremendous job of keeping the program moving forward in a strong direction even though this search was going on, and I expressed that with the team as well. Telling them that it takes character for them to do that and not really having any certainty about what’s going on and who would be their leader. So, young people are very resilient, as we all know with our own children. They can get through almost anything. There’s also the part of me that I know about young people, because I’ve coached young people in the NFL at the best level of football, and they’re still kids. They still want people to instill confidence in them, they want people to believe in them and they want to be coached hard so that they can reach the goals that they aspire to be. That’s at the professional level and I know, obviously, that can be done at the college level and that’s what our task is as coaches and our coaching staff. We’re here to bring out the best in them, both as a player and as a person.”
On His Decision To Leave The Miami Dolphins Despite Being Promoted
“That’s a good story and I’d like to share this for the Colorado faithful to understand the dynamics of what happened. Rick alluded to it, but I’ll go back through it. The NFL Combine is this week, as we speak. We had Friday off, Coach Brian Flores, the head coach with the Miami Dolphins, gave us Friday off to kind of have a weekend off prior to going to work and doing what we do at the combine. I left Thursday night from Miami to come here to have a couple days with my wife, son and family, and I was flying out yesterday to go to the combine in Indianapolis. I get this call on Thursday afternoon about, ‘Hey would you be interested in this job?’ and that kind of floored me to be honest with you. It really surprised me. I said, ‘Absolutely’. Lance [Carl] asked when we could talk and I told Lance on the phone that I was actually flying back to Colorado that Thursday night. Then he went and talked with Rick and got back with me a little bit later that day. They asked if we could meet at my house and I said sure, I understood that we wanted to be discreet, so we set up the meeting. After I was on the phone with both Lance and Rick, I sat back in my chair and I realized I needed to tell Brian Flores what was happening here. Brian’s going to be a wonderful head coach. I mean I love him, I’ve worked with him one year and I feel like we’ve worked together for 15 or 20 years, but I sat down with him and told him about the conversation and he was very, very supportive. He told me that it was a great opportunity and that he knew I already had a home here, so we shook hands, hugged and when I’m leaving his office he told me how he really didn’t want to lose me, but something like this just makes sense. So, I fly home, we have a meeting, I get offered the job and I’m still floored, like ‘Wow this is going so fast it’s unbelievable.’ I tell Kim [Dorrell’s wife], and she was shocked by it, we were all giddy about it, so I called Brian and I said, ‘Brian I’ve been offered the job’, and he’s so excited. Remember, he just promoted me to assistant head coach and I really appreciated that from him because he entrusted me with being responsible for certain aspects of the professional organization, which I was very appreciative to do. They [Miami Dolphins] made it hard because they tried to keep me, but I’ll tell you this, I would probably still be there because of where my career was going in the NFL if it was another college job, but because it was Colorado, my home, there was no one that was going to take me away from this job. I know that I’m here for a reason and I know that I’ve accepted the challenge of leading this program to greatness. I’m going to work tireless hours to do that because this is a place that I believe in. It’s a part of my fabric, it’s a part of my background, and you guys are going to get the very best of me which is going to be a very good football team.”
On How He Will Recruit
“We’re going to recruit naturally in the areas that have been really productive for us. Obviously, our state is important. We want the foundation of the best players in our state to stay here, so we need to do a great job of taking care of home. That’s kind of the heartbeat of your team, right here from home, so we want to keep our best players here. There are some good programs that have really good players here and we need to make sure we take care of that. But California has always been big in our history of having success, Texas has been big, Louisiana, so I would say the western region of the country, which is where our conference is, is probably our main primary base. From my experience in other places, you know I lived in Florida for a while, my son and daughter went to high school there, we have connections there so those would be kind of spot recruiting, not primary areas but connection areas. I think we’re going to continue with the path that we have right now. I think that’s been very instrumental to our success. The type of player, I think that was the other part of your question, we’re going for the best players. We have a lot of proud history of great players from this team and from this program. I’ve had a couple of great ones, Michael Westbrook, Charles Johnson and Darren Chiaverini. I’ve coached some really good receivers here and there’s been great defensive players and great quarterbacks. We have a good history of talent to display with some of our family about why this place is a special place. We’re going to get back to recruiting the best players.”
On His Plans For The Current Staff
“That’s a good question, we’re actually going to start that process this afternoon. I met with everyone just briefly this morning as an introductory meeting, but we’ll get right into interviewing the guys that were highly recommended which are the guys that are here. I do need to work fast on building the staff. I feel it’s fair for me to get a chance to visit with them first and then we’ll kind of go from there. It’ll probably be a process of over this week. I want to meet with my players individually as well, so it’s going to be a busy time where I’m going to be burning the midnight candle a little bit, but I need to meet with those players individually for a time period as well. So, I want to get that done and there’s a number of players to do that with.”
On If The Defensive Scheme Will Change And If The Spring Schedule Will Change
“You’re way ahead of me here. Yes, and answering the last question about the calendar, we have to be receptive to that because it depends on how quickly I’m able to assemble the staff, but that’s something we’ll visit with and that’s not a problem to do. Our players know that, I expressed that to them as well. One thing about this staff, you have to understand this, I’m going to hire the right people. I’m going to hire teachers that I think are great communicators that care deeply about our student athletes. They have to have these qualities that build up this staff and remember, I told you guys earlier, I’m here for the long haul. I’m not here to quickly piecemeal a staff and then away we go. I want to build it for years to come. So that’s going to be a little bit of a process and it might change our spring calendar.”
“As to our style of play, I just want to give you a preview of how I envision our team. It really comes from my last experience here. The cornerstone of our program was our defense. I’m an offensive coach, a wide receiver coach, quarterbacks, passing game, all that stuff, but I know from the very heart of hearts that the program came from a cornerstone which was our defense. Whether it was Alfred Williams, Kanavis McGee, Chad Brown, Deon Figures, there’s a number of great players that played in this league and played on a professional level, but it was the cornerstone of the team. I still believe in that as an offensive coach because if I had a great defense, they’re turning the ball over and giving me more turns on offense. That’s what an offensive coach wants is more turns, because you get more points. We didn’t have a problem scoring points when we were here offensively. I’ve had a couple of receivers that, matter of fact, Charles Johnson and Michael Westbrook were a 1000-yard receiver tandem. So, we were able to function well prolifically offensively with the defense being really the cornerstone of who we were. Special teams are critical in today’s game, like it is in any game, but I think special teams and game management are really critical pieces to winning the tight games.”
“The close games against a great opponent is coming down to the wire, you know there’s some execution that needs to be done effectively because it’s not just kicking a field goal through the uprights but there’s some decisions that need to be made prior to getting to that position, that are going to be important as to why you win those games. So special teams are just that X factor, you want to make sure that area is better than most that you go against. That’s kind of my vision, it’s going to be led by a tough stellar defense. We’re a three-four base right now, we’re kind of built for that. Matter of fact, the last time I was here we were a three-four team. I’m good with that because it’s a great defense to adjust to with these offensive sets that offensive coaches do. So, I think it’s a good foundation for our defense. Offensively, I like balance. We’re going to throw the football for sure, but we need to be able to run the football as well. The best it’s ever been, and it probably hasn’t been that way since, was when we had the Heisman Trophy runner with Rashaan [Salaam] and two prolific receivers outside that he had 2,000 yards rushing and they each had 1,000-yards receiving. I’d say that’s a pretty good offense. It just depends on where our strengths are, but I think the goal is that we want to be balanced, we definitely want to have a run threat and be able to run the football, but we’re going to be able to throw the ball as good as anybody.”
On His Coaching Philosophy
“The first thing that I know as a coach, and I told our players and our support staff as well, is that I have to earn their trust, I really do. I think the foundation of anything we do is that I want the people that are working with me and the players that are working with me to know; what’s my fabric, what’s important to me, and am I out for his best interest, which I am. I need to express all those things to kind of gain the trust factor of those players to believe in the message that we’re sending, and I need my coaches to do the same thing. They have to build that trust level within their respective positions. Again, really spreading that message. I know that universities have restrictions in certain areas and I know that I’ve dealt with that in my past. There’s no perfect scenario. There’s no perfect scenario where you’re going to have every resource you need to to get the job done. I don’t think life is perfect. I’ve been through enough of those things already as a coach and we all have in everyday life. So, I think the better thing of answering the question is, are we willing to work with each other. Sometimes it might mean that I can’t get what I need in this area, but they’ll try to do something over here to help improve our situation. I’m very, very grateful and thankful for what I currently have to build my staff. My salary pool is tremendous to me, and they awarded me with that and I’m very, very flattered to be able to work with those numbers. I know that there’s academic conditions, there’s a lot of things that go on, and I’ve dealt with those things in the past, but I’m the type of coach that’s willing to do what the policy is. And if there’s certain things that need to be tweaked or anything like that then we can do that. I feel like we’re in really good shape. I feel that Rick and Chancellor DiStefano have really given me a great opportunity to have the resources that we need for recruiting. We have the supplemental areas in and around our football program from dealing with the nutrition and the weight training to the mental health and the academic support, all of those things that we talked about in our meetings, they know how instrumental those things are for me and for our success, and they’ve addressed those areas. I’m very very pleased.”
On His Teaching Style And The Difference Between Teaching And Coaching
“I would say this, I can only do it from my own experience. For example, I’m going to relate it to coaching receivers, which is what I’ve been doing the last few years. I kind of look into my craft as the coaches. The players are all different sizes and shapes, you know, some are faster, taller, stronger. Some have this X ability and some have this Y ability. They all are different and to me that’s like painting a canvas. I view it that way because as a coach I’m drawing and trying to draw the very best in every one of those different profiles. So in doing that, it’s not the same message for profile A that you might say for profile B. You have to be clever enough and crafty enough to get the best out of those players given their personality and skill set. Some guys pick up information a lot faster than others. Some need a little more reps than others. That’s the beauty of coaching in my opinion. That’s what keeps it fresh for us, being passionate about impacting these men to be the best that they can be. Sometimes the method of the teacher changes from just being the general chalkboard method. Maybe I’m at walkthroughs with the guy, or he needs more video time, or maybe I have a smart guy that he gets it mainly by just talking face to face. There’s so many different types of learning styles, and that’s what staff needs to understand. It’s not getting one message that you can get your point across, there’s a number of ways to do it, and I think the staff has to be clever enough to understand.
On His Previous Head Coaching Opportunities
“I did have other options or opportunities to look into. My experience at UCLA was a great experience and I’ve learned quite a few things that I put in my notebooks from that experience. I think it’s important at this level to feel like you can can build your program and have the resources to be successful. I think that’s been in place here. I don’t think there’s a lot of places that I was coaching at the professional level, and at that level, there is no limit or lack of resources. I think in college football, you need some certain resources to be successful and to be able to have the ability to hire staff. I think that’s an important recruiting piece is having enough in that support area to be successful. Obviously with facilities, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen, the background of the flatirons here, that’s just what drew me to this place back in 1992. There’s enough here to kind of get your blood flowing a little bit about how special this place is. I was asked many times by some of these guys that I just mentioned were on my staff, ‘Why aren’t you back in college?’, well I just didn’t feel that that opportunity was there and had all the things that I needed to be successful. Then this one came, and me being fond of this area and this school, what its done. I’ve seen the facility 14 years ago. What they were expressing to me about what they want to become and to bring back, that was a no brainer. And like I said, this was a blessing and something that I think was bound to happen.”
–
—–
February 23rd
CU Press Release makes it official: Karl Dorrell to be CU head coach
Press release from CUBuffs.com … Karl Dorrell, who has two previous “tours of duty” on the University of Colorado football staff, has been named the 27th full-time head football coach for the Buffaloes, athletic director Rick George announced Sunday.
George has proposed that CU’s Board of Regents approve a five-year deal for Dorrell worth $18 million, in which the first-year salary would be $3.2 million and then increase by $200,000 annually, not including additional compensation for any of several incentives in the contract that are met. He is also proposing a salary pool of $3.8 million for the assistant coaches, which is an increase from $3.155 million for the previous staff. The Regents must approve Dorrell’s contract, which campus leaders will present for their consideration at a meeting in the near future.
“I’m excited to be back, it’s like coming home,” Dorrell said. “The thing that excited me about this job is that my experience in the past here for the most part has been very successful. We had a lot of good teams, went to a lot of good bowl games. It’s a top caliber program that has a lot of potential, and I’m excited to return it to that level.”
Dorrell, 56, replaces Mel Tucker, who resigned on February 11 when he accepted an offer to become the new head coach at Michigan State. He was named CU’s head coach on Dec. 5, 2018, and coached the Buffaloes just one year, as Colorado posted a 5-7 record for the 2019 season. Tucker was hired after a 16-day search; the process to hire Dorrell actually took less time – 12 days.
Dorrell returns to Colorado from the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins, where he was the receivers coach for the 2019 season; he had just been promoted to assistant head coach last Thursday (Feb. 20) by head coach Brian Flores.
“I am excited that Karl Dorrell has agreed to become our head football coach,” George said. “Karl has had great success as a college coach, both as a head coach and an assistant, and he knows the Pac-12 Conference and West Coast well. It was important that our next coach have CU ties, and Karl has those ties having worked at CU twice previously. Karl shares my passion for Colorado and our vision for winning championships. He will be a tremendous mentor and role model for our student-athletes, and he will provide great leadership for our program going forward.”
Dorrell was actually coaching his second time as a member of the Dolphins staff, as he returned as the team’s wide receivers coach a little over a year ago, on Feb. 8, 2019. He previously served as the receivers coach from 2008-10 and was the quarterbacks coach in 2011, all four years under the late head coach at the time, Tony Sparano (he passed away in July 2018).
Bill McCartney hired him at Colorado as his receivers coach on Feb. 20, 1992, Dorrell’s first full-time job on the Division I-A (now FBS) level. In his first year on the staff, two of his players, Charles Johnson and Michael Westbrook, became just the fourth pair of receivers on the same team at the time to each have over 1,000 receiving yards in NCAA history; the first two do so at Colorado, Johnson caught 57 passes for 1,149 yards and five touchdowns, while Westbrook pulled in 76 receptions for 1,060 yards and eight scores. Westbrook earned first-team All-America honors for that season, becoming just the third Buffalo wide receiver to do so, joining Cliff Branch (1971) and Dave Logan (1975). Johnson added another 1,000-yard season in 1993, again hauling in 57 balls for 1,082 yards and nine TDs, earning second-team All-American accolades, with Westbrook repeating as a first-team his senior year in 1994.
The Buffs were 17-5-2 those two seasons, which included a win over Fresno State in the ’93 Aloha Bowl.
After leaving for the 1994 season to coach the receivers at Arizona State under coach Bruce Snyder, he would return to Boulder in 1995 as a member of Rick Neuheisel’s staff, reuniting with his quarterback from their playing days at UCLA. Neuheisel, on McCartney’s final staff in ’94, replaced the legendary McCartney as CU’s head coach and brought back Dorrell to be CU’s offensive coordinator and receivers coach on Jan. 12, 1995. He would add coaching the quarterbacks in 1998, the last season on the CU staff. CU’s offense under Dorrell’s direction proved electric, as the ’95 Buffaloes were eighth in the nation in scoring (36.9 points per game), sixth in total offense (486.6 yards per game, still the second most in a single season at Colorado) and eighth in passing offense (297.2 yards per game). CU was 33-14 in his second go-round on the staff, which included three bowl wins, two over Oregon in the 1996 Cotton and 1998 Aloha and over Washington in the 1996 Holiday.
It’s actually his fourth time he’ll be establishing roots in the state of Colorado. In addition to his two previous stints as an assistant coach for the Buffaloes, he was the receivers coach for the Denver Broncos for three years (2000-2002) under Mike Shanahan. Rod Smith’s first two career Pro Bowl selections coincided with Dorrell’s first two years with the team, and Smith surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark all three years under Dorrell’s tutelage. In Dorrell’s first season with the team in 2000, Smith and Ed McCaffrey combined for 201 receptions for 2,919 yards and 17 touchdowns.
He originally came to Colorado from Northern Arizona University, where he was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach in 1990 and 1991; in his last year there, NAU set school records for first downs (255) and total offense (4,539 yards). That followed his first full-time job as receivers coach at the University of Central Florida in 1989, that on the heels of his first taste in coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, UCLA in 1988.
CU Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, who serves on the NCAA Board of Governors, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and is the Pac-12 Conference’s CEO group chair, praised George for identifying and hiring someone with the high character, integrity and experience in Karl Dorrell.
“I know Karl from his past stints at CU, and am confident that his character, experience and passion for leading student-athletes makes him the right fit at the right time for our program,” DiStefano said. “I want to thank Rick George for his leadership, as well as our student-athletes for their dedication to the program during two coaching changes in the past 15 months. They are fine representatives of our university, and I know their character and enthusiasm will mesh well with Coach Dorrell as he leads the team toward re-establishing our football program as a top-tier competitor in our conference and nationally.”
The Dolphins finished with a 5-11 record last season after starting 0-7, showing dramatic improvement over the second half of the season. Miami averaged 276 passing yards per game during that stretch, with the season ending with a dramatic 27-24 win at New England which cost the Patriots a first round bye. DeVante Parker led the team in receiving with 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns, with 48 for 859 yards and six scores the final nine games of the year.
Prior to his second stint with Miami, Dorrell spent four seasons (2015-18) with the New York Jets as their wide receivers coach. During that span, the Jets had five different players record at least 50 receptions in an individual season while often enduring coaching a unit ravaged with injuries. Two of his receivers were former Denver Broncos in Brandon Marshall (who he previously coached at Miami) and Eric Decker. In Dorrell’s first season with the Jets in 2015, he helped Marshall set franchise records for receptions (109), receiving yards (1,502) and receiving touchdowns (14). All three marks ranked in the top five in the NFL that season, while Decker caught 80 passes for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns. The pair combined for the most receptions (189) and receiving touchdowns (26) by any wide receiver duo in team history, while setting an NFL record by scoring touchdowns in the same game on nine occasions.
He had returned to the NFL after one season (2014) at Vanderbilt University, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under first-year head coach Derek Mason.
He was the quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans in 2012 and 2013, where he worked with Matt Schaub and Case Keenum. Schaub passed for 4,008 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2012, leading the Texans to a 12-4 record, the AFC South Division title and a wild card playoff victory over Cincinnati before falling to New England in the divisional round.
After five years as head coach of UCLA, Dorrell went back to the NFL, where he served as Miami’s wide receivers coach (2008-10) and then its quarterbacks coach (2011). In his last year there, the Dolphins lost quarterback Chad Henne to a season-ending injury in the fourth game; Dorrell helped Matt Moore step in and pass for 2,497 yards and 16 touchdowns, with an 87.1 quarterback rating for his 12 starts. In 2010, Dorrell tutored Marshall and Davone Bess to form one of the top pass-catching combinations in the NFL, as the two would combine for 165 receptions for 1,834 yards and eight touchdowns (the receptions were the most by a Dolphins duo in team history). In his first season in 2008, Miami won 10 games more than the previous season, posting an 11-5 mark and winning the AFC East, as three of Dorrell’s receivers – Bess, Ted Ginn Jr. and Greg Camarillo – all had over 50 receptions and 500 yards (165 catches for 1,957 yards and 10 touchdowns combined).
In 2003, Dorrell was named head coach at his alma mater, UCLA. During his time heading up the Bruins’ program, the school posted a 35-27 record (24-18 in Pacific 10 Conference games) and earned a bowl berth all five seasons. His first team finished 6-7 and his second 6-6, with both suffering defeats in their bowl games. In his third season in 2005, UCLA went 10-2, recorded a victory over Northwestern in the Sun Bowl and finished with a No. 13 national ranking in the USA Today Coaches poll (No. 16 by the Associated Press). For the team’s performance that year, Dorrell was named the Pac-10 Conference co-Coach of the Year. In 2006, his Bruins upset cross-town rival and second-ranked USC, 13-9, knocking the Trojans out of a second straight BCS Championship game. That team finished the year with a 7-6 mark, and his final squad there was 6-6 before he was dismissed as head coach prior to the Bruins’ Las Vegas bowl date against BYU.
He twice worked with the Denver Broncos’ staff during training camp in both 1993 and 1999 as part of the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program, first under Wade Phillips and then under Shanahan, who would give him his first full-time position in the professional ranks the following spring.
Dorrell is not the first to be hired as the head coach at Colorado who previously was an assistant coach at the school; in fact, he is the fifth. He joins an impressive list of those who spent time in Boulder as an assistant before being named head coach: Frank Potts (assistant for the 1927-39, 1941-43 and 1946-47 seasons), Rick Neuheisel (1994), Gary Barnett (1984-91) and Jon Embree (1993-2002). Dorrell joined the Buffs the season after Barnett was named head coach at Northwestern, and Neuheisel actually had replaced Dorrell on the Colorado staff under Bill McCartney.
He also becomes the third CU coach to take over the program after signing day: Chuck Fairbanks arrived in Boulder on April 4, 1979 after a lengthy court battle with the New England Patriots to release him from their contract, and McCartney was hired on June 9, 1982 after Fairbanks left to coach New Jersey in the fledgling United States Football League (USFL).
As a student-athlete at UCLA, he lettered four times at wide receiver under coach Terry Donahue from 1982-86. He caught 108 passes for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns, and at the time of his graduation, he was second in receptions and fourth in receiving yards on the Bruins’ all-time charts. He signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys and played half of the 1987 season before he was placed on injured reserve.
Dorrell was born on December 18, 1963 in Alameda, Calif., and graduated from Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, Calif., a San Diego suburb (he was a two-time all-league performer and an honorable mention All-American as a senior). He is married to the former Kim Westley, and the couple has two grown children, son Chandler, who was a receiver at both Stanford and Vanderbilt, and daughter Lauren, who lettered three times on CU’s volleyball team from 2016-18.
AT-A-GLANCE—As a full-time coach, he has coached in 428 career games: in Division I-A (FBS) 168 games, with his teams owning a record of 98-68-2 which includes eight bowl games (1993 Fiesta, 1993 Aloha, 1996 Cotton, 1999 Holiday, 2003 Silicon Valley, 2004 Las Vegas, 2005 Sun, 2006 Emerald). In his two previous stints at Colorado, the Buffaloes were 50-19-2. He coached in 22 games in Division I-AA (now FCS), 10 games in Division II, and in the National Football League, he coached in 224 regular season games (80 with Miami, 64 with the New York Jets, 48 with Denver and 32 with Houston) as well as in four NFL playoff games (2 with Houston, 1 each with Denver and Miami).
–
—–
February 22nd
Daily Camera posts its Dorrell hiring story
From the Daily Camera … On Thursday, Karl Dorrell got a promotion with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
On Saturday, he got a new job.
BuffZone has confirmed through multiple sources that Dorrell has accepted an offer to become the head football coach at Colorado, replacing Mel Tucker, who left the Buffs on Feb. 12 after one season on the job to take over the program at Michigan State.
CU has yet to confirm that Dorrell has been hired, but it had been reported by several national outlets and then confirmed by BuffZone.
… Dorrell, 56, will become the 27th full-time head coach in CU history. The head coach at UCLA from 2003-07, Dorrell was the Dolphins’ receivers coach last year and on Thursday was promoted to assistant head coach.
Now, he becomes CU’s fifth head coach in the last 10 years and he will try to do what the previous four failed to do in turning the Buffs into a consistent winner.
… Dorrell was the Buffs’ receivers coach in 1992-93 under Bill McCartney, helping the Buffs to a 17-5-2 record and two bowl appearances.
After spending the 1994 season coaching the receivers at Arizona State, he returned to CU and worked as offensive coordinator/receivers coach from 1995-98 under head coach Rick Neuheisel. In those seasons, the Buffs went 33-14 with three bowl games.
During Dorrell’s first two seasons as Buffs’ coordinator, 1995-96, Carl was on the staff as a graduate assistant, working with Dorrell in coaching the receivers.
… When Dorrell was offensive coordinator at CU from 1995-98, one of his receivers was Darrin Chiaverini. The current Buffs’ interim head coach, Chiaverini interviewed for the head coaching position this week. Chiaverini has spent the past four seasons on the Buffs’ coaching staff, working under MacIntyre and Tucker.
Dorrell’s daughter, Lauren, played for the CU volleyball team from 2016-18 before transferring to Auburn last year.
–
—
Dorrell was appointed as Miami assistant head coach … two days ago
From the Palm Beach Post … Dolphins receivers coach Karl Dorrell has been promoted to add the title of assistant head coach, the club announced Thursday.
Dorrell will be a trusted advisor for head coach Brian Flores. Dorrell, who was once head coach of UCLA, mentored DeVante Parker last season.
Parker responded well to Dorrell, leading the AFC with 1,202 receiving yards.
–
—
The Karl Dorrell File
… From 1992 to 1993, Dorrell coached wide receivers at Colorado. In his first year with the Buffaloes, two of his receivers, Charles Johnson and Michael Westbrook, became just the fourth pair of receivers on the same team in NCAA history to each have over 1,000 receiving yards.
He then served as wide receivers coach at Arizona State in 1994 before returning to Colorado when they hired his former UCLA teammate, Rick Neuheisel, as their head coach. This time, he would serve as wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998. When Neuheisel left Colorado for Washington, he brought four assistant coaches with him – including Dorrell, who served as the Huskies’ offensive coordinator and receivers coach in 1999 …
From the Miami Dolphins … Karl Dorrell bio (does not include 2019 season) … Karl Dorrell enters the first season of his second stint with the Dolphins after being named wide receivers coach on Feb. 8, 2019. Dorrell previously served as the team’s wide receivers coach from 2008-10 and was the quarterbacks coach in 2011.
Dorrell spent the past four seasons (2015-18) with the N.Y. Jets as their wide receivers coach. During that span, the Jets had five different players record at least 50 receptions in an individual season.
… Dorrell joined the Dolphins following a five-year stint as head coach at UCLA. During his time heading up the Bruins’ program, the school went 35-27 and appeared in a bowl game all five seasons. In 2005, UCLA went 10-2, recorded a victory over Northwestern in the Sun Bowl and finished with a No. 13 national ranking in the USA Today Coaches poll, and No. 16 by the Associated Press. For the team’s performance that year, Dorrell was named the Pac-10 Conference co-Coach of the Year.
Before his time with the Bruins, Dorrell was wide receivers coach with the Denver Broncos from 2000-02.
… Prior to his stint with the Broncos, Dorrell was an assistant at the collegiate level for 12 seasons, including seven years as an offensive coordinator. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, UCLA, in 1998. Dorrell also held assistant coach positions at Central Florida (1989), Northern Arizona (1990-91), Colorado (1992-93; 1995-98), Arizona State (1994) and Washington (1999). In Dorrell’s 17 seasons as a head coach and an assistant coach at the collegiate level, the teams he coached put together 10 winning records and made 12 bowl appearances. He also worked with the Broncos’ staff during training camp in 1993 and 1999 as part of the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program.
Dorrell played five years as a receiver at UCLA (1982-86) and totaled 108 receptions for 1,517 yards (14.0 avg.) and nine touchdowns.
A San Diego native, he and his wife, Kim, have a son, Chandler, and a daughter, Lauren.
–
—
ESPN & CBS Sports: Karl Dorrell to be hired as CU’s next head coach
… Related … “CU coaching search: Karl Dorrell emerges as top candidate after Dolphins promotion, per reports” … from CBS Sports
… Related … “Report: Colorado to Hire Dolphins Assistant Karl Dorrell as New Head Coach” … from Sports Illustrated
… Related … “Colorado closing in on hiring… Karl Dorrell?” … from NBC Sports
… Related … “Colorado working toward deal with Karl Dorrell to become head football coach” … from USA Today
From ESPN … Miami Dolphins assistant head coach Karl Dorrell will become the new head coach at the University of Colorado, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.
Dorrell, who coached the Dolphins’ receivers, will succeed Mel Tucker, who left the Buffaloes to become the head coach at Michigan State.
Dorrell served as head coach of UCLA from 2003-07, going 35-27 in his five years at the helm. Under his leadership, the Bruins advanced to a bowl game in each year. In 2005, he took UCLA to a 10-2 record and victory in the Sun Bowl over Northwestern.
The Bruins finished the season as the No. 12 team in the nation.
In 1992-93, Dorrell was Colorado’s wideouts coach. He left for a similar position at Arizona State for the 1994 season before being brought back as offensive play caller beginning in 1995.
Earlier this week, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, a star running back at Colorado from 1987-90, withdrew his name from consideration for the job, ESPN confirmed.
Darrin Chiaverini has been serving as Colorado’s interim head coach.
Dorrell, 56, returns to college after spending the last five seasons as receivers coach for the Jets (2015-2018) and Dolphins (2019).
The Dolphins gave Dorrell a promotion this week adding assistant head coach to his title, but Dorrell has been looking for an opportunity to return to being a head coach.
Dorrell quickly earned the respect of his Dolphins receivers last season and played a key role in DeVante Parker’s breakout 2019 season.
Parker, who finished in the top-5 among NFL players with 1,202 receiving yards last season, credited Dorrell for teaching him how to watch film better, learning subtleties of the position and trusting him to succeed.
It’s a return to Boulder for Dorrell, who was CU’s offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach from 1995-98 and the receiver coach from 1992-93.
–
—–
99 Replies to “Karl Dorrell File”
I wouldn’t spend a nanosecond researching it but what f someone out there ranked sports writers?
They could consider such things as:
If they have ever played or coached the game past the high school level.
Do their own research….or try and cover the entire country like our buddy Mandel.
Have a mind of their own unlike the PAC 12 writer/bots all picking the same damn 2 teams.
Like to “stir the pot” by pulling stuff out of their arse like the DP’s baby boy/soccor mom.
and finally not because how many times they have been wrong, or been “right” by making the safe choices but how many times they have successfully predicted a Cinderella ….which would leave 99% of these nimrods way below a C-
That is very true. Who grades the self-proclaimed graders!
Regarding the rating of KD. Go back a few years and read the so called experts on the hiring of Al Oregon and even if I remember correctly he was thought to be on the hot seat and there were some articles predicting that he would soon be fired. He made a good offensive hire from the NFL and Voila. Oh yeah, it also helped that he received a transfer from a kid that became quite a good QB.
I for one since we have been through all this before like it seems forever, will continue as a loyal battered and bruised Buff let this all play out over the next 3 or so years. Yes I do plan to remain around at least that long.
Congrat’s KD on new hires, Spring practices imminent…
I feel we are in better shape on defense – coaching wise, and more to prove on offense.
I’m not holding Rodrigue’s last 2 years against him, HS coaching is often a passion, and his bio shows a lot of past experience. If he is a character guy that players like, I look forward to seeing what he does and rooting for him in a super important role, the OL
Psyched strength coach Drew Wilson back, that guy spends alot of time with the players, especially important in the offseason…
Also happy TailTucker didn’t make off with any other personnel…
Bowl Game, let’s go
It’s possible Rodrigue could be one of the best hires, at least from a recruiting standpoint, if not for coaching, which he may be very good at, as well.
Go Buffs
The last paragraph of the article on making six more hires official was perhaps the most newsworthy: drew lewis and a host of other staffers are also staying with the buffs.
Excited for the season!!
How long has HCKD Been in charge?:
And think of all the moving expenses he saved the AD by already living here.
Buffs.
Note: I am absolutely shocked that Lance Carl ( the one who someone says drives the train) did not get KD hired last year rather than the midnight rambler.
He got Mel hired instead. Didn’t get down far enough on the list.
But again, that’s irrelevant now. Karl’s the guy. Onward and upward. Hopefully.
Go Buffs
Yo Stuart,
Dingbat Mandell don’t know squat. Gave ASU an F for hiring Herm Edwards while going gaga for UCLA hiring Chip Kelly. Let’s see… Edwards is 15-11 with two bowl games… Kelly is 7-17 with no bowl games.
Also, Kelly followed Jim Mora who was famous for bringing in 4 and 5 star talent. So the cupboard wasn’t bare when he got there. His recruiting has been atrocious since arriving in Westwood. Also,
Edwards has been kicking USC and UCLA’s butt on the Southern California recruiting trail.
I’m hoping Karl Dorrell’s results are more in line with Edwards than with Kelly. I’m pretty sure they will be. Also, KD won’t be running back to the NFL after the NCAA sanctions his team for violations like Kelly did at Oregon.
Like a local sportswriter told me long ago, the one key to being a sportswriter is the ability to type fast. Still makes me chuckle.
mark /boulderdevil
Do you think Stewart Mandell would be willing to eat a full sized buffalo chip if the Buffs go to a bowl game at the end of the season? Poorly researched article with cherry-picked components is not impressive. I think I will support a different Stuart’s writing and miss out paying for the Atlantic!
Tried to post on his mailbag, but need subscription just to ask a question. Was going to post the above, minus Dumb… & $hit, but couldn’t. If you have a subscription… hint, hint, Stu, post the above, edited of course.
Stewart Mandell says “So, how on earth did he even come on Colorado’s radar? Two words: Search firms. Schools pay a lot of money to these headhunters, who then try to justify their existence by identifying more than just the obvious names.”
Dumb a$$ doesn’t know $hit about what he’s is talking about, RG didn’t use a search firm, had he read anything related to the process he would have known the search firm was a party of two, from the Daily Camera story: “CU athletic director Rick George and associate athletic director Lance Carl are conducting the search and not providing information.”
He also said Dorrell was just a position coach overlooking his recent promotion @ Miami, so has he actually followed or researched the story? The details? Or is he just throwing down crap to try & answer a question from his mailbag? Without taking any time on the subject.
What does that tell ya?
Mandel, Wilner and a host of others dont even want to know crap. They get paid anyway for regurgitating the obvious history. Funny that Wilner tried to tell everyone he wasnt lazy in Stuart’s latest posting. All they do is keep pushing the past winners and piling on the past losers. Whenever one of the “losers” over achieves not a damn one of them predicts it. Minnesota caught them with their pants down last year….(fluke, right?)and LSU to a certain extent. And of course all those highly informed analytics said the corn was gonna roll.Even though they had been losing for a while. Can you say pandering to the biggest audience?
The problem is the money gap has been making these slackard journalist’s jobs of fawning over the past winners and piling on the losers even easier.
I guess here’s some good news. All the husker money hasn’t helped them lately. Not sure it will this year either.
Go Buffs
Although I rarely ever comment online, I thought I would pass on the following two links for reference. The first links to an LA Times article written by Bill Plaschke in December of 2000 which blasts the hiring of Pete Carroll. The second links to the announcement by USC detailing the hire of Carroll as their new head coach. Now Dorrell may or may not turn into the next Pete Carroll, but I do think both provide an interesting comparison to the incessant criticism Dorrell’s hire is receiving from national pundits. The quotes by Mike Garrett in the USC announcement are also eerily similar to those of Rick George during the KD introductory presser. I realize neither article may mean much in the long run but I thought the similarities worth sharing.
Go BuffS!
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-16-sp-904-story.html
https://usctrojans.com/news/2000/12/15/pete_carroll_named_usc_football_coach.aspx
Great find!
Thanks for posting, William!
Great stuff. Thank you. I thought this line was hilarious:
I’m mad at them for turning even their few remaining reasonable alumni into screaming chat-room freaks.
Go Buffs
Now it’s all about the staff. Keep the good guys and fill in the holes with more recruiters and teachers. Other than the late timing aspect, that’s a core skill for a HC. Good assistants are always going to get offers to move up, so a HC has to maintain a replacement plan (look at Saban for example). We’ll soon get a glimpse at Dorrell’s skill in this area.
Did you know that when HCKD took over UCLA that Bernardi was on the staff. He fired him after one year.
The respect grows.
Buffs.
Note: And that was 17 years ago. The gardner was clueless
After watching the press conference and listing to Dorrell’s interview on the fan (104.3 the fan, you can probably find the interview on the site if you want). I believe more and more that this is the right guy. There are a bunch of Buff fans out there that seem disappointed with this hire because it was not flashy. But the more I listen to him the more I really like this selection. I think that his name has not been mentioned because we was never really considering coming back to college. I think he was set on a pro football coaching career and he was working his way through those ranks. Notice he always had a job. There was no point in which he was a “consultant” or “quality control analyst”. He was seen as a great position coach and always had a job. So here is what makes me excited:
1. During his time as an offensive coordinator (other than Vanderbilt) his offenses were high powered. Think about if we were hiring him straight from his time as an OC. We would be really excited about that.
2. It sounds like he truly learned from his time at UCLA. I really liked Howell’s article on other coaches given a second head coaching job. While I am sure there are failures as well as successes I think the driving force is does the coach learn from went wrong. From his comments and very honest answers I think Dorrell has really considered what happened and made changes to his approach.
3. Consistency – I do think he is here long term. We need this. After Tucker we need someone who is going to be here for 5 years.
4. Success. Let’s face it we have been to 1 bowl in 14 years. He went to 5 bowls in 5 years. The great Mel Tucker didn’t get us to a bowl. My bet is Dorrell get’s us to a bowl next year.
If anyone forgot, we have experienced Chev as a co OC and it wasn’t that spectacular. Laviska got the crap kicked out of him because he was Chev’s answer for everything or those terrible “throw it to the sideline” and get tackled for a loss plays he ran so often. Still I think under an experienced HC and former OC, Chev could develop and make another step forward to eventually being a HC.
Interesting how he didn’t make any lists for HC. Didn’t have to go around bragging about his black and gold blood. Didn’t even call about the job. Heck, no one even knew he had made this his home base for the last 10 years and just built a new house here. Even earahces solomon didn’t remember or think about him.
So how can you expect him to be on any list that ranks coaching hires? Hell I am surprised he is even on the list. Lowly CU hired who? Wonder what the ranking would have been if it was EB?
Oh well oh well. Still frigging freezing in Boulder. I’m gonna shoot that lying groundhog when I run into him. If not him then rabbit or something.
CU Football coach hires
2006 ” HWSRN”. Exactly zero years of prior power 5 HC experience
2011 “Embo”. Exactly zero years of prior power 5 HC experience
2013 “The Gardner” Exactly zero years of prior power 5 HC experience
2019 “The big lie” Exactly zero years of prior power 5 HC experience
2020 “Dorrell” 5 years of prior power 5 HC experience …35 and 27 (24-18_ 5 bowl games.
Wow when looked at like that there is quite and up grade in HC for the Mighty Buffs.
Go Buffs 2020
Note: “Go if you wanna go Stay if you wanna stay” Mr. bleed black and gold
Note:
Oh no! Chev is no longer inside the vk family inner circle of trust?
I’m watchin you Focker.
Go Buffs
Yur just dumb.
Come on, dude. That was a good one. You didn’t chuckle? Just a bit? I know you did. Not blasting Chev? Uh, ok.
Go Buffs
There are no [people pretending to be bankers in my inner circle of trust.
Most I know are phonies always looking at your wallet. Always strawmanning you to death causing earaches. Hmmm that could ??
Buffs.
Note: The bleeding black and gold comment was not in reference to chev. Yur an easy fish.
From an outside perspective, I think Chev leaving would be a mistake, I hope he stays for his sake and the program.
Question is how is he valued and respected in coming days ?
He should get a raise and maybe the question is whether he is offered OC, although I would rather see him again as assist HC and lead recruiter, primed to take over in the future…
I kind of want to see a “splashy” hire at OC…
You can bet whoever the OC is he is going to be heavily influenced by Karl. I hope all that NFL experience will translate to many many yards in the Pac 12
Agree ep! And, with the story being Chiaverini is back in the building, I’m betting (hoping) that influence is going to be “developing & coaching up” Chiaverini to become the student that becomes a master from all that NFL experience you mention.
Monies spent well keeping current coaches & filling open positions will improve the staff & team.
Agreed…….. Chev and Hagan come with the turf at Folsom. No truer Buffs than those 2 former players. And both should be getting a nice little raise.
There has to be a reason why RG has passed over DC for head coach twice. We know he is a great recruiter and has developed the receivers under his charge (Bobo, Fields, Ross, Shenault, Brown) since he has been here at CU. But there must be something in his interview or something else that RG and LC are privy to that we mere Buff fans don’t know.
Anyway, of the remaining coaches, I would like to see Tyson Summers retained as Defensive Coordinator. I read somewhere on this site that Mel _ucker had his thumb on the defensive play calling until the Stanford game when he let Tyson call all the plays. Wow…….what a difference!!! Stanford’s offense played on there heels the majority of that game because they had no idea where the pressure was coming from. Same thing in the Washington game.
I would also like to see Al Pupunu retained because of the improved play by the tight ends and hopefully his influence on recruiting Polynesian players. Of course Drew Wilson and the awesome job he has done in the weigh room.
I’m not sure about Brian Michalowski or Travares Tillman. It is probable unfair to rate Tillman due to all the injuries the DB’s suffered last year. I was impressed how quickly KJ Trujillo and Tarik Luckett got up to speed as true freshmen. That does reflect positively on Tillman’s ability to coach.
I am now anxiously awaiting how KD will fill out his staff.
GO Buffs!!!!!!
I love DC but think he isn’t ready for a head coach yet, much like KD wasn’t ready at UCLA. Look at how many years coaches spend working up through the ranks. Most of the time the young phenoms don’t have success because they lack maturity and admin/leadership skills.
I think DC promoted to OC and head recruiter with a nice pay raise is the next logical step in his progression. He needs to prove himself. If he and KD have a good relationship there will be plenty of fireworks on offense.
I also hope they retain Summers as DC because his blitz packages were effective and really fun to watch.
I guess karl’s First recruiting job is Chev?
https://247sports.com/Article/Chris-Fowler-reaction-Colorado-hiring-Karl-Dorrell-144217507/Amp/
Go Buffs
Be a shock if Karl didnt keep him. The question is: Has Chev finally bled out of black and gold after being passed over especially after Tucker the traitor
It’s definitely just another interesting wrinkle for CU. I would tend to think Karl would like to keep him. But, I’ve no idea. If Chev bails, I’d think that’s a bad call, but? We all have choices.
I’ll be back in like five minutes looking for the next update. CUBuffavirus disease, I guess.
Go Buffs
I’m with you. Basically once Chev’s fate is learned I can maybe stop hitting F5 so often.
Now I just want to see how he fills out his staff, so I can maybe quit checking the interwebs for CU football news. I have a problem.
Go Buffs
Yeah me too. Haven’t had time to keep up with other news… A pandemic virus spreading the globe? Stock market took a hit today? Oh well, I’ll read up on that stuff later.
Eric we both do. I check every few minutes worried about the rumors that Chiav resigned
What “rumors”?
Please cite sources … other than you.
Adam at 247 Sports reported that Chiv had told him he hadn’t resigned. I haven’t seen any other stories out there from an actual reporter … have you???
Didn’t know we required to do citations, I will pass it on once I find it again lol. As I’ve been scouring every source, paper, everything, multiple times daily looking for an inkling of info on DC and the recruits, guess I better start writing all of them down
And btw I read it in the internet so it’s true-lol. And you kind of already touched on it when you said” Adam at 247 Sports reported that Chiv had told him he hadn’t resigned” meaning there were rumors, and they are trying to confirm
Ultimately, everything happens for a reason, and this is no different. Wouldn’t be surprised if Karl ends up as a better hire than Mel…although only speculation and conjecture will ever address the reality. What remains true is, all Tucker had to show was 5-7…no more, no less. Personally, me thinks this is a great hire, despite the lack of “splash”, fanfare, etc.
Karl has kept a home in Boulder all this time. He sent his kids to CU. I’ll be happy with going to a bowl every year and being competitive. I think this was the right choice.
Did Lance Carl switch banks recently?
And whats up with the Chaffs and Jeds? Did they take me seriously when I said “what about Meyer?” or are they taking the time between manure shoveling classes at Fort Fun to shovel some in this direction? Probably wont hear them bragging about that splash Blahdaddio.
One more time on B-lame. Seems like every time I heard or read him he was complaining about something. I cant remember all of that but the one thing that does stick out in my mind is that he was actually asking the NCAA to outlaw the hurry up offense by making a time requirement before snapping the ball. Thats the last guy I want here as coach. Best choice for him is to continue babysitting linebackers in the NFL.
Looking at CU’s situation, as bleary as it may be, Dorell was the logical choice. He represents stability more than any of the other big name guys, who weren’t coming anyway,and is less of a chance than another ” up and coming guy” who felt stuck here but couldn’t leave to some place with a longer growing season until he was fired. I think he is capable of designing an offense that might actually make opposing DCs guess once in a while….wouldn’t that be a little slice of heaven? I’ll be shocked if he dumps Chev or Darian. If he can get the assistants he needs I dont see getting that one extra win next year as a big problem.
If you are looking for an example of that Dorrell offense check out the 2014 Vanderbilt Commodores. Real juggernaut.
The last two times CU had a total offense ranked in the top ten nationally, Karl Dorrell was the offensive coordinator … check it out. Real juggernaut …
That’s an ignorant comment and you know it. Go back to the cornhole you crawled out from under you troll.
I know…..so many other coaches have set the world on fire at Vanderbilt. Any one else would have made that program a juggernaut. And of course that is the sole example of the Dorell offense. You are a heck of a cherry picker. I bet you work for a political campaign. Either that or Scott Frost has frosted your buns. Choke on the corn, troll
Hey, Roger. You do just realize you put juggernaut and Vanderbilt in the same sentence? Lmao bud… yeah, of course he had a bad year there. They have ZERO football talent at that school. He was there one frickin’ season. Look at his successes elsewhere and with the individuals he coached. Give the man a chance or get outta here.
Buff nation isn’t for the timid or weak, Buff Up, Roger. Buff up.
Thanks for the page, Stuart. Love your passion and work.
I still miss the old buffzone chatroom, though. Looks like some of the old crew are still going at it on here, at least… lol
Ok, here’s my novella. EP, you may just want to turn the page. Nothing to see here.
First impressions? Pretty much met mine. I said I expected to be underwhelmed by the hire, and will support whoever it is with guarded optimism. Check.
Now, on to Karl himself. I believe he is way more prepared to be a college head coach than he was at UCLA. That’s good. As I’ve said, I don’t subscribe to VK’s selectively ascribed “peter principle”.
Recruiting to CU is a lot harder than recruiting to UCLA though. Dude did ok at UCLA on that front. Will he at CU? We’ll see.
Walking into a living room, he will have about as much name recognition as I would. Not a lot. Fortunately, he has some players he’s coached he can point to that may ring some bells, or can at least be found online. It sounds like he’s a cerebral guy (think Kiffin to Sark’s more bombastic style). That can play well, on and off the field.
Now, was he my first choice? No. Was he my fifth? No, but I think he’s not an illogical choice. But, the thing about hiring is it’s never a certain result. You go w/ the person you think has the best chance to succeed in that position, and you give them the tools to do so. Would EB, Sark or even Mora brought more winning to CU sooner (ie: had better odds of success)? Maybe. EB and Sark have instant credibility in living rooms. Other than Mora, they also would’ve left CU sooner than I believe Karl will, as well.
Dude’s been a nomad for 20yrs. By the time we know whether this has worked, or not, he’ll be pushing 60. My guess is, he doesn’t feel the need to chase anymore. Certainly, he may move on to his next big challenge, but seems way less likely to do so than any of the other top candidates.
But to me, there may be a bigger question. Reports are CU had a $3.9 mill/yr target for their next guy, along w/ an increased assistant coaching pool. Before they actually knew who it would be. That’s not SEC money, and Big 10 money, but? It’s a lot of money. Karl gets $3.2 to start, and up from there.
So, here’s my question/concern: Is there a deeper issue at CU than we like to believe?
It used to be, “well, the administration doesn’t support football”. Ok. Based on my interactions w/ Benson, I think he put that to bed. Then it was, “well, they need the facilities”. Check. (and a hat tip to MacIntyre, who inserted construction benchmarks into his contract, and to Rick for meeting them by raising the money to actually do them).
So, beyond that, what is it? That’s my concern.
It may be some personalities within the athletic department, as much as anything else. It may not. I have no inside knowledge. I’m just wondering why $3.9mill and selling the crap out of your dream gets you a miss in 2018/19 and again in 2020. And now gets you a guy who seems like the third or fifth best choice. And I don’t begrudge that he’s a friend of Lance. It’s a natural part of hiring people that you know and are comfortable with.
Having said that, it could work out swimmingly. That’s the thing. There are no guarantees with hiring. And, in D1 football, there have been what, 5 guys who’ve won a national championship in the last 20yrs? So… we’ll see where it goes.
In the meantime, I will support Karl, the program and my alma mater. And, if it doesn’t work? I’m betting the new president will be looking at a new athletic department in the next 3-5 years, in addition to a new head coach.
Here’s to hoping that’s not the case.
Go Buffs.
The prince of the pulp of multiple what if strawman babble shines himself mirrored against the backdrop of the unknown and understood reality of his time that has long diminished any heart beat of analytic comprehension or studious knowledge which as usual makes little or no sense except that it doesn’t regardless if you believe, want to believe, cannot believe or won’t believe in the happenstance of events that do not influence or do influence the growth of the mind and the influence of genes, yes or no or maybe an how irregular genes are what they are and cannot be modified hence the abundance of earaches that appear all around you. Matrix city.
Mein Gott are you a banker?
Buffs.
Note: EP don’t bother. It’s a bathroom magazine babble Turn the page and get off the pics
Hilarious VK
thanks for the heeded warning…from both of you.
Maybe if we show earache a little more love he might pull himself together and narrow his focus.
One idea I had was to take his risk assessment experience as a loan officer and apply it to play calling. Like….on 3rd and short should we do the expected and send the RB straight at the nose guard or catch everyone on D in the box and throw deep?
But then I realized it would be straight at the nose guard every single time.
Bet then an even better thing dawned on me. Earache could be the 3rd level assistant QB coach. His job would be to teach the QB to go on a mind numbing ramble when he is making his pre snap calls. Then the RB could go straight at the nose guard every time because he would be sound sleep on the ground
I like it. If we’ve got Andre Gurode making the holes, and Nate Solder and David Bahktiari all on the same line, it would work just fine.
Go Buffs
I get a kick at people bagging on his record at UCLA. Like we wouldn’t take that at CU at this point. Plus what if you look at UCLA record before or after him it is not much different, better or worse.
Think he is a good hire.
I like this hire ! I also liked the Mel Tucker hire !! { YES, Totally shocked WHEN he moved on, I thought we had him for a minimum of 3 years] If Karl can give us 4 solid winning years, I’ll be a happy camper and feel we finally are in the new decade that is looooooooooooooong overdue.
Good morning.
Another winter/spring day in Boulder. Snow, oh ya.
New coach, new era, new day……………………it is our karma………….always new………….I want some old stuff like az or ep…………..that is old stuff…………..old codger too………
Go Buffs……………renew your tickets or get your tickets and quit whining………..
Sko Buffs.
Note: Not a peep from Chev……………….hmmm.
Not a peep because it hasn’t been made official yet. Nobody’s made a peep except for the media. You’re a smart man, you know he’s going to immediately tweet something once RG makes this official. I see him staying. Dorrell was his coach, he likely has a raise coming, and he bleeds black and gold! Go Buffs!
No tweet.
Cleaned his twitter of all things Buff Football
Simply states Husband and father.
No longer says interim coach or WR coach or RC or Assistant head coach. Nothing.
Guess it’s cause he doesn’t know what his job is or if he even has one.
He put a big sell on getting that job on social media. Kinda embarrassing actually.
Hope things work out for him. Egos.
Up the Buffaloi
Karl Dorrell’s last college coaching job was at Vanderbilt in 2014. He was the OC and left after 1 season. His offense averaged 17.2 points per game and finished 3-9. His record at UCLA :
2003 – 6-7
2004 – 6-6
2005 – 10-2
2006 – 7-6
2007 – 6-6
His last two jobs were with the Miami Dolphins and The New York Jets. Two teams that consistently set the NFL on fire (not).
I’m sorry, but this is a very depressing hire. Yet another gut punch.
Sheesh oh Sheesh oh Sheesh.
So there is that. Really
He is gonna be better than you can even imagine. Which appears not to be hard to do.
Oh well Up yur Buffalo
I was very disappointed when Mel Tucker suddenly left the way he did and this hire of Karl Dorrell has left me feeling even worse if that is possible. Rick George was put in a bad position so he had to do what he could to try and salvage the situation. Unfortunately, I think this will turn out to be a bad hire and Dorrell will be gone in 3 to 4 years. I hope I’m wrong but, this is my initial reaction to this new head coach.
Ye oh it’s just the big rat hole sucking you in. Easy to do as a Buff fan. Don’t let yourself go down any further. Three 5 and 7 seasons in a row. This guy is totally different the the previous 2 or 3 or 4 previous coaches. Read the stuff about him with an open mind.
Needs your support. Needs all of our support.
So Handle it
Buffs
one big positive IMO…he will most likely throw the damn ball. As Mark said we already have a DC who has improved the D. …if he remains. I am hoping he was too embarrassed by big talkin Mel to follow him for those 30 pieces of silver.
I have been waiting as long as CU has been losing for an exciting offense. That was the one misgiving I had about Mel. We still have the WRs. Lets use em. I want to watch CU pass everyone silly (without giving up the run game…we have RBs better than the overrated Borghi) instead of watching Hawaii, WSU, the USC freshman and Joe Burrow do it.
The offense has been real weird the last 3 years. Real weird. Wonder why.
Exciting is neat and I hope they can do it. But most of all I am hoping for a consistent offense. That would be a huge change cause you have to admit they have had some exciting plays over the last 3 years. But not necessary consistent.
The run game. Gotta keep that run game. Make it even better. They have the players to do it.
Agree, gotta keep the DC. Gotta get the line coaches on the plan.
Man it’s only February 23.
6 months and 2 weeks before the Mighty Buffs Stomp the rammies in their new stadium.
This is so much damn fun don’t ya know
Matt McChesney likes the hire.
I like McChesney’s optimism. I hope he’s right!
Go Buffs
Not a splash hire. And I think that’s fine. CU doesn’t need another splash who is out in s flash. Dorrell has the CU connection and was an integral part of winning seasons, took them to 5 bowl games at UCLA, strong receiver coaching abilities, should bring stability to the program, and also should resonate with African American players. Keeping Chev is a must for recruiting and continuity. I would be shocked if he didn’t since Chev was a player when he was O coordinator. There are a lot of elements here I like. D coordinator will be critical. Overall, I feel this is a good hire. Go Buffs!
Yo Stuart,
I will absolutely take Karl Dorrell as CU’s next head coach. He was made a Pac-12 head coach when he was pretty darn young. He certainly made some youthful mistakes back then but he still was bowl bound every year. I’m sure that after more than a decade in the NFL he has matured and learned a great deal.
He knows Colorado. He coached here at Colorado (also coached for the Broncos). In fact, he coached Chiaverini. They know and respect each other. I think they can work well together and Chev can continue his education toward becoming CU’s coach one day.
The real key will be for them to continue to emphasize the offensive and defensive lines. I’m hoping that Karl either keeps our current defensive coordinator or has an idea for someone if he should decide to go elsewhere. I was really happy with how our D progressed last season under Tyson Summers. By the end of the season they looked very strong.
Of course, Dorrell gets to pick his own staff. It’s part of being a head coach. We’ll see what shakes out. But if it does come to pass, welcome back to Boulder Mr. Dorrell.
Mark / boulderdevil
Guys, I bleed black and gold, Stuart thank you for your continued support with cuatthegame! I never post comments but felt like chiming in and saying let’s look at positives Dorrell brings! Winning records and bowl games in PAC 12, ties to CU and recruiting in California, NFL resume goes along way with recruits. As long as he keeps coach Chev on staff I’m excited about the future of CU football!
JZ, your commentary is heartfelt and well spoken. I am super excited to have this kind of leader taking charge of our team. Go Buffs!
Ok, let’s band together and support the guy. Not a pick in my first five but we have to deal with we can get. As a Buff forever I will support him as long as he keeps Chev, one of the top recruiters in the land.
Move forward and have success (which means a bowl game soon as I need to spend my $ traveling to some backwater bowl game). I will take it in a heartbeat!
I agree. I think his record is strong enough that he deserves our support as he gets everything in place. I am excited to hear him talk about his plan and see how he puts his staff together
100%
Go Buffs
You keep asking.
If you are not from Badger Land you have no clue what a crap head, along with his wife is. A fat pig fart that is more into himself than the gardner. He was on his way out in Madison when he left. Couldn’t hack it in the SEC.
You are lucky he was not selected.
More than you know.
Buffs
First of all, you don’t have the slightest clue what you are talking about other than he’s fat. Second, he was by no means my first choice but the question was how is Dorrell’s resume better. I’ll ask a different way. How many power five universities do you think have called him about a head coaching job in the last 8 years? How about any university? Take an educated guess.
1 less than your belieima buddy.
And oh yes I know all about the bad boy belima.
You just don’t like our new coach. I get it.
But when you want to compare him to someone. don’t use beliema
The hiring doesn’t make any sense. Friend of Lance gets hired. That should be the headline. We could compare him to Neuheisel if you like. Students, alumni, certainly donors deserve an explanation as to why (if media reports are true) multiple people with better credentials were interviewed and interested and this was the choice. Feel bad for Chev actually. I wasn’t rooting for him to get it but to be passed over for this. Really tough for him. I’d prefer him. Or Rick. Or Calhoun. Or…
Lance Carl had never met Mel Tucker before he interviewed him.
If you have to be a friend of Lance to get hired, why didn’t he hire his buddy in December, 2018?
Wow – for all of the accolades Rick George typically receives this seems like a completely botched hire. Hiring a “CU guy” should not have been the primary motivation – just need to write the freakin contract (for the right guy) with a very severe penalty for leaving! Unfortunately this looks to be another disaster unless Dorrell has learned something significantly different that only Rick and LC are aware of…
Complaining about a man, who took his team to only 5 bowl games & a 10-2 record once in his first head coaching job? Which was 15 years ago & has been working in the NFL since? Maybe he’s learned a thing or two? MacIntyre had one great year too, but in no other years went to a bowl. Dorrell may have gotten fired from his first gig, but that’s how coaching goes; many have been fired.
His head coaching experience along with the NFL coaching experience, and recently being named an Assistant Coach looks good to me… so far. So let’s read some more about him, he worked with the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program, should be good experience for recruiting and coaching young men.
Was on staff at CU, more than once, and in Denver, I bet he loves Colorado… the state… and maybe the school too. YES? 😉
I’m betting he’ll keep Chev & that’ll help with the new recruits & maybe (still) make Chev the HC in waiting.
What’s really important is how do the players feel about this and can RG & Chev (I’m assuming he will) sale this new coach & transition to the 85 on scollie & the walk-ons, coaches & other staff? If so, and I believe they can, then the Buffs will be alright. And,now that we know that MT would have left in a year or two, it’s done… and hopefully for a longer time than he would have stayed.
Thanks for the great recruiting class MT, have fun with the upcoming sanctions at MSU, the Buffs will be just fine.
Agree 100% with you MarcusJBuff. Giving the timing and circumstances, I’m not sure RG could have landed a better hire. All the candidates mentioned had major question marks. I’m on board and will look forward to see how he fills out the staff (again, tough time to do it, but your reference to his involvement with the Fellowship program expands his network).
Go Buffs!
Shrug. A guy with nfl and ncaa head coaching experience, a guy with cu connections that isn’t looking to jump ship as soon as possible, a guy that will retain chev and this the current class.
I see this as a good hire.
Initial thoughts on Darrell:
1. His record as an offensive coordinator is pretty impressive. CU and Washington has good years when he was serving as OC.
2. He can absolutely coach wide receivers. The list of his receivers that have huge success in college and the NFL is impressive.
3. He has a winning record at UCLA.
4. He went to a bowl every year as a head coach at UCLA.
5. As a head coach his teams seem to be a bit inconsistent.
6. He hasn’t been an HC, OC Or in the college game in 13 years.
7. His recruiting at UCLA was very poor. https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_recruiting/2018/9/22/17890324/the-recruiting-history-of-ucla-football-since-2000
So to sum up. Real good OC, decent head coach, horrible recruiter, great receiver coach.
Frankly, if we go to a bowl the next 5 years I will take it. They better keep Chev though to recruit.
I didn’t know his recruiting at UCLA wasn’t good, I wonder if that will improve with his work in the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program. I don’t know, but players will know him from the NFL, not from back then, so maybe he’ll be better; I’d better a great recruiter today (at 55) but not so much when I was 30ish. My approach would be… how should I put this… wiser & more confident; more able to answer difficult questions & ask even tougher ones.
Yo RobO,
Interesting link you provided there. I find it kind of interesting that Jim Mora was able to recruit lots and lots of blue chippers to the Bruins. However, they did not develop them well and the certainly did not blow out the rest of the Pac-12 despite the talent.
I guess it means that Dorrell is a better coach and Mora is a better recruiter. KD did more with lower ranked recruits. Mora had all that talent he brought to Westwood and still got himself fired.
mark / boulderdevil
Well UCLA has had 3 ten win seasons in 20 years and Dorrell has one of them.
New dog replaced him and had 1 winning season in 5
Dorrell didn’t have high recruiting classes but all he did was win.
So there is that.
As always I am hoping for the best here.
Hope it is not a real restart but rather than some tweeks and twirks and crap like that
Hope the players and recruits give him a big chance
Mel lied to em. To all of em. And us
The staff. Gotta get the staff.
Okay then
Buffs
interesting to say the least.
MT(alias the snake) at least saw SEC type defense and a run game as a way to win in the pass happy pac 12. We’ll see who he brings as assistants and if we go back to scoring 40 points and still lose.
WTF, he was a failure at UCLA and as I recall he got fired.
Five bowl games in five seasons.
Not a great record, but better than what CU has had for the past decade and a half. At least Dorrell’s teams found their way to six wins each season …
Maybe he can Rick to come to Boulder and they can go tubing down Boulder Creek.
I hope am wrong on this one and he has become a better HC and can bring in a solid staff.
In what way is Dorrell better than Bielema? Be specific.
I didn’t mention Bielema. I just responded to Steve’s comment that Dorrell was a failure at UCLA.
Again, not great … but five bowl games in five seasons. Let’s try that for 2021-25 … and then complain.
No you be specific. In what ways is Beilema better than Dorrell. You brought it up.
Supply the data
Buffs
Do two or three rose bowls count?
I actually prefer this guy to Bielema, but not for coaching resumes.
Go Buffs
Sure. Bielema went 68-24 at Wisconsin. Two Rose Bowls. A 12 win season and two 11 win season. At Arkansas (SEC) was marginal. 3 winning seasons out of five. 29-34. Dorrell, five seasons, 35-27. One 10-2 season, the rest 6-7, 6-6, 7-6 and 6-6.
He lost em both.
He quit or was fired actually before the third.
At arkansas his record was worse than the mad gardner.
Heck even gary anderson wen 19 and 7 at Wisconsin.
And do you know who Belimiaa’s OC was while he was there?
Belima is the HWSRN of Wisconsin football..
Buffs
I see, getting to rose bowls isn’t good unless you win? Ok. So did they not rip you some time or what? You don’t like Bret, nor his wife? What gives? Never mind. Doesn’t matter.
We all agree. We hope Karl solves the riddle of CU football.
My bet is he is a much better head coach now than 15 yrs ago. I do not believe in the Peter principle.
Go Buffs
Go Buffs
You don’t see.
Peter is alive and well. Look at the gardner. Back where he belongs
The offense of the Badgers back then was not his. Never was . He tried to take it to Arkansas but he didn’t know how to do it. Fact.
The offense was Paul Chryst’s ( He was the fat mans OC) who is now the HC of the Badgers
HWSRN = Beliema
Chris Peterson = Paul Chryst
Buffs
Stu, I believe UCLA was a consistent bowl team prior to dorrell’s arrival. He met that bar, but didn’t raise it and I don’t think beat usc so got moved out.
Nevertheless, that was a lifetime ago.
I think the guy had some decent recruiting (someone posted otherwise, but that is my recollection) and if he wins at CU he ain’t goin anywhere. If he doesn’t? Next.
I’d call it a friend of Lance hire that feels like a pop up fly ball. But, someone may steal home and win on that.
Go Buffs