Following Colorado’s 43-20 loss at Arizona on Saturday night, another debacle in a season filled with them, the decision-makers in Boulder had enough.
Karl Dorrell was fired by midday Sunday. Any hope that Dorrell, who was an assistant coach for the Buffaloes in the 1990s and then coached UCLA to five-straight bowl games, could turn Colorado into a contender again was gone with him.
It never really clicked with Dorrell back in Boulder. Mel Tucker was there only one season and finished with a losing record but it felt different that year, that the Buffaloes were onto something, that they were going somewhere.
Under Dorrell, it felt like they were going somewhere, too, but it was down.
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Colorado finished 4-2 during the COVID year and then 4-8 last season, Dorrell’s only full season in town. The Buffs were 0-5 this season but all five losses were by double-digits, blowouts and nothing looked to be getting better.
It got so bad that Colorado athletics director Rick George released an open letter on social media stating he heard the fans and shared in their frustrations. It might as well have also said that one more embarrassing loss would be it for Dorrell. That came Saturday when Arizona torched the Buffaloes.
After the game, Dorrell called it a “frustrating day.” He said “there’s always hope” but this situation looked hopeless. As many failing coaches do, Dorrell said the team practices well but it doesn’t show up in games. But that’s the whole point and Dorrell has to know he wasn’t cutting the mustard. Not even close.
The Denver Post called also for not only Dorrell’s firing but that of George and chancellor Phil DiStefano. There was a restlessness and frustration in town and columnist Sean Keeler calling for everyone’s heads in Boulder was only one example.
To be fair, Dorrell didn’t have a tremendous amount of time to fix Colorado’s problems but things seemed to be intractable, like Dorrell was pushing against an immovable wall. Or maybe he was the wall holding the program back.
Either way, Colorado gets to start fresh.
It won’t be easy because the glory years are far, far gone. The Buffaloes have had one winning season since 2005. The team hasn’t really been all that much of a threat since those Gary Barnett days. A big win here or there but not enough to write home about. That 10-win season under former coach Mike MacIntyre should have gotten the stadium named after him because it’s been ugly before and after that campaign.
Tucker got things jumpstarted but then jetted off to Michigan State. The names mentioned for the Colorado job before Dorrell was hired make me think maybe - just maybe - Tucker’s momentum could have been carried over. Eric Bienemy. Steve Sarkisian. Bret Bielema. Troy Calhoun.
At the time, Dorrell’s hiring wasn’t sexy but it made some sense. He previously coached in Boulder. He had decent success at UCLA. He had NFL coaching experience.
But the Buffs flopped. He’s gone. And the hope Dorrell talked about Saturday night in the desert will now be left for someone else to pick up the pieces in Boulder.
