posting an Athletic article discussing possible replacements Spoiler So who could get in the mix? The name everyone wonders about first is Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. He’s the school’s all-time leading rusher and played on the 1990 national championship team. He was the offensive coordinator during a disastrous 4-21 stretch in 2011-12 and was fired with head coach Jon Embree after two seasons. But his stock as a coach has risen considerably, highlighted by a Super Bowl win this month and getting in the mix for NFL head coaching jobs. The biggest question might be, with an NFL head coaching job potentially on the table next year, is he interested in his alma mater right now? If Colorado goes with an internal hire due to the timing, there are a few options. Defensive coordinator Tyson Summers has head coaching experience at Georgia Southern, though he went 5-13 and was fired midway into his second season. Wide receivers/assistant head coach Darrin Chiaverini has been on staff since 2016, and the 42-year-old has been one of the top recruiters in the country. If Colorado takes a swing at sitting head coaches, Boise State’s Bryan Harsin could be a fit. The 43-year-old has been and can afford to be picky, but he said in December that he doesn’t want Boise State to settle, a clear push for facilities upgrades. He also wasn’t happy about the lack of campaigning by the Mountain West for Boise State in the New Year’s Six, not to mention the school’s recent legal threats against the MWC over the new television deal. If he’s more open to leaving his alma mater, Colorado would welcome it. Harsin is 64-17 at the school. It might bring back memories of Dan Hawkins’ failed CU tenure coming from Boise State, but circumstances are a bit different now. Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun is already in the state of Colorado, and he’s coming off his best season in 13 years there with an 11-2 record. He’s reached 10 bowl games in that time. Calhoun isn’t tied to the triple-option offense. He has a background in the NFL and at other places like Wake Forest and Ohio. Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl is not far away in Wyoming. He’s familiar with the region and has posted four consecutive non-losing seasons at Wyoming. He also won three FCS national championships at North Dakota State. Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain had success as Colorado State’s head coach from 2012-14, going 10-2 in his last year. He won two division titles at Florida before that fell apart in Year 3, and he turned one-win Central Michigan into a division champion in 2018, but CMU is about to begin spring practice. Is it too late? Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason was in the mix at CU last year, and his athletic director just resigned at Vandy, but he’s coming off an ugly 3-9 season and enters 2020 on the hot seat. Former Colorado defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was in the mix at CU last year, as well as Colorado State this year. He’s now the defensive coordinator at FAU under Willie Taggart but would bring head coaching experience after leading South Florida from 1997-2009, before he was fired amid allegations of striking a player. In 2016 at CU, Leavitt was a Broyles Award finalist for the nation’s top assistant coach. Leavitt still owns a home in Boulder. Alabama analyst Butch Jones once nearly became the Colorado head coach, instead taking the Tennessee job in 2013. Things flamed out at Tennessee in 2017, but Jones has eight winning seasons in 11 years as a head coach at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee. He’s been interested in head coaching jobs since then and interviewed at Rutgers. Former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich is on the market after he was recently let go as the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator. Helfrich was Colorado’s offensive coordinator from 2006-08, so he knows the place. The 46-year-old went 37-16 at Oregon, but things went downhill after Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota left and Helfrich was fired after one down season. Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is a Boulder native and returned to coaching last season after a year away. The 59-year-old son of a former Colorado high school coach, he went 53-43 leading the Indianapolis Colts from 2012-16. Pagano last coached college ball for one season at North Carolina in 2007. Is there any interest in returning home?
Guys should be happy Mel bailed. Outside of somewhat decent recruiting class (probably should've seen a bigger impact given the big name new hire HC) the team was regressing under him. Bieniemy would be ultimate hire but I think Chiaverini is a rising star in the profession with loyalty to the program.
I imagined they called Bieneimy but how soon would he jump for a NFL HC job? Chiaverini has earned a legit look because he'll never leave and is responsible for half of the roster. Outside of that, nothing yet.
that’s the real issue. Would he bring in someone who’d be able to take over in 3-4 years if EB left. But, the NFL doesn’t seem to be knocking down his doors so maybe he’d in for the long run. He’d Fisch is someone who deserves to be looked at.
It's a good mixture. Only 1 wildly racist post that the jist was you can't trust black people or something boomer-y. CTbuff is his whirling dervish of shit posting self.
PJP3 already told me I’m crazy, but I don’t think Mora would be terrible note: I’ve been drinking, a lot.
I realize it's late in the cycle, but it's almost like they didn't even try outside of Harsin (and even he's a name that'll appear on most lists). There are a lot of other more interesting small school candidates if things went in that direction, and they don't even mention some of the other names CU was rumored to have interest in back before Tucker was hired (though I realize a lot of those guys have since been hired else where or they are no longer viable candidates). I signed up just for the comedy (plus AM & Co. have always done a good job). The coaching "big board" thread that someone started - not AM/SD/ect. - was about what I expected (mostly shit posts mixed with a few legit good ones), but funny none the less.
He’s great. We love him. He probably needs another 1-3 years to mature and max his potential. I don’t think I’d want him as our head coach today, but I certainly would in 2-3 years if he stays on this trajectory. And with zero offense intended to CU (my Alma mater), he would likely leave for a bigger job if he had any success there, which I expect that he eventually would. Seems like Chiv is the best bet to carry on the pride and tradition of the Buffs.
I think we’d all be more comfortable with the Chev idea if we knew what his potential staff would look like. Him as HC just makes me nervous as hell, but not like we have anything to lose at this point. What’s one more kick in the dick if it doesn’t work?
In over his head. I’m hearing that Mark Helfrich is tanned, toned, and rested, while waiting to come back home to Boulder though.