Karl Dorrell has found his 10th and final assistant coach ahead of the 2022 campaign, as on Tuesday afternoon, Colorado announced that Phil McGeoghan had been tapped as the Buffs' new wide receivers coach.
The official release confirmed news first reported by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.
McGeoghan's hire wraps a busy offseason that saw Dorrell make considerable changes to his staff.
In total, six new coaches, (Mike Sanford, OC/QBs, Kyle DeVan, OL, Clay Patterson, TEs/run game coordinator, Vic So'oto, DL, Rod Chance, CBs and McGeoghan) were hired.
Dorrell retained defensive coordinator Chris Wilson, ILBs coach Mark Smith, RBs coach Darian Hagan and safeties coach/defensive passing game coordinator Brett Maxie.
The 42-year-old McGeoghan most recently coached wide receivers with the L.A. Chargers from 2018-20, while previously, he also coached the wideouts with the Miami Dolphins (2012-14) and Buffalo Bills (2017).
His college experience includes stops at East Carolina (2016) and South Florida (2009-11), where he coached receivers at both locations.
McGoeghan first crossed paths with Dorrell when he was playing with the Broncos in 2001-02, at which time Dorrell was an assistant under Mike Shanahan.
“Coach Dorrell was a very good teacher, he was very patient and knew how to develop his players through a positive and calming influence,” McGeoghan said in a statement. “There were a lot of talented players in that room, and he always found the right way to reach every player. Many of us have remained very close to him for the remainder of our lives, someone we could always count on as we grew older and had families and needed advice, whether it was about our careers or our families. He was always someone who was sincere about caring greatly about his former players."
“I’m very excited about being reunited with coach,” he continued. “I believe it’s always a goal in life to be able to work for people who know you, trust you, and know what you can bring to the table every day. So it will be a privilege to work for a man who has integrity like Karl, who is obviously very passionate about football. I love the state of Colorado, so to be reunited with a very special man, in a very exceptional place, to take on a job that I am really excited about doing, it’s going to be special for our family.”
While the Buffs had no senior wide receivers to lose following the completion of the 2021 season, star second-year freshman Brenden Rice notably entered the transfer portal recently and has since committed to USC.
On Tuesday, soon-to-be junior Dimitri Stanley also announced he'd be entering the portal.
Redshirt sophomore Vontae Shenault and second-year freshman Chris Carpenter also departed the program in the offseason.
However, Colorado is still set to boast a strong wide receivers room.
Veterans Daniel Arias, Maurice Bell and Jaylon Jackson, all of whom are seniors in 2022, are expected to return while Montana Lemonious-Craig also is back, having seen considerable action in his two years with CU.
Chase Penry and Ty Robinson both got on the field often as true freshmen last fall, while the Buffaloes also reloaded on Sunday by adding Baylor graduate transfer RJ Sneed to the receivers room.
Colorado also brings in Grant Page, Jordyn Tyson and Chase Sowell as true freshmen ahead of this upcoming season.
“I first got to know Phil when he was on the roster with the Broncos and he was in my receivers room,” Dorrell said. “I remember him as technician of the game, a very detail-oriented guy. He was someone who you felt that when he was done playing could become a really good coaching candidate in the profession. He’s done a reputable job at developing players wherever he’s been, and his body of work is very strong.”
McGeoghan joins the Buffaloes just as the team gets underway with its winter offseason lifting schedule, which formally began Tuesday, as CU Boulder starts the Spring 2022 semester.
