It was only a matter of time, and that time came Sunday morning as Colorado coach Karl Dorrell was fired on the heels of yet another dismal Buffaloes defeat, athletic director Rick George announced.
Defensive coordinator Chris Wilson was also fired. Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford will serve as the interim head coach, George announced. Sanford named defensive line coach Gerald Chatman as defensive coordinator/passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Clay Patterson as offensive coordinator.
A news conference is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT with George, Chancellor Philip DiStefano and Sanford.
Colorado (0-5, 0-2 Pac-12) lost 43-20 at Arizona on Saturday night in what was actually the Buffs' closest margin of defeat yet. The team has lost its first five games by an average margin of 29.8 points per game.
Dorrell went 8-15 in two and a half season in Boulder.
“I want to thank Karl for his hard work in leading our program since 2020,” George said in a statement. “Ultimately, however, the results on the field just did not measure up to our expectations and standards, which made it necessary for us to make this change at this time. It was an extremely difficult decision and I wish Karl all of the best in his future endeavors.”
“I fully support Rick in making this difficult decision to dismiss Coach Dorrell,” DiStefano said in a statement. “The football team is an important part of the university and I know our students, alumni, and fans have high expectations for a winning product on the field. I thank Coach Dorrell for his dedication to CU Boulder and his unwavering commitment to our student-athletes.”
CU’s football program regressed immensely during Dorrell's short tenure after a surprising 4-2 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That was followed by a 4-8 season in 2021 and the Buffs are now one of the only winless teams in college football this fall.
Colorado owes Dorrell approximately $8.7 million and Wilson is in the second year of his $1.8 million three-year deal.
Mike Sanford will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2022 season. Gerald Chatman will serve as the team’s defensive coordinator and Clay Patterson will hold as the Buffs’ new offensive coordinator.
Colorado is arguably -- or maybe inarguably -- the worst Power 5 football team in the country right now, ranking 128th out of 131 FBS teams in scoring at 13.4 points per game and 124th in total offense at 277 YPG, while somehow performing even worse defensively in ranking 129th in both scoring defense (43.2 PPG allowed) and total defense (508.8 YPG).
The Buffs are dead last in rush defense, giving up 294.2 yards per game on the ground.
And the defense somehow kept getting worse, allowing 413 yards to TCU in the opener, 443 to Air Force, 500 against Minnesota, 515 to UCLA and a whopping 673 Saturday night to Arizona, leading to the dismissal of Wilson today as well.
Jayden de Laura’s 484 passing yards last night tied for the most ever for CU opponent (with Nebraska’s Joe Ganz in 2007).
Offensively, Colorado has started three different quarterbacks through five weeks, ultimately landing on true freshman Owen McCown after cycling through returning starter Brenden Lewis and veteran Tennessee transfer J.T. Shrout.
Dorrell faced a similar fate today as he did in 2007 when UCLA fired him after a 6-7 season. He was 35-27 in five seasons with the Bruins, but he had just two winning seasons there and only one at Colorado.
“I want to thank Karl for his hard work in leading our program since 2020,” said athletic director Rick George. “Ultimately, however, the results on the field just did not measure up to our expectations and standards, which made it necessary for us to make this change at this time. It was an extremely difficult decision and I wish Karl all of the best in his future endeavors.”
The program now resets in attempt to put Colorado on a better path.
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