After the Buffaloes' season-ending loss Friday at No. 16 Utah, Karl Dorrell spoke about what is now on tap for him, with the 2021 campaign officially in the rearview mirror.
Early next week, he'll be on the recruiting trail ahead of the Dec. 15 early signing period, while certainly, roster management will come into play, as well, with the Buffs likely saying goodbye to a number of juniors who will opt to either gear up for next spring's NFL Draft, such as outside linebacker Carson Wells, or take their diplomas and move on to post-CU life.
For Dorrell, the end of the 2021 season will not mean break time — quite the opposite.
On top of getting set to welcome in the Class of 2022 and sort through what to expect next year as far as returning upperclassmen, staff management will be of immediate concern for Colorado's head coach, now with two seasons under his belt in Boulder.
If it wasn't obvious already, the first staff-related item on Dorrell's list will be the fate of offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini.
In 2021, Colorado's offense failed to gain more than 200 yards in four separate games, including in the final two games of the year against UW and Utah.
The Buffs' putrid offensive performance vs. Minnesota back on Sept. 18 saw the team manage a pathetic 63 yards of total offense en route to a 30-0 loss, the first time CU had been shutout at home since 2012, which, under Jon Embree, ranks as the worst season in Colorado football program history.
In all fairness to Chiaverini, whatever his shortcomings in the playcaller's seat were, the bad state of CU's offensive line for the first seven weeks of the season without questions exacerbated an already rough situation.
Mitch Rodrigue's firing after Colorado's 26-3 loss at Cal Oct. 23 and the ensuing elevation of William Vlachos to interim o-line coach seemed to bear some immediate fruit, as evidenced by stronger offensive performances on the road at then-No. 7 Oregon as well as the following week against OSU, in which Jarek Broussard eclipsed 100 yards of rushing for the first time all year.
However, offensive line woes aside, the Chiaverini-led offense still managed just 257.4 yards of offense per game, which will conclude the season ranked 128th out of 130 among all FBS programs.
CU's passing offense (131.2 yards per game) ranked 126th in the nation.
For additional context, the last time the Buffaloes failed to average more than 300 yards of offense per game was in 2006, a 2-10 campaign under Dan Hawkins.
All in all, the 2021 Buffaloes had the worst offense among previous teams dating all the way back to 1964, when the 2-8 Buffs under Eddie Crowder managed just 218.9 yards per game, scoring 20-plus points just once on the year.
While Buffs fans doubtless are used to losing, losing in the aforementioned manner — via a rarely-seen offensive ineptitude — has led for loud and plentiful calls for Chiaverini's dismissal.
Not that Dorrell himself has been safe from such calls from the fanbase, nor have many other CU coaches, including Danny Langsdorf and Chris Wilson.
As for Vlachos, who deserves credit for taking over midseason and at least getting his unit to perform better than under Rodrigue, a blunt performance evaluation is likely on the way, as well.
After falling to Utah in Salt Lake City, Dorrell made it clear that those evaluations were on the immediate horizon.
“That’ll go in pretty quickly here," Dorrell said. "I'm going to watch this game like I normally do. I’ll watch all three phases, make my assessments as we go through the game and go from there. But it’s almost immediately, now that we don’t have another game, it’s going to be about ‘What do we do moving forward?’ I’m starting that process pretty quickly.”
Last year, despite Colorado's defense having shown some improvement from the 2019 season, Dorrell was quick to fire Tyson Summers after the Buffs collapsed against Utah and got steamrolled by Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl in a move that came as unexpected.
But, on the other hand, he let Rodrigue stick around far longer than was probably appropriate, given the regression visible within the offensive line room.
How Dorrell handles his postseason staff evaluations remains to be seen, but needless to say, all eyes are on him as he gets to it.
