Reports: Karl Dorrell has fired offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue

On Sunday evening, Altitude's Vic Lombardi first reported that Karl Dorrell has fired offensive line coach Mitch Rodrigue.

The move comes a day and some change after the Buffaloes lost on the road at Cal, 26-3. Quarterback Brendon Lewis was sacked a season-high six times and was under constant pressure, while Colorado managed just a meager 104 yards of total offense.

Rodrigue was hired by Dorrell in March of 2020. Prior to joining the staff at CU, he was serving as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator at Spanish Fort High School in Alabama.

While the Buffs lost starting left tackle Will Sherman this past offseason to the NFL Draft, Rodrigue oversaw an offensive line that was comprised of many veterans, with left guard Kary Kutsch and center Colby Pursell having multiple years as starters under their belts.

Redshirt freshman Jake Wiley was the only new starter in the bunch, while Frank Fillip and Casey Roddick, both of whom recovered from injuries leading into the 2021 season, started for CU in 2020.

Before the Buffs fell at Cal, Rodrigue's unit had allowed five sacks of Lewis to USC and four in a 30-0 blowout to Minnesota.

Following his team's loss at California, Dorrell himself seemed puzzled over the offensive line's continued struggles.

“Can’t quite put a finger on it," Dorrell said. "I’m trying to figure that out and we’re going to have to really look at that to see what's going on there. We have had some issues upfront and I figured that at this point in time, we should have some of those things cleared up but apparently we’re still struggling with doing some things."

"We’ve got to go back, really analyze what our issues are and try to get those fixed in a hurry.”

With the Buffs currently boasting one of the worst offenses across the entire Football Bowl Subdivision (CU ranks dead last out of 130 teams in total offense), Dorrell likely sees this move as something that could spark a turnaround.