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Woody Paige: Colorado football needs next Bill McCartney to become a powerhouse again

woody paige, the gazette (colorado springs, colo.)
·4 min read

Oct. 3—"This place can and will be a football powerhouse." — Rick George

Goodwill hunting, Rick.

The University of Colorado athletic director can't afford to be bargain basement-buying the football team's fourth coach in six seasons.

Mike MacIntyre, 2018 — Fired.

Mel Tucker, 2019 — Abruptly departed.

Karl Dorrell, 2020-2022 — Fired.

Who in 2023? — To be hired.

Maybe this time the Buffaloes won't be shopping at the thrift store after the Dorrell dump. At 0-5 — including blowouts of 38-13, 41-10, 49-7, 45-17 and 43-20 — CU is ranked in an ESPN parody poll as the nation's worst team, just ahead of Colorado State, which is celebrating a bye to remain at 0-4.

Over a 32-year span from 1963 to 1994 the Buffaloes had only four head coaches, who won a collective total of 202 games. The past five, including Dan Hawkins and Jon Embree too, won 53 in 17 seasons from 2006-2022.

Eddie Crowder won seven games five times, Bill Mallory three, Chuck Fairbanks zero, Bill McCartney nine, Rick Neuheisel three, Gary Barnett five, Hawkins zero, Embree zero, MacIntyre one, Tucker zero and Dorrell zero.

The 1990 shared national championship for the Buffs is on a banner at Folsom Field, but actually was far away long ago.

Powerhouse, Rick?

CU has the same chance of becoming a driving force in college football as I do of receiving a Nobel Prize in literature.

Winning four conference games more than once in the 13 seasons that the Buffs have played in the Pac-12 would be a realistic goal for George, who should be clinging to a thread in retaining in his own job. Under George's 10 seasons of leadership (?) Colorado football has compiled a 43-67 record (39%).

The Buffs are national powerhouses in skiing and men's and women's cross-country.

But, by George, he presses on. "We have the facilities; we have the location; we have the programs; we have everything that we need to be successful on the football field. My stance on this has never wavered. I'm more confident than ever in Colorado."

George was selected as the AD primarily to be a fundraiser for the athletic program. He did very well initially, but lately prominent major donors have reduced their financial support for several reasons — obviously the lack of winning in football, the exodus of so many star players in the transfer portal, MacIntyre's and Dorrell's failures to connect with players, students and alumni, new NIL regulations and the fumbling fingers of the defective CU Board of Regents.

The athletic director is eager to begin the head coach search after he was forced into a hasty hiring previously when "Midnight Mel" Tucker suddenly bolted Boulder despite assuring George and players that he would stay.

Recruiting high school players and re-recruiting the Buffs' own players demands, though, that George do an intensive investigation if CU isn't to make another major mistake of the Hawkins, Embree and Dorrell kind.

In the meantime, the Buffaloes engage in the dire doom details of the Pac-12's crumbling conference.

Already, more than 20 names for the Colorado job have been advanced in media reports. "To that end, I'll be working and consulting with football people that are former Buffs that have agreed to help advise me during this process, in addition to the national network of great football minds that we have access to," George said in a statement.

Among the usual suspects and prospects are former Buffs players and/or assistant coaches and Colorado natives Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs), Ryan Walters (Illinois), Jeff Grimes (Baylor), Brian Lindgren (Oregon State), Ricky Rahne (Old Dominion) and Mark Helfrich (Fox Sports analyst).

Bieniemy purportedly was considered by CU in 2020 when Tucker sneaked away, but Eric said then he turned down the offer. The Buffs All-American running back on the title team and the CU offensive coordinator under Embree also was entangled in five different incidents with police when he was a young man. Once he was banned from campus for a year.

Some of the other potential candidates mentioned are current coaches Troy Calhoun, Bryan Harsin, Willie Fritz and Matt Ertz and ex-head coaches Bill O'Brien, Dan Mullen, Tom Herman, Bronco Mendenhall and even, yes, Urban Meyer. Calhoun won't consider.

If this place is to become a powerhouse or Folsom Field a respectable home again, the next McCartney must be found. Good hunting, Rick.