Have I been unfair to Head Coach Karl Dorrell?
I don't know, but I guess a good place to start is with what my expectations were for a new HC hired at the time CU hired HCKD. I would say that I wanted another guy in the HCMT mold but that my general expectations were a notch or 2 above what I wanted HCMM to accomplish when he was hired.
HCKD is starting from a much better place than HCMM did, inheriting a 5-win type program instead of a 3-win program just coming off a 1-win season (that 1 win a gift).
I expected HCKD to stabilize the program, build a professional organization, identify and coach up talent, and get CU back on track to being what it once was.
I expected some growing pains considering that so many guys were going to be under the 2nd or 3rd HC since arriving at CU with some having seen even more position coaches or coordinators... but I also expected that the program would not drop again with this becoming a regular bowl participant starting at least by year 3.
Honestly, with a record of 8-10 after 2 seasons we are about where I'd expected. That win % over a 12-game season puts you at 5.33 wins per year. Moreover, 6-7 in conference games is probably a bit better than I expected.
Recruiting has held up except for 2021 - a Covid year when they couldn't go on the road recruiting or host visitors for the most part. Tough for a staff that hadn't built recruit relationships for a couple years.
247sports Team Rankings & Composite
2019 (HCMM/MT): #44 composite (84.91 avg)
2020 (HCMT): #36 composite (85.63 avg)
2021 (HCKD): #64 composite (83.92 avg)
2022 (HCKD): #47 composite (85.64 avg)
So, on record and recruiting he has actually met my expectations. He's been on a pace a bit above 5-win seasons and has recruited at the HCMT level.
But I'm down on the program. Last year was so historically bad on offense with departure through graduation or transfer of just about everyone I considered a playmaker, that I felt hope die. The conference realignment and NIL situations were like a double-tap to make damn sure hope was truly dead.
Some of that is on HCKD. Last year was the worst coaching job of his career. But other things are outside of his control.
Maybe I'm unfairly projecting what I'm feeling onto HCKD?
On building an organization, I think Turley was the best S&C hire CU has ever made and he's got more assistants to train the team than I think we've ever had.
With the coaching staff, HCKD inherited some multi-year contracts which I don't believe he was allowed to terminate. Within the context of University-wide belt tightening and the AD taking an $18M Covid loan from the Pac-12 (paid back over 7-8 years through reduced conference distributions to CU), HCKD was handcuffed.
He now has built what I believe is the best overall coaching staff CU has had in well over a decade (2003?) despite those forced delays. Good recruiters and all guys you'd expect to see on a P5 staff. But HCKD also made some inexplicable coaching hires at OL and TE which are completely on him. And the coordinators are underwhelming until proven otherwise.
So, overall, I'm pleased with the organization he has built so far. It's met expectations even with some serious frustrations.
Really, everything so far adds up to me being in a weird place. I should be encouraged, even excited. I should be sitting here thinking that there are damn good reasons - rough things happening outside HCKD's control - for me to be more patient and accept the build might be a year delayed.
Am I being unfair to KD?
I was crushed by how things went down with HCMT. I was excited and feeling momentum. The program was making the moves with aggressive recruiting & a promoter for a coach. Then it suddenly imploded.
I was crushed that RG went from an aggressive HC model of HCMT to making a run at a similar guy in Sark, to settling on HCKD. It felt like giving up and accepting mediocrity. With the contract HCKD was signed to, it felt like RG just wanted stability and to ease into retirement without having to go through another HC search & hire - a fully guaranteed deal that made HCKD un-fireable for 4, maybe 5 years. RG's fire seemed gone, so how could I keep my own?
But do those things have anything to do with KD or am I only projecting my emotions (frustration and anger trending to accepting things might be hopeless) onto him unfairly?
This season will tell a lot. I'm out of faith or blind optimism. I'm no longer willing to project so much emotion into how I evaluate the CU football program. I'm trying to be objective and emotionally distanced.
Looking introspectively with objectivity, I should be more supportive of HCKD and see how things play out this year while also being more supportive of this year's team. Most importantly, I should make sure I get back to having fun. Sports is supposed to be fun and I haven't been allowing myself to feel up to it enough.
I think the passion has been beaten out of me. I'm afraid to care so much again. I won't let myself until the program turns a corner and re-establishes itself as a winner. And it's not HCKD's fault it's not there yet.
I'm pretty sure I've been unfair to Karl Dorrell.
I plan to do better and I plan to have fun this year. Maybe HCKD will even turn in a season that pulls me out of the funk I've been in about CU Football.
I don't know, but I guess a good place to start is with what my expectations were for a new HC hired at the time CU hired HCKD. I would say that I wanted another guy in the HCMT mold but that my general expectations were a notch or 2 above what I wanted HCMM to accomplish when he was hired.
HCKD is starting from a much better place than HCMM did, inheriting a 5-win type program instead of a 3-win program just coming off a 1-win season (that 1 win a gift).
I expected HCKD to stabilize the program, build a professional organization, identify and coach up talent, and get CU back on track to being what it once was.
I expected some growing pains considering that so many guys were going to be under the 2nd or 3rd HC since arriving at CU with some having seen even more position coaches or coordinators... but I also expected that the program would not drop again with this becoming a regular bowl participant starting at least by year 3.
Honestly, with a record of 8-10 after 2 seasons we are about where I'd expected. That win % over a 12-game season puts you at 5.33 wins per year. Moreover, 6-7 in conference games is probably a bit better than I expected.
Recruiting has held up except for 2021 - a Covid year when they couldn't go on the road recruiting or host visitors for the most part. Tough for a staff that hadn't built recruit relationships for a couple years.
247sports Team Rankings & Composite
2019 (HCMM/MT): #44 composite (84.91 avg)
2020 (HCMT): #36 composite (85.63 avg)
2021 (HCKD): #64 composite (83.92 avg)
2022 (HCKD): #47 composite (85.64 avg)
So, on record and recruiting he has actually met my expectations. He's been on a pace a bit above 5-win seasons and has recruited at the HCMT level.
But I'm down on the program. Last year was so historically bad on offense with departure through graduation or transfer of just about everyone I considered a playmaker, that I felt hope die. The conference realignment and NIL situations were like a double-tap to make damn sure hope was truly dead.
Some of that is on HCKD. Last year was the worst coaching job of his career. But other things are outside of his control.
Maybe I'm unfairly projecting what I'm feeling onto HCKD?
On building an organization, I think Turley was the best S&C hire CU has ever made and he's got more assistants to train the team than I think we've ever had.
With the coaching staff, HCKD inherited some multi-year contracts which I don't believe he was allowed to terminate. Within the context of University-wide belt tightening and the AD taking an $18M Covid loan from the Pac-12 (paid back over 7-8 years through reduced conference distributions to CU), HCKD was handcuffed.
He now has built what I believe is the best overall coaching staff CU has had in well over a decade (2003?) despite those forced delays. Good recruiters and all guys you'd expect to see on a P5 staff. But HCKD also made some inexplicable coaching hires at OL and TE which are completely on him. And the coordinators are underwhelming until proven otherwise.
So, overall, I'm pleased with the organization he has built so far. It's met expectations even with some serious frustrations.
Really, everything so far adds up to me being in a weird place. I should be encouraged, even excited. I should be sitting here thinking that there are damn good reasons - rough things happening outside HCKD's control - for me to be more patient and accept the build might be a year delayed.
Am I being unfair to KD?
I was crushed by how things went down with HCMT. I was excited and feeling momentum. The program was making the moves with aggressive recruiting & a promoter for a coach. Then it suddenly imploded.
I was crushed that RG went from an aggressive HC model of HCMT to making a run at a similar guy in Sark, to settling on HCKD. It felt like giving up and accepting mediocrity. With the contract HCKD was signed to, it felt like RG just wanted stability and to ease into retirement without having to go through another HC search & hire - a fully guaranteed deal that made HCKD un-fireable for 4, maybe 5 years. RG's fire seemed gone, so how could I keep my own?
But do those things have anything to do with KD or am I only projecting my emotions (frustration and anger trending to accepting things might be hopeless) onto him unfairly?
This season will tell a lot. I'm out of faith or blind optimism. I'm no longer willing to project so much emotion into how I evaluate the CU football program. I'm trying to be objective and emotionally distanced.
Looking introspectively with objectivity, I should be more supportive of HCKD and see how things play out this year while also being more supportive of this year's team. Most importantly, I should make sure I get back to having fun. Sports is supposed to be fun and I haven't been allowing myself to feel up to it enough.
I think the passion has been beaten out of me. I'm afraid to care so much again. I won't let myself until the program turns a corner and re-establishes itself as a winner. And it's not HCKD's fault it's not there yet.
I'm pretty sure I've been unfair to Karl Dorrell.
I plan to do better and I plan to have fun this year. Maybe HCKD will even turn in a season that pulls me out of the funk I've been in about CU Football.
Last edited:
