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Have I been too fair to Karl Dorrell?

Wish he would show some fire.

miguel herrera mexico nt GIF
 
I don’t know, so I’m asking: is the recruiting ranking due in part to the large class we signed or no?
That's why I put avg rank in. I think that is a normalizer. Class rank is driven by size, but the bigger factor is signing top rated guys. A class of 10 4* & 10 2* is going to rate a lot better than 20 3*.

I think that explains why nearly identical avg ratings for MT & KD classes had the MT one ranked better. My take is that KD's recruiting delivers better depth with fewer guys projected as potential game changers.
 
I think with MT there's a bit of rosy colored glasses from myself and others remembering the days where there was hope rather than only despair.

Eyeballing his big class, headlined by Clayton Gonzo Rice and Jason Harris sure feels a lot better than anything KD has rolled in. Rating wise I guess KD has hauled in dudes that aren't far from that level, 87ish to 90ish, but he certainly hasn't hauled in headliner types. Maybe the bottom has been better. The bottom of MT's class was pretty woof level. Lichtenhan, Stacks, Louis Passarello? If MT were still here, hopefully that wouldn't have been the norm.

That said, rather than KD doing better than we're giving credit, I think it's more a situation that MT wasn't as good as we want to recall and KD is continuing the mediocrity we've grown accustomed to.
That Air Force loss was painful.
 
At a school like CU you either need a head coach that offers some schematic advantage or a salesman that can really punch above their weight in recruiting. KD is neither. The "CEO Style" coach won't work long term because there isn't enough money to retain good assistants. I like the staff he's put together but if there's any on field success a lot of those guys will be gone. How many times is KD going to be able to make hires before he stumbles upon another Mitch Rodrigue?
 
Meh. Despite what things have looked like for the last 20 years, competent football programs should go to bowl games regularly. I would say it's a failure to have bowl eligibility only half the time.

So, though I understand the purpose of a college athletics-based message board, all this discussion is irrelevant. KD either gets this team bowl-eligible or he's failed. None of the "circumstances" he came into really matter. Neither do recruiting takes or "program trajectory" or any of the other discussion topics that keep this place going.
 
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KD is only a symptom of the thing that ails CU football. So I can’t really blame or be mad at him. But I can be mad about him and about the state of the program. Unfortunately for KD, he is the face of the program so he becomes the target of the wrath.
 
If HCKD gets a pass for 2020 because of the late hire and COVID, then he shouldn't get credit for getting W's over sleepwalking Cali teams hobbled by the some of the same hurdles. Scratch 2020. He is a 4-8 coach until proven otherwise.

Off the field he has failed to recruit classes likely to strengthen the talent level. Most every P12 caliber player with eligibility hit the transfer portal, very few stayed. Any chance of CU being successful before year five, best case scenario, of HCKD's reign of terror (for cameramen at least) went with them.

His downfall at fUCLA some 14 years ago was largely because he could not recruit well there, could not improve the team's overall performance from his predecessor and accordingly was never in consideration another HC gig since. His one foray back into CFB resulted in an OC position with Vandy so moribund, even by Vandy standards, he was let go after one year. Nobody was pursuing him for a HC position. Collective wisdom should not be lightly ignored.

In short, no, you have not been too hard on him. He is, by all reports, a good guy, a former Buff, and a solid position coach. You don't hang around the NFL, even as position coach, if you are not very good at your job. He just isn't a HC. No crime in that.

It was a catastrophic hire. A very bad decision at a critical juncture for CU in the changing landscape of CFB. RG, Dr. Phil, Lance Carl and anybody involved need to go.
 
If HCKD gets a pass for 2020 because of the late hire and COVID, then he shouldn't get credit for getting W's over sleepwalking Cali teams hobbled by the some of the same hurdles. Scratch 2020. He is a 4-8 coach until proven otherwise.

Off the field he has failed to recruit classes likely to strengthen the talent level. Most every P12 caliber player with eligibility hit the transfer portal, very few stayed. Any chance of CU being successful before year five, best case scenario, of HCKD's reign of terror (for cameramen at least) went with them.

His downfall at fUCLA some 14 years ago was largely because he could not recruit well there, could not improve the team's overall performance from his predecessor and accordingly was never in consideration another HC gig since. His one foray back into CFB resulted in an OC position with Vandy so moribund, even by Vandy standards, he was let go after one year. Nobody was pursuing him for a HC position. Collective wisdom should not be lightly ignored.

In short, no, you have not been too hard on him. He is, by all reports, a good guy, a former Buff, and a solid position coach. You don't hang around the NFL, even as position coach, if you are not very good at your job. He just isn't a HC. No crime in that.

It was a catastrophic hire. A very bad decision at a critical juncture for CU in the changing landscape of CFB. RG, Dr. Phil, Lance Carl and anybody involved need to go.
End thread.
 
Only if you ignore last year. He may have been set up to fail but he doubled down and totally ****ed up.

You don't get to go from chastising media for thinking your team would suck AFTER A LOSS to shoving a cameraman and putting forward one of the worst offensive seasons of all time without some serious doubt. And the worst coaching issue was not with Chev, but the OL coach he hired.

Show me the goddamn competence, Karl. Or GTFO.
 
I would be indifferent to Karl Dorrell considering all the extenuating factors (Covid, Late Hire, Incompetent Administration) except for one big thing. He actually thought Rich Rodrigue was a capable and competent OL coach. It is so blatantly obvious that that unit was completely inept and got significantly worse under that man's instruction. I'm not someone who is all that knowledgeable about scheme and design, but even the most casual of fans knew that the OL was a disaster. How can a competent head coach not move on from that **** show immediately.
 
I would be indifferent to Karl Dorrell considering all the extenuating factors (Covid, Late Hire, Incompetent Administration) except for one big thing. He actually thought Rich Rodrigue was a capable and competent OL coach. It is so blatantly obvious that that unit was completely inept and got significantly worse under that man's instruction. I'm not someone who is all that knowledgeable about scheme and design, but even the most casual of fans knew that the OL was a disaster. How can a competent head coach not move on from that **** show immediately.
The failure to interview and recruit the players at the end of the season was a bigger failure in my mind. Just absolutely out of touch with the pulse of modern college football. It's not the 90s anymore, bro. Players got options.
 
The failure to interview and recruit the players at the end of the season was a bigger failure in my mind. Just absolutely out of touch with the pulse of modern college football. It's not the 90s anymore, bro. Players got options.
oh yea, this too. Anyone who didn't see this coming is completely insular and too mentally rigid to be given the benefit of the doubt.
 
The failure to interview and recruit the players at the end of the season was a bigger failure in my mind. Just absolutely out of touch with the pulse of modern college football. It's not the 90s anymore, bro. Players got options.
oh yea, this too. Anyone who didn't see this coming is completely insular and too mentally rigid to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Especially after fielding one of the most inept offenses in our history. Why would players stick around for more if they have choices?
 
Karl is what he is. I've maintained that he is a 6-7 win coach at maximum. I think he is a coach that can maintain that 5-7 win mark and keep CU competitive. He simply doesn't have the recruiting power or personality to be above average or elite in that area. I do think he is a good coach who has pretty good connections in football. I'm very impressed with his staff he put together this year.

I'm not necessarily down on KD as I am on the AD and the School administration. If most would utilize their angst at these two areas, we might start seeing some progress with a successful football program. Ultimately, a successful AD and School admin would have never been ok with a Dorrell hire. Plain and simple

However, Karl does have enough tools to get to that 6-7 win range. He was dealt a terrible hand but this is his team and his coaches. The excuses have run dry. This year will tell me everything I need to know if he can get to what I think he is.

I believe Karl can win here and has a talented enough coaching staff and team to get to a bowl game this year. Fair or unfair, he is here for the next two years so I want him to win.
 
Karl is what he is. I've maintained that he is a 6-7 win coach at maximum. I think he is a coach that can maintain that 5-7 win mark and keep CU competitive. He simply doesn't have the recruiting power or personality to be above average or elite in that area. I do think he is a good coach who has pretty good connections in football. I'm very impressed with his staff he put together this year.

I'm not necessarily down on KD as I am on the AD and the School administration. If most would utilize their angst at these two areas, we might start seeing some progress with a successful football program. Ultimately, a successful AD and School admin would have never been ok with a Dorrell hire. Plain and simple

However, Karl does have enough tools to get to that 6-7 win range. He was dealt a terrible hand but this is his team and his coaches. The excuses have run dry. This year will tell me everything I need to know if he can get to what I think he is.

I believe Karl can win here and has a talented enough coaching staff and team to get to a bowl game this year. Fair or unfair, he is here for the next two years so I want him to win.
He MAY have been a 5-7 win type guy twenty years ago. He's NOT a 5-7 win guy in today's college football.
 
He MAY have been a 5-7 win type guy twenty years ago. He's NOT a 5-7 win guy in today's college football.
I feel as if Karl is learning to be a head coach for the very first time because he has been away from the college game for so long and everything has changed so drastically.
 
****, man. we would worship this guy if he can get us 6 wins this season. that would so so so so far exceed expectations among the press, the pundits, our opponents, and our fans....

deliver 6 Ws this year and i will be quite happy to drink the karl kool-aid. sure, the bar goes up from there and maybe he does have some potential hard cap on upside, but if he can get us bowling this year, the program should stabilize some and there will be some reasons for hope. we can worry about who should be the next hc later.

of course, CU being CU, it will give him a 10 year guaranteed contract extension with escalators if he delivers 6 wins this year AND someone here and in the press and in the CUAD will compare it to when Coach Mac got extended without a lot of proof of glory yet.
 
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.
Last year really sucked the life out of the fan base. It is one thing to lose more than you win but to be boring and impotent offensively is just a dick punch. If CU had gone 4-8 with a terrible defense but a middle of the road offense that gave fans something to get excited about during games (points), I don’t think it would have been so demoralizing.

I don’t have much reason to be optimistic but here is my best attempt.

In the investment world, I start to get really nervous when everyone thinks the stock market is easy money. You better get out at that point. I start getting really intrigued when everyone is scared to death thinking the market is in free fall. That is the time to start buying.

The only people dumber than every day investors are college football fans. So I am going to apply the same principle and hope it works out. Everyone is so down in KD and the program, this might be the point where the program is about to take off.
 
Wait until you see the one this year
Nah. I don’t have the expectation I did with MT. Also, don’t think this years AF loss is the difference between 5-7 and 6-6. Also, I don’t expect us to be leading for lost or the game…at home…against a much worse AF team than this year.
 
I lik
Life as a buff fan is easier (maybe even better) once you realize who KD wants to be (who he respects)… IMO, it’s David Shaw.

Where did KD send his son to play? Stanford. Which former strength coach did he hire? Turley, from Stanford. Who does he recruit? High character guys that are good in the classroom… and he basically never plays the games required to recruit the “me first” but super talented recruit (which is why he didn’t mesh well with so many of MT’s recruits and he let them leave without too much effort to keep them).

If he wins, this will be a satisfying way to win… because CU would be winning the “right way” but I don’t think he is a “win at all costs” guys. He thinks morals and character are more important. It seems honorable and everyone who knows him well seems to have positive things to say about KD. I don’t know if it’s enough to win consistently, but I certainly don’t expect KD to change his approach.

I like this post, but I think the job of head coach in division one football requires a “win at all costs” personality.
 
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Last year really sucked the life out of the fan base. It is one thing to lose more than you win but to be boring and impotent offensively is just a dick punch. If CU had gone 4-8 with a terrible defense but a middle of the road offense that gave fans something to get excited about during games (points), I don’t think it would have been so demoralizing.

I don’t have much reason to be optimistic but here is my best attempt.

In the investment world, I start to get really nervous when everyone thinks the stock market is easy money. You better get out at that point. I start getting really intrigued when everyone is scared to death thinking the market is in free fall. That is the time to start buying.

The only people dumber than every day investors are college football fans. So I am going to apply the same principle and hope it works out. Everyone is so down in KD and the program, this might be the point where the program is about to take off.
Welcome back, 96's Dad!
 
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