The University of Colorado announced Sunday afternoon that it had fired head football coach Karl Dorrell after the team lost its first five games of the season, often in embarrassing fashion.
Dorrell was hired by the school in February 2020 after it lost first-year head coach Mel Tucker, who left for a better contract at Michigan State.
Dorrell started off decently, going 4-2 in his first year as coach, sailing through the shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The wheels quickly came off the program, though, as Dorrell went 4-8 last season and then lost numerous starters and talented young players who transferred to another school. This year, the lack of talent has been apparent as Colorado has been blown out in every game the Buffalos have played.
“I want to thank Karl for his hard work in leading our program since 2020,” Athletic Director Rick George said in a statement. “Ultimately, however, the results on the field just did not measure up to our expectations and standards, which made it necessary for us to make this change at this time. It was an extremely difficult decision and I wish Karl all of the best in his future endeavors.”
“I fully support Rick in making this difficult decision to dismiss Coach Dorrell,” said Chancellor Philip DiStefano. “The football team is an important part of the university and I know our students, alumni, and fans have high expectations for a winning product on the field. I thank Coach Dorrell for his dedication to CU Boulder and his unwavering commitment to our student-athletes.”
The team will move forward for the remainder of the season with Mike Sanford, the offensive coordinator, as the interim head coach.
The University of Colorado now joins several other major college football programs that have fired their head coaches this season, including Nebraska (Scott Frost), Arizona State (Herm Edwards), and Georgia Tech (Geoff Collins).
