Colorado reportedly hires Karl Dorrell as head coach

In a crazy offseason, the Colorado Buffaloes were forced to make a last-minute hire for head coach after Mel “I’m so committed rn” Tucker bounced for the Michigan State Spartans and a hefty raise.

After a week of crazy rumors, ESPN reports that they have finally settled on their next coach—Karl Dorrell.

Miami Dolphins assistant head coach Karl Dorrell will become the new head coach at the University of Colorado, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.

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Dorrell, 56, returns to college after spending the past five seasons as receivers coach for the Jets (2015-2018) and Dolphins (2019). His last college coaching job was in 2014, when he served as Vanderbilt’s offensive coordinator.

The Dolphins gave Dorrell a promotion this week adding assistant head coach to his title, but Dorrell has been looking for an opportunity to return to being a head coach.

Dorrell quickly earned the respect of his Dolphins receivers last season and played a key role in DeVante Parker’s breakout 2019 season.

Dorrell has spent the past five seasons in the NFL, most recently with the Miami Dolphins getting to know Patrick Laird and (briefly) being colleagues with Gerald Alexander. He has five years of head-coach experience with the UC Los Angeles Bruins from 2003–2007, where he went 35–27 in a stretch of mediocrity, winning seven games once and six games thrice. The Bruins went bowling all five years (although Dorrell was fired before the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl), but Dorrell coached them to three losses. His best season was in 2005, when the Baby Bears went 10–2 with a win in the Sun Bowl and a final ranking of #13/16. Dorrell went 3–2 against Jeff Tedford’s California Golden Bears with the home team winning every time.

Reportedly, the Buffaloes made multiple attempts to reach out to alumnus and rising NFL coaching star Eric Bieniemy, but he rebuf—rejected their advances. Rumors also named Seven-Win Sark (who infamously went on a drunken rant slamming Cal at a booster event) as a top candidate, but he will be returning to the Alabama Crimson Tide with a shiny raise. Other reports named the finalists for the position as Bret Bielema (human pile of trash, linebackers coach of the New York Giants, and failed former head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks) and Troy Calhoun (head coach of the Air Force Falcons who has lost twice to California in Armed Forces Bowls). Justin Wilcox’s name was tied to the position, but there was no concrete indication of the interest being particularly strong.

California will next play Colorado in the 2021 season.