If youâre John Weber, the Athletic Director at Colorado State, do you sit by and wait for the nine Power Four programs who currently have openings to hire their next head football coaches firstâ¦and then go after whoâs left? Or do you make your pitch to the guy who want right now, cross your fingers and hope he doesnât get a better offer?
After firing Head Coach Jay Norvell  on October 19th, Weber and CSU are conducting a ânationwide searchâ for the next head coach, so they likely already have a good idea about whoâs out there and whoâs leaning in what direction.
Such is life in a âGroup of Sixâ program. While CSU is moving to the rebooted Pac 12 next season (theyâll join current Pac 12 member Oregon State, also looking for a new leader for their football program) the conference no longer holds the âpowerâ designation. They wonât have the same kind of revenue sharing or NIL budgets to buy the services of top tier players, and are likely to lose their very best underclassman players to bigger, higher paying programs via the Transfer Portal regardless of what level of success they have.
The same goes for the next head coach. Colorado State went through that scenario last spring with basketball coach Nike Medved, who left for the job at Big Ten member Minnesota the day after the Rams were eliminated from the NCAA tournament by Maryland.
There has already been some knee jerk speculation about where CSU might turn for their next football coach. Michigan assistant Tony Alford is an alum and has been passed over twice before for the job. Who knows if he has the appetite for it https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/uab-fires-trent-dilfer-blazers-end-failed-experiment-halfway-through-the-2025-season/any longer. Left off most lists in Texas A&M Offensive Coordinator Colin Klein â who would be a first-time head coach, but is a Colorado native who wants the job. Another guy to consider is North Dakota State Head Coach Tim Polasek, who has built an FCS Powerhouse in Fargo.
The coaching ranks are full of assistants and lower level head coaches who are looking for their first head coaching job. The trick is always finding the right one. A lot of the hiring at the G6 level has to be done on speculation, not resume. When UAB hired former Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, they took a flyer on someone with a big name but no coaching experience. Dilfer was fired six weeks into the current season. For the Rams, the Beavers, and now the UAB Blazers too, getting an experienced guy would mean going the FCS route in most cases. Unless you want to take a chance on someone like Billy Napier (who spent one season as an assistant at CSU more than a decade ago) a recently fired head coach looking for a chance at redemption.
Regardless, the Rams donât figure to be luring an existing head coach from a Power Four program to come to Ft. Collins. Like most G6 gigs, this job will most likely be a stepping stone for an up and comer who has visions of not only lifting CSU to new heights when they join the Pac 12 next fall, but also to lift his own profile for future openings.
o, getting an experienced guy would mean going the FCS route in most cases. Unless you want to take a chance on someone like Billy Napier (who spent one season as an assistant at CSU more than a decade ago) a recently fired head coach looking for a chance at redemption.
Regardless, the Rams donât figure to be luring an existing head coach from a Power Four program to come to Ft. Collins. Like most G6 gigs, this job will most likely be a stepping stone for an up and comer who has visions of not only lifting CSU to new heights when they join the Pac 12 next fall, but also to lift his own profile for future openings.
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