Colorado hires Karl Dorrell as new head coach
Colorado finally has its man.
The Buffaloes hired Karl Dorrell as their new football coach after conducting a 12-day search to replace Mel Tucker, the program announced Sunday.
Dorrell's contract, which still requires approval from the board, is a five-year deal worth $18 million with a first-year salary of $3.2 million.
He spent 2019 as the wide receivers coach for the NFL's Miami Dolphins and was promoted to assistant head coach last week. Prior to that, Dorrell had two separate stints in Colorado as an assistant, as he coached receivers in 1992 and 1993 and served as the offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998.
"I'm excited to be back, it's like coming home," Dorrell said. "The thing that excited me about this job is that my experience in the past here, for the most part, has been very successful. We had a lot of good teams, went to a lot of good bowl games. It's a top-caliber program that has a lot of potential, and I'm excited to return it to that level."
Dorrell's only previous head coaching experience came at UCLA from 2003 to 2007, during which he went 35-27 and took the Bruins to four bowl games in five seasons.
Colorado is coming off its third consecutive 5-7 campaign.
Tucker left the team Feb. 11 to become the new head coach at Michigan State.