Bruce Feldman unveils list of top potential candidates for Colorado opening

After an 0-5 start to the 2022 season, the Colorado Buffaloes decided to fire head coach Karl Dorrell on Sunday. Dorrell compiled an 8-15 overall record at Colorado. The Buffaloes made it to the Alamo Bowl in 2020 after going 4-2, but went 4-8 last season. With Colorado’s job now open, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman has revealed an intriguing list of candidates to replace Dorrell.

Making it through around 2.5 seasons at Colorado, Dorrell stuck around for just about half of his five-year contract he was on. He will be owed a buyout of $8.7 million, which will be paid out in installments while the buyout could be mitigated by the salary of his next gig.

Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford will take over as Colorado’s interim head coach for the rest of the season, but the search now begins for the long-term answer at the helm of the Buffaloes program. As Feldman’s list indicates, there will be no shortage of options.

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Feldman’s candidates for Colorado’s coaching search

Former BYU/Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall
BYU head coach Kalani Sitake
Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox
Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate
Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin
Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne
Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters
Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes
Ohio State run game coordinator Tony Alford
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy

The biggest name that stands out on Feldman’s list of candidates for Colorado is surely Bryan Harsin. Though he is still currently serving as Auburn’s head coach, it would be a surprise if his tenure continued beyond, or perhaps to the end of this season. While Harsin has compiled a mere 9-9 record at Auburn so far, he had great success previously at Boise State, going 69-19 with three bowl wins in seven years.

Bronco Mendenhall would be another interesting name to watch for Colorado. He went 99-43 in 11 years at BYU before taking over at Virginia in 2016. From 2016-2021, Mendenhall led the Cavaliers to a 36-38 overall record and a 1-2 record in bowl games.

A lot of the candidates on Feldman’s list include coaches with prior experience at Colorado or in schools in the surrounding areas. Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes has been in his current role since 2021, and he previously served as BYU’s offensive coordinator from 2018-2020. He also spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons at Colorado as the Buffaloes’ associate head coach, offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Another intriguing assistant that could be ready to take the leap to the head coaching ranks could be Ohio State’s Tony Alford. He has extensive experience as an offensive assistant across the nation, including stops at Washington, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Ohio State. Alford has coached under Urban Mayer, Brian Kelly, Charlie Weis, and other top coaches in his career. As a former Colorado State running back, Alford could return close to his alma mater for his first shot as a head coach.

Colorado has a bye in Week 6, but will be back in action at home on Oct. 15 against Cal, going up against possible candidate Justin Wilcox and the Golden Bears.