It’s Time for the Colorado Buffaloes to Climb Out of the Hole
04 Sep 2016
Is this going to be the year?
By Larry Zimmer As Coach Mike MacIntyre enters his fourth year, Colorado fans wonder: Is this finally going to be the year? MacIntyre’s evaluation? “We are climbing out of a deep hole and the ladder is poking out of the hole. Now we have to get out of the hole.” The “hole” is 10 straight losing seasons. MacIntyre’s three-year totals are 10-27 overall and 2-25 in the Pac-12 Conference.
‘Everything Is in Place to Be Successful’
George is satisfied with MacIntyre’s first three years. “He inherited a program that wasn’t at its best. We know how great this program can be,” George says. “We have improved, but it all comes down to learning how to win football games. We made a leap from year two to three. In year two we had some bad losses; we got beaten by a lot. Last year we were pretty much in every contest, but now we have to shift from a close loss to a close win.” MacIntyre was hired in December 2012 by Athletic Director Mike Bohn, but before MacIntyre coached his first game, Bohn was replaced by George in July 2013. George and MacIntyre had never met. “The first time I met him was the day they announced me as the AD,” George says. “I knew of him, because I worked at Vanderbilt and his dad, George MacIntyre, was one of the most successful coaches at Vanderbilt. I was also in Dallas when he was on the Dallas Cowboys staff.” MacIntyre also points to those connections at Vanderbilt and Dallas. He adds, “I was very fortunate to recruit Eli Manning to Ole Miss when I was on that staff. I became close to the Manning family. Eli’s dad, Archie, and Rick are good friends. There were other mutual friends who knew our character and work ethic. Rick has done a phenomenal job and our working relationship has been super.” George agrees. “Mike is a high-character guy. He knows his football. He has a great pedigree. He’s a good family man and the players seem to like to play for him.”
“There are times when you have to make changes that are best for the program and for the individual. These are hard decisions all the way around.” —Coach Mike MacIntyreThe administration’s support has led to better recruiting. MacIntyre says, “There was a bad opinion of our program out there. I know our fans don’t want to hear that, but dating back to the mess in 2000”—allegations of sex and alcohol used to lure recruits that led to a media frenzy—“we didn’t keep up with facilities, we moved from a good conference to an elite conference, but we were behind in everything. I had many people ask if we were really committed to being a championship football program. Now they see that we are. They see it in the facilities and in the commitment of the whole university. When I first got here, we needed to build an entire recruiting network. The landscape of recruiting has changed—the calendar is all set up with early commitments. About 18 months ago, we were able to get the money we needed to set up a recruiting office. We went from one recruiting coordinator to a whole department and we’re seeing the fruits of our labor. We have been gaining people’s trust.”
Coaching the ‘Me’ Generation
Each of MacIntyre’s recruiting classes has gotten better. The 2017 class already looks promising. Because of NCAA rules, MacIntyre cannot comment on it, but the players use social media to talk about their commitments. At least 14 high school seniors have announced a commitment to the Buffs. Two of them have a four-star ranking and eight have a three-star ranking. MacIntyre understands the young men he’s coaching today differ from the young men of the last 30 to 40 years. He says, “With the social media, the instant gratification of cell phones and games, it’s more of a ‘me’ generation than a ‘team’ generation. You used to tell a kid ‘Go do that,’ and he would say ‘Yes, sir’ and go do it. Now you have to explain to him not only how it’s going to benefit the team, but how it’s going to help him and benefit him.”
MacIntyre expects his players to be leaders. He meets weekly with a team-elected players’ council to discuss pertinent issues. Players are expected to follow an established code of conduct.
“I look at these young men as my own children,” MacIntyre says. “Parents put them in my charge. Sometimes your own children break your heart, but you have to deal with it. You don’t just throw them to the side, but sometimes kids make decisions that give me no choice. They are out of the program with no chance to come back.” On the other side, nose tackle Josh Tupou was suspended for a year and was given criteria to meet for reinstatement. “Josh is back,” says the coach. “He’s doing what he’s supposed to and doing well. He will graduate. I’m excited for him.”
A football coaching staff spends countless hours together. They become close like a family, and it’s difficult when the head coach has to break up that family. MacIntyre hasn’t shied away from doing that. He says, “There are times when you have to make changes that are best for the program and for the individual. These are hard decisions all the way around.”
The defense showed marked improvement in 2015 under new coordinator Jim Leavitt, and this season the offense has undergone some changes with the addition of Darrin Chiaverini (a former Buffs wide receiver) as co-offensive coordinator, and CU icon Darian Hagan as running backs coach. The strength and conditioning department has been revamped.
The Players
As for climbing out of that hole. The return of senior quarterback Sefo Liufau from a season-ending Lisfranc injury to his left foot last fall has boosted the Buff spirits. Of the 6-4, 230-pound Liufau, MacIntyre says, “He’s streamlined. He can run the football, he can throw it. He’s broken 75 records at our school. Now he has more tools around him, he doesn’t have to make all the plays. We want to be more accurate and more precise in our passing game. We need to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quicker.”
Larry Zimmer retired last year after 50 consecutive years of broadcasting college football. In addition to 42 years as the “Voice of the Buffs,” Zimmer was play announcer for the Michigan Wolverines and Colorado State Rams. He also broadcast Denver Broncos football for 26 years. Winner of the 2009 Chris Schenkel Award, Zimmer has been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, the CU Athletic Hall of Fame, the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.
