As Jon Embree sat in his final press conference with tears welling in his eyes, one of his players yelled out from the back of the room.
"Thank you coach," the player said. "We love you."
Embree, a former Colorado tight end, was fired Sunday evening after a 1-10 record. He was given just two seasons to repair a program that had hit rock bottom under former coach Dan Hawkins, who spent five years dismantling it. Embree, who said during his press conference that he was given assurances that he would be given time to repair the Colorado program, seemed shocked and dismayed at the odd turn of events.
"I thought I would be here, be able to build it and have an opportunity to see it through," Embree said.
It's rare to see a coach get as emotional as Embree did during his press conference. There were times Embree could barely speak because he was fighting back tears. Most coaches in that situation would have just opted out of speaking to the media altogether.
But Embree's appearance at CU on Monday wasn't really about speaking to the media, it was about speaking to his players one last time in a public forum and showing the country that he was given an unfair shake.
[Jim Mora gets into it with an L.A. Times columnist]
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