Looking back at Bill McCartney’s slow start at Colorado
College football programs rarely get turned around overnight and Bill McCartney’s first year at Colorado is a great example of that.
On3 recently examined a handful of ultimately successful coaches who had poor first seasons, and McCartney made the list thanks to his 2-8-1 first year in Boulder. Of course, coach Mac eventually turned the program into a powerhouse, leading the Buffs to a 93-55-5 record and the 1990 national championship before retiring in 1994.
Here is what On3’s Mike Huguenin wrote on McCartney’s early days at CU:
The buzz: Colorado was a solid Big Eight program for much of the 1970s, but when Chuck Fairbanks took over after an unsuccessful run as New England Patriots coach, the Buffs’ fortunes turned sour. The Buffs won a total of seven games in Fairbanks’ three seasons (1979-81), and McCartney was hired off Bo Schembechler’s staff at Michigan to turn things around. It took a while: Colorado won just seven games in McCartney’s first three seasons. But he switched to the Wishbone in 1985 and the Buffs won seven that season as they began their rise. They went 11-1 in both 1989 and ’90, losing the Orange Bowl with the national title on the line in 1989 but winning the bowl and part of the title the next season. McCartney guided the Buffs to another 11-win season and a third-place finish in the polls in 1994, then retired. The Buffs have had just four seasons with double-digit wins since and have finished in the top 20 only once since 2002.
In present times, it’s fair to say Karl Dorrell had a strong first season at Colorado while navigating a pandemic that struck one month into his tenure. The Buffs went 4-2 and appeared in the Alamo Bowl, albeit losing to Texas.
His first full season in 2021, however, was a bit bumpier at 4-8. Recruiting is where it all begins and it will be interesting to see if Athletic Director Rick George exercises the same patience the program did with McCartney back in the 1980s.
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