Colorado fires MacIntyre after 6 straight losses

BOULDER, COLO. >> Two years after he was named AP coach of the year, Mike MacIntyre’s run at Colorado ended Sunday when he was fired amid a six-game skid in his sixth season.

“It was a difficult decision because Mike is a knowledgeable coach and he has really elevated this football team since 2013,” athletic director Rick George said after asking quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper to serve as interim head coach for Colorado’s final game next weekend.

George lauded MacIntyre’s dogged focus on character, classroom and community service but said, ultimately, his program just wasn’t successful enough on the scoreboard.

“What this came down to was that I wanted to see more consistency with winning seasons,” George said. “Mike had an amazing 2016 season. We really hoped that that kind of achievement would be continuous, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”

MacIntyre was voted AP college football coach of the year after leading the Buffaloes to a Pac-12 South title and 10 victories in 2016. That was his only winning season at Colorado, going 20-40 overall and 6-38 in the Pac-12 in the other five.

MacIntyre is due about $10 million from the five-year extension he signed after that 2016 season.

As his extension was being finalized, MacIntyre fell under scrutiny over his improper handling of domestic abuse accusations against former secondary coach Joe Tumpkin by a former girlfriend. Tumpkin called the defensive plays during the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, 2016, and resigned a month later. MacIntyre’s contract extension was held up for a few months by the Board of Regents.

After an outside investigation, MacIntyre, George and Chancellor Phil DiStefano were reprimanded, with DiStefano serving a 10-day suspension and MacIntyre and George ordered to make $100,000 donations to domestic violence causes.

George said he had no regrets over signing MacIntyre to that extension. “He deserved it and his staff deserved it,” George said.

The Buffs slipped to 5-7 last season but began this year with five straight victories and moved into the AP Top 25 again.

“Six weeks ago, we’re 5-0 and the talk of the country,” George said. “That’s where Colorado should be every year and every season, we should be the talk of the country. But we’re not there and that’s why I made the decision.”