Buffs fade down the stretch in 68-60 Pac-12 loss at No. 17 Oregon

Just a week ago, the ink was still drying on the national letters of intent that secured Colorado’s best football recruiting class in years.

Mel Tucker was still the king at CU, having sold his players and Buffs fans across the country on his vision for the future while flexing his muscles on the recruiting trail.

In a blink, it’s all changed. Tucker is now the toast of East Lansing, Mich., after spurning the Buffaloes for Michigan State. The Spartans got their coach and Tucker got a whole lot of money.

CU, meanwhile, is left picking up the pieces – and trying to salvage as much momentum generated by the Tucker “era” as possible. With spring football starting in less than five weeks – and there’s really no option to push that back – the Buffs and athletic director Rick George have several questions they must answer.

What can Buffs do with resources they have?

Despite his ties to Michigan State and the Big Ten, Tucker is gone because of money. He’s getting a six-year deal with an average salary of $5.5 million and MSU is reportedly giving him more than $6 million annually to use for assistant coach salaries. With athletic department revenue of $133 million last year and roughly $54 million in conference distribution in 2019, the Spartans can afford that.

Compare that to CU, where Tucker would have made $2.675 million this year, with his assistants getting about $3.5 million. CU’s 2019 fiscal year revenue was roughly $89 million and its Pac-12 distribution was about $29.5 million.

Within the Pac-12, the Buffs ranked among the bottom third in head and assistant coach salaries last year. CU is not in a position to climb much higher on the list.

“I don’t see them as constraints,” George said of the Buffs’ financial resources. “We know what resources we have. The coach that we bring in, like Mel (when hired in 2018), will know what resources we have. I’m convinced we can win a championship with the resources we have.”

Tucker wasn’t convinced. Having spent much of his career in big-budget programs such as Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia, Tucker was frustrated by CU’s lack of financial resources, according to sources within the athletic department.

George has to either find a coach who shares his belief in CU’s resources, or the Buffs need to find a way to come up with more money to compete financially.

Is CU really considered a destination job?

George believes so, saying Wednesday, “This is where we think people can lay down their roots. It’s an incredible community, it’s a great state and we play in a terrific conference.”

There’s no question Boulder is one of the most appealing places in the country. But, is that really important to a college football coach, whose career survival is based on winning, and not having a great view from the office window?

CU’s glory days were long ago and the reality is the Buffs are tied with Kansas – yes, Kansas – for the fewest bowl appearances among Power 5 teams over the last 12 years, with one (the other 62 teams have each been to at least three).

Tucker told donors in California on Saturday that he doesn’t view CU has a stepping stone job – even as he was using CU as a stepping stone for his next move. CU doesn’t want to view itself as a stepping stone, but before now it has been coaching graveyard, so it’s an improvement.

Do the Buffs need a Buff in charge?

No, they don’t, but three times during his Wednesday press conference, George said he wants someone with the “same passion” for Colorado as he has. A coach with no ties to CU or the state – such as Tucker – won’t share that passion, at least initially. Obvious and popular early candidates Eric Bieniemy and Darrin Chiaverini do have that passion, as they played for the Buffs.

Bieniemy, the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, has interviewed for NFL head coaching jobs the past two winters and it’s unclear if he has a desire to return to the college ranks. Chiaverini, who has been on CU’s staff for four years, would love the job; he has passion for CU and recruiting, but has not been a part of great team success as a coach – outside of the Buffs’ 10-4 run in 2016.

Is there a rush to get a coach hired?

Yes and no. Spring football is slated to start March 16, which is less than five weeks away, so there is some urgency. Hiring a head coach and filling out a staff of 10 assistants will take some time, though, and there’s a decent chance CU isn’t fully staffed when spring ball starts.

George doesn’t need to rush this decision for the sake of spring football, however. It’s more important to get the right person than the quickest hire.

The search almost surely won’t drag into mid-March, but the last time CU didn’t have a coach in place when spring started was 1979, when the Buffs had to fight a legal battle to hire Chuck Fairbanks away from the NFL’s New England Patriots.

What’s next for CU’s assistant coaches?

Head coaches often bring assistants with them, so it’s possible that some of CU’s coaches follow Tucker to Michigan State (four of the 10 followed him from Georgia to Boulder last year).

Did Tucker assemble the staff at CU to his liking, or did he do what he could with a limited budget?

With double the money to work with, it will be interesting to see how Tucker assembles his staff at MSU – and it could include some from CU.

Tucker fought to keep offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic in Boulder this winter; does he now try to lure him to Michigan State? Tucker also often praised CU’s strength and conditioning coach, Drew Wilson, and it’s interesting timing that on Thursday morning, the Spartans’ head strength coach, Ken Mannie, announced his retirement after 25 years at MSU.