Addazio’s ejection marks new low for CSU football
SFORT COLLINS» teve Addazio is stealing money. You know it. Your neighbor knows it. Based on the crowds at Canvas Stadium, CSU Rams fans know it.
Deep down, beneath all that bluster and coach-speak, Addazio knows it, too.
“I understand everybody wants everything right now,” Addazio said late Saturday night after his squad capped a season-ending, six-game losing streak with a 52-10 loss at the hands of Nevada. “But this is a total rebuild.”
Said the guy who inherited Trey Mcbride, a Mackey Award finalist, at tight end. And Cam Butler. And Dante Wright. And Dequan Jackson.
But go on.
“It’s going to take some time,” Addazio continued. “Those are the facts.”
Want some more facts? Blake Anderson’s Year 1 at Utah State featured nine wins and a division title. The Aggies’ record the year before his arrival: 1-5.
Kalen Deboer after 16 games at Fresno State: 10-6. Record the year before his arrival: 4-8.
Danny Gonzalez after 16 games at New Mexico: 5-11. Record the year before his arrival: 2-10.
Daz after 16 games at CSU: 4-12. Record the year before his arrival: 4-8.
You know who’s running out of time? Rams athletic director Joe Parker, who’s discovering that Urban Meyer is somehow more accomplished as an NFL coach than a headhunter.
Because Urby’s pal Daz is straight-up stealing money. From Parker. From CSU president Joyce Mcconnell, who keeps on fiddling while the front porch of her athletic department burns.
Holiday weekend or not, there were 19,035 empty seats at Canvas Stadium for the Rams’ finale, 47% of capacity.
Over its last three home games, against Boise State, Air Force and the Wolf Pack, CSU averaged
13,755 empty seats.
Rams fans aren’t speaking with their wallets anymore. They’re shouting to Hagues Peak.
Combine the no-shows with Addazio’s $1.55 million salary for 2021, which ranks No. 2 in the Mountain West beyond Wyo
ming’s Craig Bohl ($1.6 million); mix in the Daz’s bizarre secondquarter ejection from the Nevada loss along with his game-management meltdowns at Utah State, and you’ve got a program that’s gone from raising the Bronze Boot to being fitted for clown shoes.
“You have to have a little faith,” CSU punter Ryan Stonehouse said in his coach’s defense as the Rams ended the season 3-9 overall, 2-6 in the Mountain West,
“that what you’re building is for the future.”
Meanwhile, how much scratch can the Rams afford to hemorrhage in the present? Say CSU is working from a football season ticket base for 2022 of around 10,000 customers. This year’s prices were roughly $250 for a season ticket and $100 per car for season parking.
If we keep the costs the same and assume an average of four ticket-holders per vehicle, that’s a price point of $275 per customer. And potential revenue of $2.75 million.
Should only 47% of those folks decide to renew in 2022, you’re out $1.46 million — or roughly the same cost as Addazio’s buyout as of Dec. 2, 2022 ($1.5 million).
On Thursday, that same buyout drops from $5 million to $3 million. Even if Parker doesn’t pull the trigger this month, Coach Total
Rebuild will soon find himself sitting on one of the hottest seats in the country.
Two more facts that won’t sell tickets: The Daz is the first Rams coach to lose 12 of the opening 16 games of his tenure since Jerry Wampfler in 1970 and ’71. And he’s the first CSU coach to fail to reach a bowl by Year 2 since Leon Fuller back in 1982 and ’83.
But, hey — at least a national audience on CBS Sports Network got to witness a Rams first, as Addazio became the only CSU football coach to ever get tossed from a game.
With the Rams trailing 28-0 and driving to the Nevada 38, Addazio was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct with 5:21 until halftime. Under a rule implemented five years ago, a second unsportsmanlike call warranted an automatic ejection.
Sure enough, during a TV timeout at the 4:41 mark, a flag went up near midfield. Addazio trotted off the field and into history.
“I was pretty calm at that point,” Daz explained later. “There was no bad language or anything. All I said to them was, ‘Guys, we’ve just gotta do better.’ And that got me another flag. It is what it is.”
It was bush league, desperate, and unprofessional. Especially on Senior Night, an evening that saw Mcbride, one of the top tight ends in the 2022 NFL Draft pool, suit up as a Ram for the last time.
“Coach Addazio is passionate. He’s a competitor,” said Mcbride, who scored for the first time in 10 weeks off a fake punt that turned into a 69-yard touchdown.
“He’s going to defend his players. And emotions run high in the game, and I think our team rallies behind it. I think you’re going to continually see CSU rally behind Coach Addazio.”
Daz after 16 games at Temple: 10-6.
Daz after 16 games at Boston College: 9-7.
Daz after 16 games in Foco: 4-12. If that’s rallying, brother … you’d hate to see withering.
“We’re that close,” Addazio said, pinching an imaginary marshmallow between his index finger and thumb.
“I think if you talk to coaches in this league, they’ll tell you the same thing. I can tell you they have. They talk to me before and after games. They know what’s going on here.”
Football larceny in the first degree. An easy mark. A paper tiger. A team that can’t finish drives or games. Why would those coaches
want you to leave?