Reflections From the Glass Bowl: Colorado Buffaloes' Dan Hawkins Must Go

Reflections from the Glass Bowl

The late, great head coach John McKay once said, during his Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 0-14 season in 1976, "We didn't tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking"

Okay—Just a little levity to get you started.

Let's get to the heart of it—Colorado is one of the worst teams in Division I-A, FBS football.

Colorado will be in the "Bottom Ten" this week, and deservedly so. I am a die-hard, "with the Buffs no matter what" kind of a fan (Hell, I'm in Toledo, Ohio, for a Buff game, aren't I?), but the reality is that the CU program has descended to depths we thought we would never see again. I'm talking about Chuck Fairbanks' era awful; Colorado sky-blue uniforms awful; losses to Drake awful. This was a humiliation of Montana State proportions, without the excuse of it being the first game for a new coaching staff.

The Buffs continue to look inept on offense and confused on defense. Lack of experience on the offensive line and lack of talent and depth on the defensive line is only half the story. The offensive play calling is unimaginative (commitment to the power running game lasts only until the Buffs are down two touchdowns—which happens before the first quarter is over).

Clock management is appalling (can we please, please snap the ball before the play clock hit's "0"?). On defense, the Buffs were often shuttling in players against a hurry-up, spread offense—CU was consistently caught off-guard and out of position.

While some of the problems are superficial, much of what is wrong can't be fixed this season...

...and they can't (or won't) be fixed by this coaching staff.

Dan Hawkins' era came to a close tonight

Yes, there are more games to be played, and yes, there is the buyout clause in Hawkins' contract which must be addressed, and yes, the Colorado athletic department, it must be noted, is not flush with dollars to lure a new, high-priced coach.

But it will happen—it HAS to happen.

The Buffs do have some talent. It is young talent; it is immature talent; and, for some reason, it is undeveloped talent. But it is there. A new coach can come in and will at least have the opportunity to turn things around fairly quickly. The best hope for the Colorado football program to become relevant in the near future is for the Buff players, fans, and RECRUITS to know that there is a new beginning on the horizon.

Over 600 yards of total offense—by Toledo? Can you imagine Todd Reesing, Zac Robinson, and Colt McCoy watching the game on ESPN as they sit in their hotel rooms waiting to play their games Saturday, salivating at the mere thought of playing Colorado? There were a number of negative records set Friday night—and it's only going to get worse.

The chant "Hawkins must go" is no longer just for the loud and boorish drunks in the stands...

It goes for the rest of us, too.

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