Mike MacIntyre, Colorado Agree to New Contract: Details, Comments and Reaction

Colorado has extended the contract of head football coach Mike MacIntyre through the 2021 season, Brian Howell of BuffZone.com reported Monday.

Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports later confirmed Howell's report.

MacIntyre will make $16.25 million over the next five seasons, which is an average annual salary of $3.25 million per year, per Howell.

He recently finished up his fourth season, which was his most successful year with the program.

After going just 10-27 in his first three years, Colorado went 10-4, climbed as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and played for the Pac-12 Championship after winning the conference's South Division in 2016.

It was the program's best season since 2001, when it went 10-3 and lost in the Fiesta Bowl. 

But even during MacIntyre's difficult start with the Buffaloes, he earned a one-year extension in 2014 that extended his initial deal to 2018, per ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura. That deal paid him $2 million per year and showed how highly the administration thought of him. 

Now with Colorado transforming into a Top 10 program, there was speculation that MacIntyre would be sought after by larger schools.

However, athletic director Rick George told Bonagura that he "absolutely" expected MacIntyre to stay in Boulder.

MacIntyre echoed those sentiments, per Bonagura:

"

I love it at Colorado. Truly love it. My wife loves it, my kids love it. My daughter is in grad school [at CU]. My son is on the team, he's a sophomore. My other son is a senior in high school, and we truly love it. 

I know that we will be a top-echelon program at Colorado again and be that team that everyone is talking about as one of the top-20 teams. It's a destination spot once you've been here, and it's really a special place.

"

With an extension in place, MacIntyre's annual salary will move from 55th among all FBS head coaches to 32nd, according to USA Today.

It can also bring some peace of mind to both him and Colorado's program while ensuring that he's unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon.