At this point my preference is someone with a significant offensive background that can fix this offense, someone that even if they fail, I'll at least have gotten to watch something somewhat entertaining. It's always seemed a great shame we haven't utilized a high-powered offense at altitude for decades now as well. I would still consider someone like Walters or Bronco if they can propose a great OC candidate, but I've cooled significantly on Bronco, especially since Anae isn't coming to this mess and Beck has never been an OC.
This is also where I see the strongest candidates-
The long shots being Herman/Mullen/Petersen. I don't think CU has any chance in their current state.
There's no G5 candidate that really stands out, Fritz is 61 and not a great fit, you could drop down to the FCS level with Taylor but I prefer the P5 Coordinator risk over the FCS risk.
Then you've got two different types of P5 Coordinators-
Grimes/Dunn - Both very experienced and proven both as position coaches and coordinators. Have gotten praise from peers and media that they're ready for a HC job. I think Dunn's history with WRs is really intriguing, no matter how much of that offense is his (and Gundy seems to give him a lot of credit). Baylor's offense this year is a little disappointing but at least you know that Grimes has been running his own offense for several years now.
Riley/Golesh/Dillingham/Moore (you could throw Walters with a great plan at OC in here) - Is this a risk either side wants to take (especially with the 32 year old Dillingham)? Maybe not. But one of these guys has to be a genius that could save even CU from the depths right now and they're likely guys who would be out of CU's league in a few years at their current trajectory. For a more stable program with great opportunities in NIL and the portal, these guys and Walters make a lot more sense. CU has made terrible assistant hires for years as well and I worry about any of these guys hiring great assistants.