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worst CU football head coach in the last 50 years?
- Thread starter Liver
- Start date
i think a lot of the embo rage is due to the fact that it was such a recent and spectacularly awful display of total fail.
the fairbanks era is fading (or not even registering) for many, so it seems more benign than it actually was. it was truly terrible. he was like a lethargic knight from hades, sent to boulder to drink our booze and ****up our football program. in considering my vote, i went with the one that pissed me off the worst while at the helm and it was definitely hawk. i think that's because fairbanks was such a bad ****ing guy, personally and professionally, that i didn't expect much. and, embree was so biblically awful and we were so beaten down that it almost didn't hurt as much for me. hawkins was infuriating to me, i think, because i still had hope then and he'd manage to crush it a little more each week for 5 ****ing years.
the fairbanks era is fading (or not even registering) for many, so it seems more benign than it actually was. it was truly terrible. he was like a lethargic knight from hades, sent to boulder to drink our booze and ****up our football program. in considering my vote, i went with the one that pissed me off the worst while at the helm and it was definitely hawk. i think that's because fairbanks was such a bad ****ing guy, personally and professionally, that i didn't expect much. and, embree was so biblically awful and we were so beaten down that it almost didn't hurt as much for me. hawkins was infuriating to me, i think, because i still had hope then and he'd manage to crush it a little more each week for 5 ****ing years.
he's the TE coach for the cleveland browns, hired in january.
Tough choice to make since they all sadly deserve the top spot on the worst CU head coach list, but I'm going with Embree. Never before have I walked out of games after the 1st quarter and not bothered showing up for others. Absolutely horrible performances under his watch.
FLounder
Think Positive and life will be Positive.
*He will never coach again.
Never again..er, ok a few months. :lol:
Lt.Col.FrankSlade
Well-Known Member
Water Bottle.
It isn't even close.
It isn't even close.
CVilleBuff
Well-Known Member
Embree was 4-21 and 2012 was the worst college football team I've ever seen. Ever.
As bad as Hawk was, he took CU to a bowl. A 58 yard miracle field goal prevented a 2nd bowl (2008), and a 10 point 4th quarter blown lead against Texas Tech for another bowl season (also a 5 point blown halftime lead against Baylor) in 2010. CU was at least often competitive under Hawk. I'm by no means being a Hawk apologist, but the misery under Hawk just does not compare to the depths we sunk to under Embree. Given the grim choice, give me 5-7 seasons with a semblance of competitiveness much of the time over 1-11 seasons being down 55-7 at halftime.
As bad as Hawk was, he took CU to a bowl. A 58 yard miracle field goal prevented a 2nd bowl (2008), and a 10 point 4th quarter blown lead against Texas Tech for another bowl season (also a 5 point blown halftime lead against Baylor) in 2010. CU was at least often competitive under Hawk. I'm by no means being a Hawk apologist, but the misery under Hawk just does not compare to the depths we sunk to under Embree. Given the grim choice, give me 5-7 seasons with a semblance of competitiveness much of the time over 1-11 seasons being down 55-7 at halftime.
I went with Fairbanks for that reason. I can stomach, even respect, a person who tries and fails. I never questioned whether it mattered to Embree or Hawkins. But Fairbanks deserves nothing but our disgust for not giving a ****. If we're just talking coaching ability then Fairbanks might be the best coach to ever be at CU. So his unbelievable level of suckitude earns a special level of hatred from me.
Hawkins at least got us to a bowl and the losing did bother him. He was simply not up to the task and got overwhelmed. 3rd place
Embree had no business being a HC and it showed. His exit may have been the ugliest firing in the history of CU football. Despite all this JE truly did (and I think still does) care. Each loss ripped him to the core. It put him into bunker mode and made him even worse but I can't fault his effort or his desire to win, only his complete lack of ability to execute a plan to do so. 2nd place.
Fairbanks didn't give a crap what happened as long as he had his nice office, his paycheck, his side benefits, and could stay drunk. Fairbanks not only tore down the football team but tore apart the entire athletic department. He didn't even bother trying to coach or recruit, he completely turned off a number of major donors, and gave loads of ammo to the anti-athletics faction in Boulder. If you didn't pick Chuckles as the worst you don't remember the SOB. 1st in a runaway.
An honorable mention since he was barely outside the 50 year range was Sonny Grandelius. He won but in the process almost got football dropped at CU. He cheated like he was in the glory days of the SWC. The resulting fallout gave CU a reputation as a "dirty" program that has impacted the school every time something has come up since.
Embree had no business being a HC and it showed. His exit may have been the ugliest firing in the history of CU football. Despite all this JE truly did (and I think still does) care. Each loss ripped him to the core. It put him into bunker mode and made him even worse but I can't fault his effort or his desire to win, only his complete lack of ability to execute a plan to do so. 2nd place.
Fairbanks didn't give a crap what happened as long as he had his nice office, his paycheck, his side benefits, and could stay drunk. Fairbanks not only tore down the football team but tore apart the entire athletic department. He didn't even bother trying to coach or recruit, he completely turned off a number of major donors, and gave loads of ammo to the anti-athletics faction in Boulder. If you didn't pick Chuckles as the worst you don't remember the SOB. 1st in a runaway.
An honorable mention since he was barely outside the 50 year range was Sonny Grandelius. He won but in the process almost got football dropped at CU. He cheated like he was in the glory days of the SWC. The resulting fallout gave CU a reputation as a "dirty" program that has impacted the school every time something has come up since.
Idot Buff
Guest
What a hard choice. All three pathetic. I went with Fairbanks, only because I vividly recall sitting in the student section while he coached and remembering first downs were the highlights of the game. He laughed all the way to the bank.
in hindsight.....I would go with Hawkins. What a complete fraud. Embree? Hard to hate a guy that tried but was simply in way over his head.
in hindsight.....I would go with Hawkins. What a complete fraud. Embree? Hard to hate a guy that tried but was simply in way over his head.
what about how he left?
I had to go with Embree. Fairbanks, I never saw just heard about. I despise Hawk but he did make one bowl.
Virtually a dead heat between Fairbanks and Embree for me. Chuckles was a drunk, and basically did nothing during his short time in Boulder, but he did - at least - have provenance. Embree, regrettably, was perhaps the worst person possible for the position, and his historically hideous results are - IMHO - worse than even the spectacular Fairbanks error.
Idot Buff
Guest
good point. I sort of blocked that out....like the last 8 or so years of Buff football.
the thing that kills me about Embree was how easy it was to see the Embree failure coming.
DrunkPanda
Well-Known Member
You guys are all racist... Water Bottle was an amazing head coach. The only reason he is on your list is because he's black. Shame on you
I have to go with Fairbanks. He had been a very successful coach previously. It's not like he was put in a position where he was not qualified for success. Embree just isn't head coach material. He wasn't then, and he probably never will be. It's as much CUs fault for hiring him as it was his for failing. He should have never been put in that position to begin with. Fairbanks, OTOH, was given free reign to build upon the success of his predecessors. The stupid drunk didn't give a damn. He killed off half the athletic department so he could have more resources, and ten proceeded to piss those resources down the toilet. He wasn't just a bad coach, he was a con artist who swindled the University out of millions and we STILL haven't recovered.
The damage inflicted by Hawk and Embree can be reversed with a renewed commitment to facilities and a solid coaching staff. We may never recover from the nuclear wasteland left behind by upChuck Fairbanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
The damage inflicted by Hawk and Embree can be reversed with a renewed commitment to facilities and a solid coaching staff. We may never recover from the nuclear wasteland left behind by upChuck Fairbanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Sexton Hardcastle
Club Member
1. Fairbanks
2. Hawkins
2. Hawkins
It breaks down into two different categories, to me.
Fairbanks had much more experience and took over a decent program. His failure was spectacular. From the Embree standpoint, he took over a badly struggling program and had no reason to be anywhere near a head coaching position. In retrospect, his failure was to be expected. So, from the perspective of who did a worse job of coaching the team/running the program, Fairbanks was worse.
But if you look at it from the perspective of who was the worse football coach period, it had to be Embree. I have seen a lot of football over the years, and a lot of bad football. (Caveat: I was only at one Fairbanks game, and it happened to be the only win of the 1980 season, and I was a kid, so I can't really speak as to how he looked on the sideline.) I have never seen another coach, from high school to the pros, look as lost and overwhelmed as Embree did week in and week out. It's like he was always unprepared for what was happening and alway at a loss as to what to do next. Embree wins over Fairbanks simply because no one was worse than Embree.
Fairbanks had much more experience and took over a decent program. His failure was spectacular. From the Embree standpoint, he took over a badly struggling program and had no reason to be anywhere near a head coaching position. In retrospect, his failure was to be expected. So, from the perspective of who did a worse job of coaching the team/running the program, Fairbanks was worse.
But if you look at it from the perspective of who was the worse football coach period, it had to be Embree. I have seen a lot of football over the years, and a lot of bad football. (Caveat: I was only at one Fairbanks game, and it happened to be the only win of the 1980 season, and I was a kid, so I can't really speak as to how he looked on the sideline.) I have never seen another coach, from high school to the pros, look as lost and overwhelmed as Embree did week in and week out. It's like he was always unprepared for what was happening and alway at a loss as to what to do next. Embree wins over Fairbanks simply because no one was worse than Embree.
Lt.Col.FrankSlade
Well-Known Member
Did Fairbanks ever call a QB sneak on 1st and 10?
The Ogre
Well-Known Member
Based on expectations, Hawkins got my vote. He came in to right a recently proud, but listing ship. By the time he got canned, he threw all the traditions overboard, fouled the engines beyond repair, and stood at the helm reciting clichés as it drifted into the rocks. Embo was in over his head, and Chairbanks' tenure was short enough to recover from. Hopefully in five and ten years, we will be asking who the greatest CU coach is, with MacIntyre getting lots of votes.
I like polls.
I like polls.
cruisebuff
Club Member
Embree. Hawk's 2nd year was decent and he did get the Buffs in a bowl. Fairbanks had proven success in the past at Oklahoma - I think he just didn't understand the dynamics of winning in Boulder and by the time he learned it was too late (he did tell Mac while he was leaving that he should have recruited Texas and California more - advice Mac took to heart). Embree was just incompetent. I have a feeling we'll see just how bad Embree was with MM improving on the win total this year with many of the same players.