Colorado promotes Phil McGeoghan to assistant head coach

BOULDER — Phil McGeoghan has been on campus for five months and he’s already earned a promotion.

The University of Colorado announced that McGeoghan, 42, will now serve as CU’s assistant head coach, as well as the wide receivers coach. McGeoghan has 15 years of coaching experience, including eight years in the NFL.

“Phil has been a valuable addition and has made an immediate impact on our program,” head coach Karl Dorrell said in a press release. “He is an excellent position coach and has strong communication skills, and I believe he is a rising star in our profession who has a future as a head coach.”

The assistant head coach title hasn’t been handed out often in Boulder recently. Mel Tucker made Darrin Chiaverini his assistant head coach for one season in 2019. Before that, quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer was the most recent assistant head coach back in 2012.

“I am so grateful to Coach Dorrell and the entire CU family for this opportunity,” McGeoghan said in the release. “Having the ability to be a direct extension of the core values, leadership and vision of this prestigious university is a true blessing. And the privilege of developing, cultivating and sustaining meaningful relationships with all the players on this roster is the most inspiring part of this journey. Again, thank you to Karl, Rick George and everybody connected to the CU program. Now it’s time to get to work.”

McGeoghan originally worked with Dorrell as an undrafted rookie wide receiver for the Denver Broncos in the early 2000s. After a brief NFL career, McGeoghan began coaching in 2007 for the University of Maine. Since then, he’s become a big name among wide receivers coaches after working with the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and, most recently, the Los Angeles Chargers from 2018-20. He took a year off during the pandemic to be closer to his family and then joined the CU staff in January.

McGeoghan has worked with numerous wide receivers, including Chad Ochocinco, Keenan Allen, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall, Greg Jennings, Sammy Watkins, Jabar Gaffney, Brian Hartline, Devante Parker and plenty of others. Receivers he’s coached have earned over $1 billion in the NFL.

At CU, McGeoghan will be tasked with developing a group of raw but talented receivers—like Daniel Arias, Montana Lemonious-Craig and Ty Robinson—into Power 5 playmakers.