Chris Wilson brings experience to Colorado's defense

BOULDER —When Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell addressed the media Friday to explain the changes to his staff, he brought up experience a couple of times.

“He’s going to be our defensive coordinator moving forward in 2021,” Dorrell said of CU defensive line coach Chris Wilson. “(We’re) excited about his experience, what he brings to the table from a knowledge base and all the places that he’s been in his career. Obviously, very well seasoned coach on both the college and professional level so we’re really excited about making the next steps of progress defensively.”

Wilson brings a lengthy resume to the table.

He’s coached in college football and in the NFL. He’s coached inside linebackers, outside linebackers and defensive lines. He’s coordinated special teams and defense at the Power 5 level. He’s coached in the Pac-12, the Big-12 and the SEC. He’s made a living as a coach for 28 years. He’s won a Super Bowl.

Dorrell made shorter but similar comments about safeties coach Brett Maxie, who was promoted to passing game coordinator this week.

Dorrell also noted the accomplishments of new strength coach Shannon Turley, who spent over a decade in the same position with Stanford, winning multiple strength coach of the year awards in the process.

When asked, Dorrell said that he was looking for the best coaches for the jobs, but he had a particular interest in candidates who brought experience to the table.

“There’s a reason why I have some older coaches that are in the program,” Dorrell said. “They’re at a point in their careers where you know they want to be head coaches. They’ve been great, assistant coaches but they want to get a chance to do what I’m doing right now.”

If not for this process, Dorrell wouldn’t have gotten his shot.

“This profession is about having success and guys getting opportunities to become coordinators and head coaches,” Dorrell said. “That’s how this profession is driven and I was part of that early in my career as an assistant; climbing the ladder, so to speak, to have opportunities to gain more responsibility.”

But it isn’t just about doing right by those around him. Bringing in experienced coaches is valuable for the program.

“I’m going to have a few young coaches and a few guys that have much more experience, just because they help groom those young coaches to develop faster,” Dorrell said. “They can give them a little bit of the lay of the land and the tricks of the trade.”

Keeping a balanced staff makes keeping the staff intact easier as well.

Taylor Embree left Colorado last month to join the New York Jets. He was the Buffs’ tight ends coach for a year before accepting the running backs job with the Jets, which is an increased title and worth a substantial pay raise. Dorrell likely knew that Embree was deserving of a promotion, but there wasn’t a promotion to offer. Darrin Chiaverini is in the offensive coordinator position and that role would likely have been too big a step for Embree.

“You have to blend your staff with some experienced coaches and some young coaches, knowing that the young coaches are going to ascend and do some other things,” Dorrell said. “I did want that balance on this staff, just because there is attrition every year in this profession.”