Mel Tucker is gone and it’s time to find his replacement.

Colorado athletic director Rick George and associate athletic director Lance Carl have formed a two-man search party to pick out the man who will run the Buffs’ football program.

It’s late in the hiring season, so this search may be unconventional. Expect some weird names to come out, simply because most of the top options have been locked up already.

Below are 15 names to know throughout this process.

The names are ordered based on who I would most like to see take over the top job in Boulder. These aren’t necessarily the top 15 candidates, just the 15 candidates whose names are most likely to get tossed around.

To be clear: Dave Logan isn’t the 15th-best candidate for the position, just the 15th best out of the 15th most notable. There are plenty of young up-and-comers who could fit somewhere in the second tier.

If there’s anybody who you think should make the list, leave the name in the comment section and they may be added.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to:

(Read this in chunks. Refer back to it as a resource throughout the process. Try not to get overwhelmed. It’s long.)

TIER 1: THE ROCKSTARS

Colorado missed the prime window for hiring big-name coaches by about two months. There are still a few big names available, but they’re going to be expensive, and that’s if they’re even willing to take an interview.

1. BRETT VENABLES

Clemson’s defensive coordinator should be a head coach by now.

He burst onto the coaching scene in 2000 when he was the co-defensive coordinator for Oklahoma’s BCS National Championship team. Then, in 2004, Venables became Oklahoma’s sole defensive coordinator. Two years later, he was a top-five candidate for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Venables was considered for multiple Power 5 head coach jobs before accepting Clemson’s defensive coordinator position in 2012. In 2016, he won the Broyles Award and the national championship. In 2018, he won another national championship.

Venables, 49, has been rumored for nearly every Power 5 opening for the better part of a decade but has declined them all, citing his happiness with his job at Clemson.

It won’t be easy to pull Venables to Boulder for a number of reasons.

First, he’s already making $2.4 million for the 2020 season. Tucker was scheduled to earn $2.7 million before resigning, so it would likely take an increased salary for the position to entice Venables. Colorado will earn $3 million from Michigan State in exchange for letting Tucker out of his contract, and about half of that would have to be used to buy Venables out of Clemson. The other half could be used to help with the salary.

Second, star quarterback Trevor Lawrence has one more year at Clemson. He’s the favorite to win the Heisman and should give the Tigers a chance to make their sixth-consecutive College Football Playoff appearance. It may be in Venables’ best interest to build his resume one more year before moving on to a head coaching job.

Third, his eldest son plays for Clemson and another son is committed to join the team for the 2020 season.

The reason Venables still makes this list is that Mel Tucker’s journey to Colorado should provide a glimmer of hope.

Tucker also had an incredibly impressive resume but waited until his late 40s to accept a head coaching job. He said he was waiting for the right opportunity. Colorado was that opportunity.

Maybe Venables will see what Tucker, another defensive coach, saw in Boulder and consider taking the leap. It won’t hurt that Tucker has already put in a year of work.

2. URBAN MEYER

Again, don’t put money on this one.

Don’t even put money on Meyer accepting an interview.

Maybe don’t even put money on Rick George reaching out to Meyer’s agent.

For those of you who have forgotten, Meyer left Ohio State under shady circumstances after the 2018 season. He’d been placed on administrative lead in August after reports alleged Meyer did not report one of his assistant’s alleged domestic violence to superiors, despite having knowledge of the situation. Meyer was then suspended the first three games of the season.

Ohio State won 12 games and went to the Rose Bowl. Meyer then retired from coaching, he says, because of health problems.

Meyer has a career 187-32 coaching record, in a career that included head coaching jobs at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State. He won three national championships. He won coach of the year trophies from a number of entities.

There’s no doubt Meyer is a great football coach or that he’d come with some baggage. He’s also interested in getting back into coaching.

Meyer said publically in January that he’d take the Dallas Cowboys job if it was offered to him. It was not.

The job ended up going to former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. The terms of the deal have not been made public but former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was set to make $6 million in 2020, before he was fired. Meyer made $7.6 million in his last year coaching at Ohio State.

Meyer is likely out of Colorado’s price range, but you never know.

It certainly helps that Meyer made a stop at Utah, which is currently a member of the Pac-12. When Meyer was at Utah (from 2003-04), the school was part of the Mountain West Conference.

Meyer also has Colorado ties. He was the wide receivers coach at Colorado State from 1990-95 and was in Fort Collins in December to help advise the Rams during the coaching search which ended in the hiring of Steve Adazzio.

While Meyer was coaching in Fort Collins, Colorado beat the Rams in all three games, averaging a margin of victory of over 20 points. Colorado also won a national championship in that timeframe. So he saw the prime Buffs from just up the road.

Did I include Meyer on this just because we need a break from all of the sadness and I wanted to write about national championships and blowing out the Rams and Adazzio being the guy at CSU?

Maybe.

But the point is that near the top of this list if we’re talking about the most exciting options.

If we were ranking the odds for this job, he’d be at the bottom.

3. BOB STOOPS (late addition)

Stoops, 59, is an interesting option, if he’s an option at all.

The six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year retired from coaching after the 2016 season but, in February of 2019, Stoops un-retired to become the head coach and general manager of the XFL’s Dallas Renegades.

Does that mean Stoops is trying to work his way back into the college ranks, or is the XFL his retirement hobby?

Odds are he wouldn’t have to work that hard to find a college job, so it’s unlikely that was his plan. On the other hand, he hasn’t shut down the possibility of a return whenever he’s been asked.

Stoops has won national coach of the year awards from more than a handful of different entities, 10 conference championships in 17 years at Oklahoma and a national championship in 2000. He won 190 games and lost 48.

If he’s at all interested in Colorado, the Buffs should swoop him up. His ties to the recruiting territory east of Colorado would be massive, on top of his obvious capabilities as a coach.

Odds are he isn’t interested though.

He’s making $162,000 per year in the XFL, so he’d be in line for a pretty significant raise. He had been making $325,000 per year from Oklahoma since his retirement for serving as a “special assistant to the athletic director,” so the XFL move likely wasn’t made with finances in mind.

TIER 2: THE UP-AND-COMERS

Some of these guys are household names. Others are on pace to be big-time in the next few years. They all could be the next Buffs’ head coach.

4. JUSTIN WILCOX (late addition)

Wait, what?

Wilcox, 43, would be a coup if the Buffs can pull him away fron conference rival Cal, where he is already a head coach.

According to a FootballScoop.com report on Monday, Wilcox is one of seven names that Buffs athletic director Rick George is interested in meeting with.

George’s interest makes sense; Wilcox is an up-and-coming coach who has built on his success each year at Cal. He won five games in his first year, seven in his second year and eight in his third year.

He’s a defensive-minded coach who was a coordinator for 11 seasons before taking over at Cal. He worked at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, USC and Wisconsin, leading some of the nation’s elite defenses.

The defensive success has carried over to Cal, despite not having elite talent.

Wilcox seems poised to be one of the nation’s top coaches for the next couple of decades, but the question is why he would leave for Colorado.

There are no Colorado ties and he’s making $3.05 million in 2020 and he’s under contract through 2023, when he’ll make $3.6 million. That’s more than the Buffs were supposed to give Mel Tucker. Cal would also be owed a $2.5 million buyout payment, which would be nearly neutralized the $3 million Colorado is getting from MSU.

None of these numbers are lost on George, which is a shift in the narrative surrounding this coaching search. Luring Wilcox from Cal wouldn’t be easy but George is taking a stance that would make it look like he’s willing to spend for his next coach.

Wilcox would be a home run. Combining him with the talent that Colorado has collected on the defensive side of the ball could result in a massive step forward for the Buffs. He’s one of the few guys who would be an upgrade over Tucker.

Next up is to see whether Rick George can land an interview with him.

It’s too bad there isn’t a game between Colorado and Cal in 2020.

5. ROBERT SALEH

The 49ers’ defensive coordinator is the last “likely-unattainable” on this list.

Saleh, 41, may not be well-known yet, but he probably should be. He easily could have been included in the top tier of this list, but just barely slips into the top of Tier 2.

Like Venables and Tucker, Saleh’s resume is jam-packed with impressive experience. The difference is that Saleh made the jump to the NFL in 2005 and never returned to college football.

He worked on the Texans’ defensive staff for six years, primarily working with linebackers like Brian Cushing and DeMarco Ryans, both of whom were named AP Defensive Rookies of the Year while Saleh was in Houston.

Then, he jumped to Seattle. Again, he primarily worked with the linebackers. Saleh was a defensive quality control coach for the Seahawks during the Legion of Boom era and earned a Super Bowl XLVII ring.

For the past three seasons, Saleh has served as the 49ers defensive coordinator and this year led the best defense in the league by many metrics.

Putting linebacker Nate Landman into Saleh’s hands is right up there with the best-case scenarios for Colorado, but there are plenty of reasons to think it won’t happen.

First of all, Saleh rejected an interview for the Michigan State job because he had “unfinished business” in San Francisco, per NFL Network. It could be that the turmoil within the MSU athletics department and the potential sanctions on the way scared him off.

That’s going to be a theme in this coaching search: Just because somebody wasn’t interested in the MSU job doesn’t mean they won’t be interested in the CU job. There are so many factors at play, including the sanctions.

But Saleh is Dearborn, Michigan native and got his start in coaching at Michigan State, so it would seem like MSU would be a dream job for Saleh, if he was interested in coaching college football.

He’d also command a hefty salary, as he’ll be a favorite to land an NFL job next offseason.

Maybe Colorado will appeal to Saleh more than MSU but, like Venables and Meyer before him, don’t hold your breath.

6. RYAN WALTERS

Here’s where things start to get real. Walters, 34, isn’t the perfect candidate, but he checks virtually every box except for experience.

Missouri’s defensive coordinator led one of the most surprising defenses of the 2019 season. They finished in the top 15 nationally in points allowed per game and yards allowed per game, despite playing in the SEC.

He has two years of defensive coordinator experience at Missouri and two years of co-defensive coordinator experience, but prior to 2016, Walters had only served as a grad assistant and a position coach.

There’s some risk involved with hiring such a young coach, but Walters is often praised for his charisma and leadership.

And there’s reason to believe he’d be interested in the Colorado job.

Walters was a safety at Colorado from 2004-08 and was a student assistant in Boulder in 2009. He was voted a team captain and the team MVP in his senior season. Plus, his father played quarterback for Colorado, making Walters a second-generation Buff.

The financial situation is great as well.

This year, Walters will make $900,000. If Colorado offers him what Tucker was due in 2020, that’d triple the young coach’s salary. As we’ve seen this week, sometimes a big raise is just impossible to turn down.

Missouri could try to counter Colorado’s offer, but Walters is already the highest-paid assistant on the staff.

Even better, Walters isn’t due to pay Missouri a buyout, unless he takes a head coach job in the SEC. Luckily, Colorado is in the Pac-12 and would only have to pay a salary for Walters’ services.

He is the favorite.

7. ANDY AVALOS

Another up-and-coming defensive mind, Avalos is the puppeteer behind the Oregon defense.

Avalos, 38, implemented a complex, multiple-front defensive scheme in Eugene this season, and the results were spectacular. The idea is to give the offense as many looks as possible so that it never knows what to expect. You can’t learn from mistakes if you’re never in the same situation twice.

The Ducks poached Avalos from his alma mater, Boise State, where Avalos had served as defensive coordinator for three seasons. In all three of those seasons, the Broncos were among the top 25 teams in the country in forcing turnovers.

Tucker was in the process of implementing his own scheme, a complex 3-4 defense when he ditched Colorado. While learning a whole new playbook may not be easy, it would help that most of the team has been through this process before.

Avalos has Colorado ties, as he served as a graduate assistant for in Boulder for three years, beginning in 2006.

Again, Colorado is in a good position to hire Avalos, if the Buffs decide he’s their guy. Avalos is due $815,000 in 2020 and doesn’t have to pay a buyout, as long as he’s leaving Oregon to become the head coach of an FBS school.

With another strong year at Oregon, Avalos could become one of the hot names on the NCAA coaching market, so he may wait until then to evaluate his options.

Another hot name is Bryan Harsin.

Harsin, the head coach at Boise State, could be on his way to a big payday at a Power 5 school. Don’t be surprised if Avalos is waiting for Harsin to leave Boise, so Avalos can take the job at his alma mater where he’s already spent seven seasons coaching.

8. BRYAN HARSIN

Speaking of Harsin, the job he leaves Boise for may be the one that’s open in Boulder.

Harsin, 43, has been one of the names tossed around for head coach jobs for years. He took over Boise State’s football program after Chris Peterson left for Washington in 2014 and the Broncos have barely faltered.

Harsin has a 40-8 record at Boise State and has won the Mountain West three times in his six seasons and has never missed out on the postseason. He only has one season with single-digit wins, when he went 9-4 in 2015.

Harsin made $1.75 million in 2019, so Colorado could offer a significant raise if it wanted. Boise State would also be due a $250,000 buyout.

While Harsin’s success makes him an obvious consideration, it could be difficult to lure him out of Idaho, even with a big-time offer. Harsin was born in Boise, played quarterback for the Broncos from 1995-99, and was an assistant coach at Boise State from 2001-12.

Harsin could just be a Boise guy.

Buffs fans could also be scared off, after hiring Dan Hawkins out of Boise State in 2005 and was fired by the Buffs following a 19-39 record in Boulder.

9. STEVE SARKISIAN

Sarkisian, 45, is a boom or bust prospect.

The former BYU quarterback was a rising star in coaching circles, taking over USC’s quarterback coaching position at age 26. He worked with Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Matt Cassel before moving on to the Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacks coach job in 2004, where he coached up Kerry Collins after Rich Gannon went down with an injury.

By age 34 he was the head coach at Washington and five years later he took over USC.

But halfway through his second season with the Trojans, Sarkisian’s assistant coaches told him not to come to practice when they allegedly smelled alcohol on his breath. There were multiple other incidents allegedly involving alcohol and by the time USC tried to fire Sarkisian, he was already checking in to a rehab facility.

There were also reports of alcohol-related incidents while Sarkisian was at Washington.

The next season, Sarkisian signed on with Alabama as an offensive analyst. When offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin took a head coach position before the national championship, Sarkisian was filled in at offensive coordinator.

The next season, in 2017, Sarkisian was hired as the Falcons offensive coordinator to replace Kyle Shanahan. The Falcon’s offense scored nine fewer points per game over his two seasons and Sarkisian was fired.

Last season, Sarkisian re-joined the Crimson Tide as offensive coordinator.

There have been no public accounts of alcohol problems in over four years.

So that’s the conundrum.

Sarkisian is set to make $1.55 million at Alabama this season.

10. SETH LITTRELL (late addition)

Littrell, 41, is currently the offensive-minded head coach at North Texas.

Littrell has lots of coaching experience in his background, as he first began as a graduate assistant at Kansas in 2002. He has offensive experience working under Mike Leach at Texas Tech before taking over the offenses of Arizona and Indiana. In 2014, Littrell took over the offense at North Carolina, and in his last season, the Tar Heels averaged 7.4 yards per play.

Following his extensive experience as an assistant, North Texas hired him as head coach. The Mean Green had one winning season in the 11 years prior to Littrell’s arrival, with the season prior to his arrival ending in a 1-11 record.

Littrell has led UNT to two winning seasons in his four year time there, including a Conference USA championship in 2017. However, his 2019 record was the worst of his career, as the team finished 4-8 and failed to make a postseason appearance.

With his experience under Mike Leach, Littrell has incorporated the ‘Air Raid’ scheme into every stop along the way. He ran primarily three-and-four wide receiver sets, with one running back in the backfield, to spread the defense out. One wrinkle that sets apart his scheme from Leach’s is the screen game, as the short passes give the offense a variation to a running game.

With his proven record, North Texas just signed Littrell to a new five-year deal, with  $900,000 in base salary. With his new deal, his buyout is set for $360,000.

TIER 3: MCELWAIN

Pretty self-explanatory. He didn’t fit anywhere else.

11. JIM MCELWAIN (late addition)

Jim McElwain is a good football coach and he’s won coach of the year awards in three different conferences to prove it.

In three seasons at Colorado State from 2012-14, his first job as a head coach, McElwain finished with records of 4-8, 8-6 and 10-2, in that order. Then, at Florida, he finished with records of 10-4, 9-4 and 3-4. In his one year at Central Michigan, he finished 8-6.

Those results may not be remarkable, but he’s made it to a bowl game in five of seven seasons as a head coach. He left Florida partway through his third season as part of a mutual agreement decision him and the athletic department. He’d won the SEC West in each of his two years but losing his quarterback to a suspension put his team in a bad spot in his final (half) season.

McElwain had wanted to improve the facilities at Florida so they’d be more competitive with rest of the SEC but those didn’t come until after he was gone.

These are excuses for a sub-.500 seven-game start, but any veteran coach who is attainable this time of year is going to have some flaws. What we know for sure is that McElwain is experienced and has ties around the country, which could give him a leg up trying to piece together a staff in February.

McElwain, 57, isn’t a flashy option, but he’s one of the top veteran coaching options that could be interested. McElwain is only due $1.6 million from Central Michigan this season.

If McElwain comes to Boulder, it’d be easy to

TIER 4: BACK TO THE UP-AND-COMERS

12. BILLY NAPIER

Napier, 40, just lead the Ragin’ Cajuns to new heights: In 50 seasons, Louisiana had never won 10 games. Napier did it in his second year.

The Georgia native has an impressive lineage, featuring eight seasons at Clemson (including 2009-10 as offensive coordinator) and five seasons with Alabama. In 2017, he was the offensive coordinator at Arizona State.

He also spent one season at Colorado State as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach, so he has at least some familiarity with the area.

He was a college quarterback at Furman and led his team to the national championship in 2001, where he lost to the Montana Grizzlies.

If the plan for the football program is to have a head coach come in and clean up the offense while defensive coordinator Tyson Summers keeps building on last season’s performance on the other side of the ball, then Napier would make a lot of sense.

It also helps that Napier, like Tucker, bases his entire philosophy on what he learned from Nick Saban at Alabama. It’s working.

Just listen to what he told Sports Illustrated:

“Alabama says, ‘The Process Begins Here.’ We say, ‘The Journey Starts Here.’”

Napier shut down Mississipi State earlier this offseason when it wanted him to interview, so he may be locked into the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Like Venables, Colorado could turn out to be the type of program to pull him away.

13. GRAHAM HARRELL

Harrell, 34, somehow feels overdue for a head coach job.

What’s even crazier is that he spent five years playing professional football, so he’s behind his peers in terms of coaching experience.

He’s been a rumored replacement for a number of open positions over the past couple of offseasons, ranging from the NFL to the college ranks.

He began his career as a quality control coach under Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, where he taught his quarterbacks the Air Raid offensive system. His next coaching stop was at Washington State where he worked under Mike Leach, his college coach, as an offensive analyst. Then he was promoted to outside receivers coach.

Harrell’s big break came at North Texas, where he was the offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. The UNT offense made massive strides under Harrell’s guidance and he parlayed that success into the offensive coordinator job at USC, where he spent last season. Harrell ran an efficient offense with a host of different Trojan quarterbacks due to injuries.

Bringing the Air Raid to Colorado, would be an interesting move. With Mike Leach now in the SEC, the Buffs would become the lone Air Raid offense in the Pac-12. Colorado has tons of young receivers who could shine in the system.

Harrell signed a new extension this offseason that is reportedly worth over $1 million per year.

14. ALEX GRINCH

Grinch, 39, is the coordinator of the Oklahoma defense that busted through expectations this season, his first year.

His defense is turnover hungry and jumped from 101st in yards allowed to 38th. Before that, he was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State for a year. At Washington State, his previous stop, he took the Cougars from No. 97 to No. 16.

There’s some hype building around his name and he was one of the favorites to take over after Mike Leach left Washington State this offseason. Grinch shot that hype down quickly.

There aren’t many Colorado ties, but Grinch may want to get his hands on the talent that has accumulated in Boulder. Maybe three seasons as a defensive backs coach at Wyoming are close enough to a tie.

Colorado could be interested in Grinch’s ties to old Big 8 recruiting territory, as well. Re-establishing the pipeline out of the Oklahoma area could be a valuable addition, especially if Colorado is interested in changing conferences in the near-ish future.

Grinch will make $1.5 million if he stays at Oklahoma in 2020.

TIER 4: BIELEMA

Again, self-explanatory.

15. Bret Bielema (late addition)

Bielema would be a good get, maybe not the flashiest though.

He’s a fairly safe option, considering he’s actually had a real head coaching job before and he’s found success at the Power 5 level; he posted winning records in all seven seasons at Wisconsin from 2006-12. In his final three seasons, Wisconsin made it to the Rose Bowl.

After the 2012 season, Bielema left for Arkansas to get more money. Things didn’t go well, but Arkansas was facing long odds in the SEC. He posted three winning records in five seasons but was fired.

Since then, Bielema has been in the NFL. He was an advisor to Bill Belichick in 2018, then became the defensive line coach in 2019. He signed on to become the Giants’ outside linebacker and a senior assistant.

Bielema, obviously, likes to build his teams from the trenches out. That makes him a near-perfect fit to continue Tucker’s process. His defensive scheme is fairly similar as well.

Plus, for a 50-year-old, he looks like the type of guy the team could get down with.

The biggest question in regards to Bielema is how he would fit in Boulder. His personality doesn’t quite fit in and whether he could sell boosters on his vision is unknown. That disconnect could prove disastrous given the tension the boosters are feeling after being spurned by Tucker and the relative lack of funding for the football program in Boulder without their support.

TIER 4: THE FOREVER BUFFS

The names of people associated with the program are the ones we are going to hear the most. Don’t think with your heart.

16. JIM LEAVITT

Colorado doesn’t want to get “Tuck and Runned” again and Leavitt is remembered for “Tuck-and-Running.”

Leavitt was the defensive coordinator at Colorado from 2015-16 under Mike McIntyre. After he served his two seasons, Leavitt left Boulder to take a job as Oregon’s defensive coordinator. Essentially he jumped from

Maybe the hard feelings have subsided but in the wake of Tucker’s departure,  a guy who wants to be in Boulder is going to be at the very top of George’s wishlist.

On the other hand, head coach of Colorado would be the highest title Leavitt has held in his career and at 63 years old, he may not have too many years left in him. This could be his final project before retiring. Maybe he’d be happy staying in that house he hasn’t sold in Boulder that we keep hearing about.

Willie Taggart was the coach who hired Leavitt to Oregon. When Leavitt was fired and replaced by Avalos in 2019, Taggart hired Leavitt to be a defensive analyst at Florida State. Then, when Taggart wound up at Florida Atlantic in December, he hired Leavitt again, this time as defensive coordinator.

Leavitt isn’t necessarily a bad option. He seems fairly safe, if not a stopgap type.

17. DARRIN CHIAVERINI

Let me start here: There is nobody on this list who I would cheer harder for than Darrin Chiaverini.

He has been incredible to work with, he possesses remarkably positive energy and is beloved by his players. He played receiver the Buffs in the late ’90s. He bleeds black and gold.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Darrin Chiaverini’s dream job is to be the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes for the next 30 years. He wouldn’t flinch if Alabama came calling and wanted to triple his salary. He’s a true Buff.

But if you compare Chiaverini’s resume with some of the coaches listed higher on this list, it’s clear that his experience doesn’t compete with theirs.

Chiaverini, 42, been coaching since 2014. His notable experience begins in 2014, when he became a special teams coordinator at Texas Tech. The next year, he began coaching wide receivers at Tech, as well. Then, in 2016 he became the co-offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach at CU. In 2019, he ditched his offensive coordinator role and became assistant head coach.

It would make me happy to see Chev become the head coach at Colorado, but he just needs a few more years to prepare.

There is another route though.

Chiaverini is currently Colorado’s interim head coach. Essentially, he’ll serve as head coach until a permanent coach is chosen.

Colorado could let Chev coach the 2020 season as a long-term interim and then be the first team in the market for a head coach in the fall of 2020. That would also give Chiaverini a chance to gain experience and try out for the full gig.

There are plenty of problems with this solution, including that it is notoriously difficult to recruit players when they don’t know who the head coach will be, but it is one of the many options on the table.

My final thought is this: Darrin Chiaverini is incredible at what he does. He’s one of the nation’s top recruiters and Colorado needs him. Badly.

If Chiaverini were to take over the head coach job and fail, Colorado would lose him.

There’s no need to rush this.

Let Chiaverini continue to develop for at least a few more years so that when his time comes, he has the best possible chance of long-term success. He’s not going anywhere.

18. ERIC BIENIEMY

Eric Bienemy, 50, could turn out to be a great football coach.

The coordinator offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs for the entire Patrick Mahomes era, Bienemy has built himself into one of the next men up for an NFL head coaching job.

The problem is that he just doesn’t fit in Boulder.

Bieniemy is one of the all-time great running backs at Colorado, and that’s a pretty tough list to crack. He was a consensus All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist in his final year with the Buffs before being drafted in the second round in 1991.

But Bieniemy’s story with Colorado isn’t all positive.

He was arrested multiple times while attending school in Boulder, and pleaded no contest after pushing a firefighter who responded to his mother’s house, and again pleaded no contest after being involved in a bar fight. He was arrested a third time in Boulder, after he’d entered the NFL, for allegedly harassing a parking attendant. He was banned from CU’s campus for 12 months.

These were all minor charges and Bieniemy never served jail time, but they make it less likely the Buffs’ athletic department will try to hire him.

Bieniemy interviewed for the head coach job at CU in 2010 and, according to a DNVR source, had a better interview than Jon Embree, who was given the job. Bieniemy signed on as the offensive coordinator.

Bieniemy departed Boulder two years later and DNVR sources say things didn’t end on the best of terms, and that could affect Bieniemy’s chances this time around.

By no means does any of this mean that Bieniemy won’t be a good head coach, but it does make it much less likely Colorado will be willing to take a chance on him.

TIER 4: STOP TALKING ABOUT THESE GUYS

19. VANCE JOSEPH

Like Bienemy, Joseph has an ugly history in Boulder.

Joseph was accused of sexual assault while he was an assistant coach at Colorado. According to the police report, Joseph allegedly took his clothes off and climbed into a bed with a woman who he was not dating nor had he ever dated. Joseph allegedly groped the woman while rubbing himself against her before getting out of bed.

According to the police report, when the woman told another woman, the second woman said Joseph had done the same thing to her. One woman declined to press charges and the other didn’t want to talk to police, so Joseph was not charged.

It’s unlikely anybody would sign off on Joseph’s return to Boulder.

Joseph, 47, wasn’t just an assistant coach at Colorado from 1999-2003, he was also a quarterback and running back from 1990 to 1994. He backed up Darian Hagan and Kordell Stewart.

As a coach, Joseph hasn’t seen much success. He worked with defensive backs at various stops from 2002-15, before spending one season as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator in 2016.

In 2017, the Denver Broncos hired Joseph as their head coach and was fired after the worst two-year stretch by the team in over 30 years.

Joseph is now the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals.

There’s just no reason to consider him.

20. DAVE LOGAN

Dave Logan is a Colorado legend.

He was a great Buff. He’s one of three people ever to be drafted to the NFL, the NBA and MLB. He’s been the voice of the Broncos for 23 years. He’s one of the most successful coaches in Colorado history.

But he isn’t a candidate for the CU job.

If Logan, 66, had spent just a year or two in the college football ranks, there’d be an argument to be had. But with Chiaverini willing to take the job, there’s no reason to take a risk on somebody who has never coached college football.

Plus, the legend of Dave Logan is a local one. Walking into Ashaad Clayton’s living room in Louisiana and name-dropping Dave Logan doesn’t have the same effect as it would at Carson Lee’s in Denver.

We love Dave Logan, he just doesn’t have the resume to take over a Power 5 football program.