Foundation for Coach Prime’s arrival built in ex-Colorado coach’s era
Former Colorado football head coach Mike MacIntyre set the stage for Coach Prime’s arrival in Boulder according to Buffs Beat’s Brian Schaible — who recently caught up with the current Florida International head coach.
“Deion Sanders came to Colorado with a renewed outlook toward the state of the Buffaloes program,” Scahible prefaced before saying, “The former Jackson State head coach was ready to compete and definitely brought his Louis luggage with him. But, in many respects, the foundation built for Coach Prime’s arrival in Boulder was done in the Mike MacIntyre era.”
MacIntyre had a 30-44 record while at CU, but the Miami native had the Buffaloes in contention for the 2016 College Football Playoff and ranked as high as No. 8. Colorado finished with a No. 10 ranking that season.
Mike MacIntyre fondly remembers his Colorado football coaching tenure
MacIntyre doesn’t look back in anger regarding his Colorado football coaching tenure from 2013-2018. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: the 58-year-old is proud of what he and those around him were able to accomplish despite the obstacles they needed to overcome.
“I look back fondly at what our coaches and players did,” MacIntyre told BuffsBeat. “We took a program that was the worst FBS program in America, and four years later, we were ranked as high as ninth in the country. We did a lot of great things there. We were able to build new facilities and help elevate the program and show that it can be done.
“We were down,” MacIntyre preface before saying, “We had to raise money to pay for coaches. We had to raise money for the new facility. We raised money for equipment and different things like that. So, we were working hard, and there’s a lot of great people there in Boulder.”
MacIntyre has no ill will towards CU, even wishing Coach Prime and everyone in Boulder the best.
“I hope Deion does a great job (at Colorado),” MacIntyre said. “I’m excited for the hype for him. I wish everyone the very best at Colorado.”