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Colorado football: Worst head coach hires in program history

By Josh Yourish

Oct 30, 2010; Norman, OK, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Dan Hawkins walks the sideline during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2010; Norman, OK, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Dan Hawkins walks the sideline during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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BOULDER, CO – SEPTEMBER 9: A general view of the empty stadium with an end zone pylon showing the PAC 12 logo early in the morning before a game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field on September 9, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
BOULDER, CO – SEPTEMBER 9: A general view of the empty stadium with an end zone pylon showing the PAC 12 logo early in the morning before a game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field on September 9, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

From 1967-1972 Chuck Fairbanks had a lot of success at Oklahoma, winning back-to-back Sugar Bowls and amassing a 52-15-1 record over six seasons before leaving to take over as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 1973.

Fairbanks landed back in college after a stint in New England that included two 11-win seasons and divisional-round exits. He took over Colorado in 1979, replacing Bill Mallory who led the team to a 6-5 record in 1978.

In his first season, Fairbanks won just three games, going 3-8, then followed that with a 1-10 record in 1980, and a 3-8 record in 1981. His three-year tenure ended after the 1981 season and he was replaced by Bill McCartney.

Fairbanks was an astounding failure, especially after multiple playoff appearances in the NFL, but he checks in at No. 3 on this list because there wasn’t much history at Colorado when Fairbanks took over, but the next two coaches helped tear down one of the great programs of the 1980s and ’90s.

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