Colorado football defensive coordinator hire fits Coach Prime's pre-hiring checklist

The Colorado football defensive coordinator the Buffs landed on after doing much of their roster-building this offseason without one, Robert Livingston, matches the pre-hiring checklist Coach Prime had according to The Coloradoan's Scott Procter.

"Robert Livingston fits the description of what Coach Prime has outlined for his new DC," Procter wrote. "9 years of NFL experience on the Bengals staff. 8 years as the secondary coach. Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Dax Hill and other DBs have thrived under him."

The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report on the Livingston hire; calling him an "impressive young coach."

"Bengals secondary coach Robert Livingston is in Colorado today speaking with Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders and he’s expected to be named their new defensive coordinator," Rapoport prefaced before saying, "A Lou Anarumo discipline, he’s an impressive young coach."

Colorado football doesn't go with big-name hiring, but finds potential future star

Fans' expectations for who Coach Prime was going to hire got a little out of hand. Mike Zimmer and Jim Leonhard were some of the more realistic options, Ed Reed and Rex Ryan were two of the bigger-name options, and Bill Belichick was the pie-in-the-sky candidate.

Alas, though, Colorado went with a cheaper, more malleable option in Livingston, who has the respect of reporters and his peers alike.

Livingston now enters a position where he can get credit for a defense that was largely built before he got there, and sits in the catbird seat when it comes to becoming a head coach in the future. An improved Colorado defense will make Livingston a star, especially if he can prove to be an upgrade over Charles Kelly.

With Pat Shurmur locked in at offensive coordinator and Livingston at defensive coordinator, the Buffs now have their inaugural staff as a Big 12 team in the NIL era.