BOULDER, Colo. — Mike MacIntyre turned around the San Jose State football program in short order and will be asked to do the same at the University of Colorado.
On Monday, MacIntyre signed a five-year deal to coach the Buffaloes. He will make $2 million a season.
His hiring ends a two-week search by Colorado that included a rejection by its first choice, Butch Jones.
MacIntyre inherits a program that’s had seven straight losing seasons, including a 1-11 record this year under Jon Embree that was the worst in the 123-year history of the program.
Before meeting with reporters Monday, MacIntyre had a chance to chat with his new team, leaving his players with this thought: He’s turned around one downtrodden program and can do the same in Boulder.
Not someday or down the road, either, but starting next season.
“I think he won a lot of guys over in his confidence, with what he did at San Jose State and what he can do now,” quarterback Connor Wood said. “He said we have a lot of talent here and can do the exact same thing. We believe it.”
So does defensive back Parker Orms, who was recruited by former CU coach Dan Hawkins, played for Embree and now will learn a new system under MacIntyre.
“I came in here (to Colorado) with different expectations,” Orms said. “I thought I would be with Hawk the whole time, thought we’d be competing for a national championship. That didn’t happen with Hawk. Embree came in and I felt the same way. I really liked both of those coaches.
“I was down a few weeks ago — just another bump in the road. But I met with (MacIntyre) today and he seems like a well-rounded guy. I have a good vibe.”
And that’s a good start, MacIntyre said.
“You’re trying to change everything in a positive light,” he said. “They’re hurting a little bit and they should be. They want to prove themselves. ... I saw the same thing at San Jose State.”
The Spartans (10-2) are ranked No. 25 in the BCS and are heading to the Dec. 27 Military Bowl in Washington, D.C. to face Bowling Green (8-4), two years after a 1-12 showing in McIntyre’s first season. This is the first 10-win season in a quarter century for the Spartans, who are ranked 24th in both the AP and coaches’ polls.
MacIntyre, the son of former Vanderbilt coach George MacIntyre, is 16-21 in his three years as a head coach at San Jose State after serving as Duke’s defensive coordinator and working as a secondary coach for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
The 47-year-old MacIntyre took over a Spartans program still reeling from limited scholarships following academic penalties by the NCAA stemming from problems before previous coach Dick Tomey arrived. After the 1-12 season featuring a heavy schedule of ranked teams, the Spartans went 5-7 in MacIntyre’s second season.
“We want to thank Mike (MacIntyre) for the tremendous job that he did. He turned the program around and did it the right way with character kids and by stressing academics. Mike provided us with a nice model moving forward for our next head coach to follow,” San Jose State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said.
Last week, Jones rejected a five-year, $13.5 million offer that would have made him the highest-paid coach in CU history, and instead took the vacant head coaching job at Tennessee. Jones also had been promised upgrades at Folsom Field and the team’s training center.
This marks athletic director Mike Bohn’s third head coaching hire since he fired Gary Barnett in 2005. Embree had three years remaining on a five-year contract when he was fired after going 4-21.
MacIntyre may have made a good impression on Bohn, but he’s got his work cut out from him in winning over some prominent alumni.
Denver Broncos defensive lineman Justin Bannan, who criticized Bohn for not giving Embree more time to turn around the program, said he wasn’t sure what to think of MacIntyre’s hiring.
“I just got hit with the news, so I’m not sure what to think quite yet. So, I’ve got to find out who this guy is and what he brings to the table and figure it out from there,” Bannan said.
He said he was glad the search was finally over, though: “It’s been a crazy few weeks over there at CU and hopefully we’re trying to take steps in the right direction but we’ll see. ... I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings on it.”
The Buffaloes job isn’t a glamorous one, with sub-par football facilities and a fan base and booster pool disenchanted by the seven straight losing seasons.
The new coach faces a truncated recruiting season and must try to keep defections to a minimum from a roster that’s loaded with freshmen.
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AP Sports Writers Arnie Stapleton and Janie McCauley contributed.
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