Colorado State University Athletics
Hiring a Head Coach in 24 Days
12/8/2025 1:47:00 PM | Football
An inside look of the hiring process
Jay Norvell was fired on Sunday, Oct. 19.
We have 40 days before the season concludes. Five years ago, a head coach's job wasn't nearly as hard. Get good assistants, recruit great players, and coach your butt off. Now… not so much. Why is that?
The players have become fungible. I am all for paying athletes what they deserve, or what the market dictates, but the only thing worse than no deal is a one-year deal. And these aren't really even one-year deals; they're semester-long deals, forcing players and programs into month-long sprints rather than the yearly development cycles of the past.Â
Establishing a consistent program is very difficult. Before the transfer portal and NIL, roughly 15% of the non-senior roster turned over, and a few unhappy players looking for a better situation left. Now that number is closer to 30-40% every single year and that can include more than 50% of your starters. Fans like to say it's like the NFL, but it is not. NFL teams know who will be available months in advance and can plan. There is very little planning in college. The transfer portal opens, and you have hours, not months, to make a decision on key players. Not to mention, this has to be done without an NFL size 20-person personnel department, countless regional scouts, cutting-edge tech and tools (Including my own company, Breakaway Data). But this is the new normal. No one has sympathy for college football programs. Time is of the essence; CSU has to find a head coach who can create his program, his staff, and his team from thin air.
Availability
Figuring out what college coaches are even available to interview is a monumental task. Information on coach availability comes from agents, friends, friends of friends, hot tips from strangers, late-night anonymous texts and former players. The availability process is highly secretive. (No one wants to lose leverage in their current job and is seeking grander opportunities at the same time.) So after five days of 24-hour fielding "you didn't hear it from me" calls, texts and list of about 30 possible head coaches.
Screenings
The first phone call. The 30 possible coaches are screened via phone call or zoom by the athletic department to gauge interest, personality fit, readiness for the role, and overall feel. The calls are brief and more eliminating than selecting. The athletic department handles this initial screening.
The Committee
CSU Director of Athletics John Weber put together an experienced committee of six members -- two former CSU/ NFL players (me included) alongside four athletic department personnel. A dozen coaches are interviewed via zoom by the whole committee. Time zone issues make for 6 a.m., and 9 p.m., calls snuck between existing practice schedules. Remember -- it's all very hush-hush. Each coach is asked the same questions: 1) Why are you a fit for CSU? 2) What do you think of our roster and how will you go about supplementing it with the transfer portal? 3) How do you establish a smart team? What people, programs, processes, tools, software, are needed to do this? 4) How do you find and recruit high school players? 5) How will you collaborate across the university and other departments? How can you add value to not just the football team but to the whole school?
These meetings were supposed to be 30 minutes but took about an hour. Weber and the committee weed those 12 possible coaches down to four.
In-person Interviews
Things really get serious in person. The committee wanted to shake hands and feel these coaches' presence. We met in undisclosed neutral locations to be discreet and respectful. Meetings were scheduled for two hours but all exceeded more than three.
We prioritized a head coach's role within the entirety of the university:Â How a great head coach affects a team's record and the University's student enrollment. Many of the questions were repetitive from initial zoom calls but now coaches and the committee could go deep. So deep that one coach took 27 minutes to answer, "why CSU?". I timed certain answers, I watched body language, I listened for changes in their voice, I was trying to uncover authenticity. As a former player who has been coached by some of the greats including Sonny Lubick, Pete Carrol, Gary Kubiak, Mike Shannahan, Kyle Shannan, Mike McDaniel and Matt Lefluer, I knew you could feel authenticity. Someone who you not only want to play for, but someone who will work their ass off to put you in the right position to play your best. There is a lot that goes into putting players into a successful position, but for me it always boils down to situational awareness. Those were my questions. We went through several, but I asked one of every candidate: CSU has the ball on their own 30-yard line. We break a 62-yard run down to our opponent's 8. What do we do next?"Â Don't tell me about your red zone or green zone package.
Don't tell me it's about personnel.
The right coach would have the right answer
Debrief
The committee compares notes.Â
Would you play for that man? Would our fan base relate to this man? Would this man only be well received if we win? Could he rally not only a team, but an entire community?
Sleep on it
Remember. The school president, everyone at the athletic department, and this next head coach are all leased. Hopefully, it's a long, fruitful agreement, but it's a lease. They will all leave their positions, but the Rams will remain. This person needs to take us into the Pac-12 and win, but this person needs to help us transform Colorado State into the consistent winner it once was.
The Decision
Weber picked the one whose teams have sprinted to the line after a 62-yard run and jammed the same call down the defense's throat before they could blink.
That's Jim Mora
Welcome to Fort Collins, Coach.
Go Rams.
- David Anderson
We have 40 days before the season concludes. Five years ago, a head coach's job wasn't nearly as hard. Get good assistants, recruit great players, and coach your butt off. Now… not so much. Why is that?
The players have become fungible. I am all for paying athletes what they deserve, or what the market dictates, but the only thing worse than no deal is a one-year deal. And these aren't really even one-year deals; they're semester-long deals, forcing players and programs into month-long sprints rather than the yearly development cycles of the past.Â
Establishing a consistent program is very difficult. Before the transfer portal and NIL, roughly 15% of the non-senior roster turned over, and a few unhappy players looking for a better situation left. Now that number is closer to 30-40% every single year and that can include more than 50% of your starters. Fans like to say it's like the NFL, but it is not. NFL teams know who will be available months in advance and can plan. There is very little planning in college. The transfer portal opens, and you have hours, not months, to make a decision on key players. Not to mention, this has to be done without an NFL size 20-person personnel department, countless regional scouts, cutting-edge tech and tools (Including my own company, Breakaway Data). But this is the new normal. No one has sympathy for college football programs. Time is of the essence; CSU has to find a head coach who can create his program, his staff, and his team from thin air.
Availability
Figuring out what college coaches are even available to interview is a monumental task. Information on coach availability comes from agents, friends, friends of friends, hot tips from strangers, late-night anonymous texts and former players. The availability process is highly secretive. (No one wants to lose leverage in their current job and is seeking grander opportunities at the same time.) So after five days of 24-hour fielding "you didn't hear it from me" calls, texts and list of about 30 possible head coaches.
Screenings
The first phone call. The 30 possible coaches are screened via phone call or zoom by the athletic department to gauge interest, personality fit, readiness for the role, and overall feel. The calls are brief and more eliminating than selecting. The athletic department handles this initial screening.
The Committee
CSU Director of Athletics John Weber put together an experienced committee of six members -- two former CSU/ NFL players (me included) alongside four athletic department personnel. A dozen coaches are interviewed via zoom by the whole committee. Time zone issues make for 6 a.m., and 9 p.m., calls snuck between existing practice schedules. Remember -- it's all very hush-hush. Each coach is asked the same questions: 1) Why are you a fit for CSU? 2) What do you think of our roster and how will you go about supplementing it with the transfer portal? 3) How do you establish a smart team? What people, programs, processes, tools, software, are needed to do this? 4) How do you find and recruit high school players? 5) How will you collaborate across the university and other departments? How can you add value to not just the football team but to the whole school?
These meetings were supposed to be 30 minutes but took about an hour. Weber and the committee weed those 12 possible coaches down to four.
In-person Interviews
Things really get serious in person. The committee wanted to shake hands and feel these coaches' presence. We met in undisclosed neutral locations to be discreet and respectful. Meetings were scheduled for two hours but all exceeded more than three.
We prioritized a head coach's role within the entirety of the university:Â How a great head coach affects a team's record and the University's student enrollment. Many of the questions were repetitive from initial zoom calls but now coaches and the committee could go deep. So deep that one coach took 27 minutes to answer, "why CSU?". I timed certain answers, I watched body language, I listened for changes in their voice, I was trying to uncover authenticity. As a former player who has been coached by some of the greats including Sonny Lubick, Pete Carrol, Gary Kubiak, Mike Shannahan, Kyle Shannan, Mike McDaniel and Matt Lefluer, I knew you could feel authenticity. Someone who you not only want to play for, but someone who will work their ass off to put you in the right position to play your best. There is a lot that goes into putting players into a successful position, but for me it always boils down to situational awareness. Those were my questions. We went through several, but I asked one of every candidate: CSU has the ball on their own 30-yard line. We break a 62-yard run down to our opponent's 8. What do we do next?"Â Don't tell me about your red zone or green zone package.
Don't tell me it's about personnel.
The right coach would have the right answer
Debrief
The committee compares notes.Â
Would you play for that man? Would our fan base relate to this man? Would this man only be well received if we win? Could he rally not only a team, but an entire community?
Sleep on it
Remember. The school president, everyone at the athletic department, and this next head coach are all leased. Hopefully, it's a long, fruitful agreement, but it's a lease. They will all leave their positions, but the Rams will remain. This person needs to take us into the Pac-12 and win, but this person needs to help us transform Colorado State into the consistent winner it once was.
The Decision
Weber picked the one whose teams have sprinted to the line after a 62-yard run and jammed the same call down the defense's throat before they could blink.
That's Jim Mora
Welcome to Fort Collins, Coach.
Go Rams.
- David Anderson
Colorado State Football: Jim Mora Press Conference
Saturday, December 06
Rams Live Exclusive: Head Coach Jim Mora
Tuesday, December 02
Colorado State Football: Jim Mora Introductory Press Conference
Monday, December 01
Colorado State Football: Long (L) and Beers (R) Post-Game (Air Force, 2025)
Friday, November 28