Colorado’ stunning turnaround didn’t go unnoticed by its conference, and is not going unnoticed by at least one major coaching award as well.
Thursday afternoon, Mike MacIntyre was named as the Walter Camp 2016 Coach of the Year. MacIntyre took over a Buffaloes program that won a combined four games in 2011 and 2012, but then won just four, two and four games his first three seasons at the school.
In 2016, however, the Buffs went 10-2, the football program’s first 10-win season since 2001, and will face Washington for the Pac-12 championship Friday night. They are also bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2007 season.
With his name being mentioned in connection to other jobs, it’s expected CU will commence talks on a contract extension following the title game. In 2016, MacIntyre was the lowest-paid head coach in the conference.
MacIntyre is the second CU head coach to win Camp honors, joining Bill McCartney in 1989. He’s also the fifth Pac-12 coach that’s claimed it, and the first since Chip Kelly in 2010 with Oregon.
The award, first handed out in 1967, was won by Clemson’s Dabo Swinney last season.