Colorado Football: Top 5 Candidates to Replace Mike MacIntyre

2. Jeff Tedford (HC/Fresno State)

Jeff Tedford also comes from the Mountain West, but unlike Wells, he has plenty of experience at a power five program, having spent 11 seasons as the head coach at California.

Tedford went 82-57 during his tenure in Berkeley, and led the Golden Bears to a share of the PAC-10 title in 2006. He recruited high-level players such as Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch to Berkeley, so his recruiting acumen is unquestioned.

His tenure at Cal didn’t end as he hoped, being let go following a 3-9 season in 2012. The Golden Bears have not reached the heights that Tedford ascended them to in the years following his dismissal, and his termination seemed like it was jumping-the-gun at the time.

Tedford has made the most of his second chance at Fresno State so far, immediately revitalizing a Bulldogs program and bringing them back toward the top of the Mountain West. They won 10 games a year ago, along with the West division title. This season, Fresno sits at 8-2, and even after a disappointing loss to Boise State a week ago, the Bulldogs are still firmly in control of the West division.

It’s not guaranteed that the 57-year-old Tedford would have interest in taking over at another big program – he could find the lower expectations and demands of a program like Fresno State to be quite comfy at this stage in his career, particularly with how his time at Cal ended.

But Colorado should in the very least kick-the-tires on Tedford, and see if that itch of being the head man at a big program is still there.