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Colorado State fired football coach Jay Norvell on Sunday, a day after losing to Hawaii and dropping to 2-5 a year removed from a bowl game.
Norvell was in his fourth season at Colorado State. He is owed a $1.5 million buyout, according to reports. He finished 18-26 with the Rams, including an appearance in the Arizona Bowl last season.
The Rams appointed defensive coordinator Tyson Summers as their interim head coach. He takes over as the Rams get set to play at Wyoming next weekend in the annual Border War.
“My admiration for Jay and appreciation for his integrity make this decision that much more difficult,” Colorado State athletic director John Weber said in a statement. “Jay has made this program better during his tenure at CSU.”
Norvell became the first Black head football coach in program history when he signed a five-year deal on Dec. 6, 2021, after making Nevada a contender in the Mountain West Conference. His teams showed improvement in each of his first three season in Fort Collins. The Rams were 3-9 in 2022, 5-7 in ’23 and 8-5 last season.
But this season has been a step back. They barely held off FCS-level Northern Colorado in early September.
To try to ignite a stagnant offense, Norvell made a quarterback change late last month, benching Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and going with Jackson Brousseau. It didn’t pay off immediately as the Rams lost 20-3 to Washington State. Colorado State followed that up with a loss at San Diego State before beating Fresno State at home. The final game for Norvell was a 31-19 loss to Hawaii.
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Colorado State elected to make the coaching change as the program prepares to leave the Mountain West next season for the Pac-12. The Rams are set to join Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State in a rebuilt version of the storied conference, which already includes Oregon State and Washington State. The Pac-12 added Texas State last month in order to reach the eight-team minimum to be eligible for an automatic bid for its conference champion in the College Football Playoff.
Known for his innovative offenses, the 62-year-old Norvell was brought in after going 33-26 at Nevada.
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