This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
University of Colorado President Bruce Benson came out publicly in support of his football coach this week, which is proof that we've been wrong about Jon Embree.
He's not the problem at Colorado, after all. Benson is the problem.
For goodness' sakes, a guy couldn't do more to get fired if he was trying. (Then again, there's John L. Smith, a guy who can't even keep a job where he's wanted.)
When the highlight of your season is losing to your in-state, lesser-conference rival, in the state's biggest media market, you're in trouble. Yet three games into his second season, Embree's Buffaloes have been beaten by Colorado State (ouch), Sacramento State (Division I-double-ouch) and Fresno State (69-14 ouch).
It's apparent now that Colorado isn't only the worst team in the Pac-12, but the worst major-conference team in the country.
"I think there's a lot of resolve on this team," Embree said. "A lot of resolve in the players to keep fighting and keep competing."
There are 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (fortunately for Colorado, the NCAA doesn't employ the European-endorsed practice of relegation) and in categories such as total offense, passing efficiency, rushing yards, Colorado ranks in the bottom 20.
Wait, here's one where the Buffaloes cracked the top 100: passing yards. The Buffaloes are 99th.
The thing is, the folks at Colorado are probably as perplexed as anyone. Coming off a two-win debut in the Pac-12 last season, the Buffs had hopes for a reasonable amount of improvement this year. A 3-0 start, against the putrid teams listed above, was perfectly plausible. Those hopes were buoyed by a season-ending win against Utah in Salt Lake City.
A quarterback controversy has been brewing for months between Kansas transfer Jordan Webb and Texas transfer Connor Wood (boy, it wasn't just CU that fled the Bix XII), and now there is a coaching controversy. Jon Embree probably hasn't done enough to get fired, which isn't to say he hasn't done enough wrong to get fired, but only that the entire body of work doesn't justify a midseason change.
A modicum of patience is required when attempting to turn around a program, and Embree should be granted that. This line of thinking, however, was much more comforting in the offseason, or even in recent weeks. Now, staring down the possibility of a winless season, there's little Embree can say that doesn't come off as merely hopeful, with no conviction or foundation to hold up the thought.
"I've told [the team] eventually things will break for us and they'll be rewarded for their efforts," Embree said.
Maybe things will break for the Buffaloes. Or, just maybe, they are already broken.