The search is underway.

For a program that has won eight games in a season just three times in the last 20 years, Colorado State is keeping its aspirations high as it searches for its fourth coach since the start of the 2019 season after the firing of Jay Norvell.

Here are five names athletic director John Weber could consider:

The local guy: Collin Klein, Texas A&M offensive coordinator

The Loveland native is well-known in Colorado. After a prolific career as a quarterback at Kansas State that saw him earn All-American honors and become a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012, Klein began his coaching career at his alma mater two years later, working his way up from graduate assistant to offensive coordinator by 2022. After two years in that role, the 36-year-old was hired away for the same position at Texas A&M, where he is in charge of an offense that is top 20 in the nation in yards per game and top 30 in points per game. The Aggies sit at No. 3 in the AP Top 25. Klein would bring not just a creative offensive scheme but would also energize the local fan base.

The alum: Tony Alford, Michigan running backs coach

The former standout CSU player has been a candidate for the job previously and he appeared to potentially be in line for the position the last time it was available before Norvell was hired away from Nevada. For over 15 years, Alford has been an assistant at three of the country’s top programs: Notre Dame, Ohio State and now Michigan, but he has never been a head coach. 

The recently fired big name: Billy Napier, former Florida head coach

A firing that got much more attention last weekend, Napier was let go by the Gators after a 3-4 start to the 2025 season. The one-time Rams assistant (the quarterbacks coach in 2012), Napier was under .500 during his time in Gainesville but had plenty of success at the Group of Five level prior to that. He went 40-12 across four seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette, finishing inside the top 20 of the AP poll in each of his last two seasons before being hired by Florida. He is likely a more realistic target than the other recently fired coach at a big time program, former Penn State coach James Franklin.

The proven Mountain West winner: Bryan Harsin, California offensive coordinator

If the Rams want to be Boise State, why not hire one of the Broncos’ successful former coaches? Across seven seasons in Boise, Harsin won nearly 10 games per season and won three Mountain West championships with no worse than a second-place finish. After an unsuccessful year and a half at Auburn, Harsin spent two years away from football before being hired as the Cal offensive coordinator last December. The Golden Bears are 5-2 this season with an offense averaging over 23 points and nearly 350 yards per game.

The splash hire: Desean Jackson, Delaware State head coach

The next Rocky Mountain Showdown isn’t until 2029, but could you imagine if the coaching matchup for that game in Fort Collins was Deion Sanders vs. Desean Jackson? Stars and big names are the most reliable way to generate interest and money in today’s day and age of college football. While the only connection to the state of Colorado for the former star NFL wide receiver is friend Coach Prime, he’s already off to a solid start at 4-3 in his first season at Delaware State, an HBCU program that hasn’t had a winning record since 2012.