The self-fulfilling downward spiraling vortex kraken of doom has the HMS Dan Hawkins firmly in its maw.

I think Hawkins is a really good guy and when he was hired I was optimistic. (Full disclosure: I also thought the Rick Neuheisel and Gary Barnett hires were good ones at the time, so my usual adroitness at assessing people and talent clearly doesn’t extend into the world of college football coaches.) But the Buffs should have sent him on his way with their thanks for restoring some ethical integrity to the program after last season. The column linked above is precisely why. If you can’t recruit alpha-level talent under normal circumstances, having a very public gun pointed at your head isn’t likely to help.

I fully expect Hawk to wind up as the most successful coach in the history of whatever mid-major hires him after this coming year, but when you can’t even hold serve on top in-state talent in Colorado – which is not Florida, Texas or California – you’re toast.