FORT COLLINS — John Weber went down the list.

The Colorado State athletic director mentioned all the attributes of his department and the university as a whole. Great facilities. A large alumni base and current student body. A beautiful campus in a desirable location. A highly rated academic and research institution. A fan base eager to provide support.

There’s one thing the Rams are missing: a winning football program. 

In Weber’s mind, it’s not for a lack of resources. His stance hasn’t changed since he took over his role last year. He believes the Rams have “everything” to be successful, and that’s why he fired Jay Norvell after Saturday’s loss to Hawaii that dropped CSU to 2-5. 

“This program is primed for significant success and this university is aligned to achieve it,” Weber said Monday. “I set the vision for Colorado State to become the most loved, most watched, most innovative athletics program in the west. I look forward to the process that’s about to begin here to identify the leader that’s going to be able to capitalize on all the potential here at Colorado State and I’m going to ensure it happens.”

There were only two likely outcomes for this Rams football season.

After what seemed to be a breakthrough 2024 campaign that saw CSU win eight games for the first time in a decade, including the first wins over rivals Air Force and Wyoming under Norvell, and make its first bowl game in seven years, the Rams were going to build off that momentum in a meaningful way — or a change would be made.

Why? Because Weber knows what is looming in 2026: a move from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 that aligns CSU with parallel programs. Included are future foes Oregon State and Washington State, plus current conference opponents like Boise State and San Diego State.

“We absolutely have to enter the Pac-12 with a full head of steam,” Weber said. “The opportunity for Colorado State is very, very, very real. When you look at all the attributes here at CSU, it is all here for us to be wildly successful as we move into the Pac-12. The goal for us is to play in and compete in the College Football Playoff. There is a very, very clear path that goes straight to Fort Collins (with) that.”

Ultimately, Weber did not believe Norvell was the person to deliver the Rams there.

“Coach Norvell built momentum for a program that deeply needed it, result(ing) in an eight-win season for us last year, culminating in a bowl game, but ultimately, progress was challenged and progress stalled at a very critical time for us as we ascend into the Pac-12,” Weber said.

A national search will begin shortly, assisted by a “premier” search firm to help find the coach that can. Maybe that’s interim coach Tyson Summers, the program’s defensive coordinator (for a second time) whom Weber says will get “an opportunity to see what he can do at the head of our program.”

If not, and more likely, a new voice will enter the fold and CSU will have its sixth full-time head coach since the end of Sonny Lubick’s tenure in 2008. 

Weber isn’t limiting his options in any way — even opening the door for a first-time head coach.

“(Previous head coaching experience) would be nice. I’m not going to say that it’s required,” Weber said. “One of the things that I have learned going through multiple different types of searches is that you always find people that you didn’t think that you would find in that process. One of the things that I don’t want to do is I don’t want to limit us to how we think about who the next coach could be, where they come from, what their experiences are.

“About the only thing that I’m going to say is that it needs to be collaborative. We’ve entered an era of collegiate sports, in football in particular, where as a university, we all need to collaborate to ensure that we can be as successful as we possibly can with our football program.”

Fort Collins is ready for a winner. A record 40,416 people showed up to the loss to Hawaii. Six of the 10 biggest crowds in program history have come since the start of last season. The product on the field hasn’t delivered, and Weber is putting it on himself to find the person to change that.

“This fan base is excited for a winner, they want to support a program that wins,” Weber said. “This gives us an opportunity and a stage to engage our community and an incredibly powerful way and it’s important to the university as a whole when we’re able to put that many people in the stadium. When we do that, we also need to make sure that we put a good product on the field for those folks.”