Colorado State fired head football coach Steve Addazio on Thursday following a 3-9 finish in 2021.

Addazio, 62, coached the Rams for two seasons, compiling a record of 4-12. The Rams played just four games in the COVID-19-affected 2020 season.

Despite the short tenure, the timing of the news makes sense. Effective Thursday, Addazio's buyout dropped from $5 million to $3 million. He earned $1.55 million in base salary this season.

The Addazio era at the Fort Collins school ended with a 52-10 home loss to Nevada on Saturday.

"After a thorough review of where our program stands today and our outlook for the future, looking at the totality of factors, I felt this was a necessary step," athletic director Joe Parker said Thursday.

"Our expectation is to compete for conference championships and reach bowl eligibility each season. Our student-athletes deserve that, our fans deserve that, our community deserves that, and our university deserves that. We live in one of America's best cities, serve a world-class university, and I am confident we will find a stalwart leader who can meet those expectations head on."

Parker said Brian White, the Rams' senior associate head coach, will serve as the team's interim head coach while a national search is conducted.

Addazio joined the Rams following a long tenure at Boston College, where he posted a 44-44 record with four postseason appearances in seven seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Temple for two seasons, going 9-4 in 2011 with a New Mexico Bowl win.

He was 13-11 overall at Temple.

Addazio was a part of Urban Meyer's staff during his championship run at Florida, serving in multiple capacities from 2005-10. The Gators won national championships in 2006 and 2008.

His teams at Temple and Boston College were known for a hard-nosed, run-game oriented attack.

Colorado State has not posted a winning record since 2017 (7-6) when the Rams were coached by Mike Bobo. They haven't finished more than a game above .500 since 2014 (10-3, Jim McElwain).