BOULDER — Despite reports that he had reached a deal to become the new head football coach at the University of Colorado, numerous media outlets reported that University of Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones declined the Buffaloes offer Thursday morning.

Both the Denver Post and KMGH reported Wednesday night that Jones had accepted CU’s contract offer, which would have paid him $13.5 million over five years. In a text message sent to ESPN, Jones called those reports “false.”

On Thursday morning, ESPN was one of a plethora of media outlets reporting that Jones had declined CU’s offer entirely. According to BuffZone.com, Jones received a counter offer from Cincinnati and will return to the Bearcats in 2013.

Jones met with CU athletic director Mike Bohn on Monday. He has been with Cincinnati for three seasons, compiling a 23-14 record with a pair of bowl invites. He is currently preparing his Bearcats for a Belk Bowl appearance against Duke.

Losing out on their top choice to replace dismissed head coach Jon Embree is the latest black eye for a CU football program that just finished a 1-11 season, which was the worst finish in school history.

The program’s last three head coaches were all fired after tenures that teemed with controversy.

Gary Barnett was dismissed in 2005 after several of his players were charged with sexual assault. Dan Hawkins was fired in 2010 after spending most of his five-year tenure battling nepotism rumors with his son Cody Hawkins starting at quarterback. 

And finally, former CU head coach Bill McCartney as well as a group of Denver ministers have accused the school’s administration of racism for firing Embree in the middle of his meager four-year contract.