BOULDER — Circled by forlorn looks and scorched earth, Rick George put on the bravest face he could.

“The way that we continue the trajectory that we’re going is, we’ve got to bring good people in there,” the CU Buffs athletic director said Wednesday as his former football coach, Mel Tucker, was whisked away by plane to Michigan State.

“We’ve got to give them the resources that they need to be successful. I think we’re doing that.”

Of course, in Power 5 football, the bar for “successful” resources, the price of doing business, keeps climbing.

Tucker reportedly received a six-year contract from the Spartans — mired in the brutal Big Ten East and little brother to Jim Harbaugh at Michigan — worth an average of $5.5 million per season.

Tucker made $2.4 million with the Buffs in 2019, his first and only campaign in black and gold. His predecessor, Mike MacIntyre, had received an extension from George worth an average of $3.25 million a year.

Under the radar but no less important was the fact that CU’s salary pool for assistant coaches in 2019 — $3.16 million — ranked higher than only two other public Pac-12 programs: Arizona ($2.99 million) and Oregon State ($3.10 million). Among the 13 public institutions in the Big Ten, Tucker’s new playground, that $3.16 million figure bettered only Minnesota ($3.055 million) and Penn State ($693,503).

“We’ll do what we need to do in that regard,” George said of the Power 5 arms race. “Not everything is about money. Again, we want somebody that wants to be here, that shares the same commitment (and) passion that I do. And I will work hard over the next few weeks to find the right person for the job.”

Of all the seats made uncomfortable at the Champions Center in the wake of Tucker’s startling departure from the Buffs after just 14 months on the job, it was George’s that was the most dolorous. He and Tucker had spent most of last weekend together in California, meeting with CU donors, spreading the gospel and passing the hat.

“(Tucker) and I have a really strong relationship,” George said. “We had a conversation on Saturday about his commitment to Colorado and I was comfortable with that. I believe what Mel told me and I think we had a shared vision of where we wanted this program.”

But what they didn’t have, in hindsight, was shared business interests.

Tucker confirmed during a news conference early Wednesday night in East Lansing, Mich., that the Spartans, who’d faced their own surprise vacancy when longtime football coach Mark Dantonio resigned on Feb. 4, “showed interest” late last week.

“I had interest as well,” Tucker continued. “Strong interest. Very strong interest.”

Flight records showed that Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman landed via private plane in Adams Country on Friday morning, and departed from there to Northern California early that afternoon. Late Friday night, Tucker was revealed as a candidate to replace Dantonio by the Detroit Free Press, and after Buffs fans’ jaws collectively dropped, Tucker released a statement via Twitter mid-day Saturday that he was “committed” to the building of the CU program.

What he didn’t say, in hindsight, was the word “no.”

When Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell and Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi — two presumed favorites for the position — both passed, Michigan State officials went back to Tucker on Monday with another, reportedly sweetened, offer on the table.

As Tucker made a series of radio appearances around Denver on Tuesday in which he offered repeated, if vague, affirmations of his Saturday statement, he was apparently simultaneously weighing new contract figures from the Spartans.

“Ultimately, sometime late (Tuesday) night, it was apparent to me that I needed to be (at Michigan State),” Tucker said. “Leaving Colorado was probably, actually, the toughest thing that I’ve ever done in my career. In my life, actually.”

The road ahead for George, now charged with finding CU’s third football coach over a span of roughly 15 months, figures to be no less daunting.

Despite the start of spring practice looming on March 16 and the promotion of CU assistant Darin Chiaverini to interim head coach, the veteran administrator said that he didn’t have a firm timetable in mind — nor did he feel the pressure to rush the search for a replacement.

George said the search for Tucker’s permanent replacement would be tasked to himself and Lance Carl, CU’s associate athletic director for business development.

“This is a destination (job) at Colorado,” George said. “This is where we think people can lay down their roots. It’s an incredible community. It’s a great state. And we play in a terrific conference. And, you know, we’ve just got to get the right person in here that’s committed to the same things that I am and my staff are.”