A university official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because an announcement had not been made, confirmed Fairchild was the school's choice. A news conference was planned later Wednesday at the school in Fort Collins

Fairchild was Colorado State's quarterbacks coach from 1993-96 before taking over as the Rams' offensive coordinator for four seasons. He left for Buffalo in 2001 to serve as the Bills' running backs coach for two seasons.

Fairchild was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams from 2003-05 before returning to Buffalo last season as the Bills' offensive coordinator.

A former quarterback at Colorado State, Fairchild moves in for Lubick, who was fired after 15 years. Lubick was asked by athletic director Paul Kowalczyk to step down a few days before the Rams' season-ending win over Wyoming Nov. 23. But Lubick refused because he did not want to quit on his team, which finished 3-9.