College Football Coach Hire Grades: Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys: Jay Sawvel

Why the job was open: A decade ago Craig Bohl was hired to take over Wyoming after building a FCS Powerhouse at North Dakota State. He won 3 titles in a row for the Bison and took on the new challenge of getting Wyoming football back to being competitive. A decade later it was clear he succeeded, Wyoming is now a fixture in the top half of the MWC and a consistent bowl team. They’re a threat to upset top programs, especially in Laramie when they get the opportunity. Following the 2023 regular season Craig Bohl decided this was his last ride and he retired on top in typical Wyoming fashion with a 4th quarter comeback and late kick to win their bowl game.

Coach Profile: Jay Sawvel rose through the ranks and got his first DC job at Minnesota. Minnesota went 9-4 in his only year as DC before Wake Forest hired him away, unfortunately his time at Wake Forest didn’t go well, ending in him being fired in September of the 2018 season. Sawvel re-emerged as the DC for Wyoming. He helped the Pokes defense have a lot of success making him a natural candidate to succeed Bohl.

Why he will succeed: The foundation is already in place. Sawvel takes this program over in fantastic shape since it’s been a consistent contender. There’s very good fan support, Wyoming had great attendance at home games last year. Sawvel has been part of this program for 3 years and knows what it takes to succeed here, there’s a reason he was selected as Bohl’s successor.

What obstacles are in the way of success: The foundation may be there but this isn’t an easy job by any means. Player development is the name of the game here because you aren’t going to get many top tier recruits to come to Laramie. How will the program look without Bohl? Sawvel’s resume wasn’t great prior to Wyoming, mainly because he was fired from Wake Forest (although their defense never improved after that.)

Grade: C- – When a coach who’s a program legend steps down, it makes the grading tough. When they retire at the top of their game it makes it even harder because chances are you’re looking at a downgrade. I like that Sawvel was hand picked to take over for Bohl with no drama, it clearly had the support of the locker room so there’s a lot of belief internally. That piece helps boost this grade up despite the downgrade and a less than inspiring resume.