Coaching Carousel (Wyoming)

The University of Wyoming has enjoyed success throughout the program's history.  However that success has come with much consistency.  The Cowboys have won the WAC six times and had several nine and ten win seasons.  However they never seem to have more than one good season in a row.  We've also seen several good coaches come through, Dennis Erickson, Joe Tiller, Dana Dimel, and Vic Koenning.

In 2008 Wyoming was hoping they found the next big name when they hired Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen.  Christensen was known for his wide open, pass heavy, no huddle attack that helped the Tigers make a run at the 2007 National Title and make Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin house hold names. In his first season he improved the team from 4-8 the previous year to a 7-6 and their first bowl game since 2004.    After a down year in 2010 things were looking good in 2011 finishing 8-5 and having a promising freshman QB Brett Smith running the team and finishing third in the Mountain West. 

But that would be the last good year for the Cowboys under Christensen.  The biggest culprit would be their defense.  Christensen went through four defensive coordinators and never really seemed to have the answer how to fix the problem.  After a 5-7 finish in his fifth season, Christensen was relieved of his duties.

It should be interesting to see where the Cowboys go with their next hire.  The University of Wyoming faces a lot of troubles that makes the job harder than most.  Laramie is out in the middle of nowhere and it has proven hard to attract the top level Colorado prospects to move up north.  They can have success, but it's going to take the right coach.

Possible Candidates

Mike Breske (Washington State Defensive Coordinator)
He may not end up being the top choice, but Breske could end up being the guy that is hired.  The last time Wyoming had success was under Joe Glen and it was because of their defense.  The guy leading that was Breske who was the coordinator.   Since then Breske lead Montana's defense to success and now has helped turn around Washington State into a bowl eligible team.  Breske looks ready to lead his own team and could come back to fix the Cowboys.

Jeff Tedford (Former California Head Coach)
Early rumors are pegging the former California coach as the Cowboys main target.  Just because they want him, doesn't mean Tedford wants to be the coach.  Tedford had a ton of early success at California before running his course.  The main problem is that Tedford has always been a West Coast guy, getting those guys to Wyoming is a whole nother story.

Ted Gilmore (Oakland Raiders WR Coach)
A trend that we are starting to see is former players becomin top targets for open jobs.  One person to consider then is the Raiders WR coach.  Gilmore is a former Cowboy player and later an assistant coach at the school under Joe Tiller.  Gilmore has stops at Purdue, Colorado, Nebraska and USC.  Gilmore is known as a good recruiter and that could help him get kids to Laramie.  I wouldn't consider Gilmore to be a top choice, but he could be considered the fall back guy.

Bob Stitt (Colorado School of Mines Head Coach)
For those of you who don't know who Stitt is, he is one of the best offensive minds in football.  He is currently the coach at D2 Colorado School of Mines which is one of the best engineering schools in the nation.  Stitt's name has been thrown around before, but I don't know if any school has been serious about hiring him.  Wyoming could be a good fit because he is use to the challenges of recruiting to a tough location.  Don't forget that schools are always looking for that next Chip Kelly as a guy that comes from nowhere and takes the game by storm.

Brock Spack (Illinois State Head Coach)
Like what was stated when I talked about Breske applies to Spack.  He's considered a good defensive mind and was the defensive coordinator for many years under Joe Tiller (including two years at Wyoming).  Spack was infulental in developing several Purdue players that are now playing in the NFL.  But unlike Breske, Spack has head coaching experience which can always help his cause.

Mark Mangino (Youngstown State Associate Head Coach)
An out there candidate to consider would be Mark Mangino.  Manginio if you are not aware was the coach at Kansas that turned them into a contender in the Big 12 and even got an Orange Bowl win for the school.  He was fired because of a poor final season record and was accused of mistreatment of players.  Mangino has now been working as an assistant at Youngstown State and has stated he has changed the way he acts.  One could argue that he deserves another shot and a place like Wyoming would be a great place to get that chance.  I don't see and link between the two, but he's a proven winner.