‘He Was Proud to be the Coach at Wyoming’

LARAMIE -- His catchphrases are sorely missed.

So is his wit, humor and, most importantly, influence and reputation. Just ask his peers.

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"He's always got some strange slogan -- like something about a horse or something," Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford joked last Thursday, talking about Wyoming's recently retired bench boss Craig Bohl. "It's so off the wall but it breaks the monotony and the silence of everybody in the room. But you talk about a guy who cares about this game and who was invested in this game and wants to see things done the right way.

"In any of these head coaches meetings, Craig has always been the leader. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I miss him, actually. I really do."

The Mountain West already featured seven new head coaches last week before the annual media days event in Las Vegas. Now, that number stands at eight after Tedford announced Monday he would be stepping down due to health reasons.

Tim Skipper, the Bulldogs' former linebackers coach and top assistant, now holds the interim tag.

So while this new crop of head men is missing out on that Bohl wisdom, there's a couple of veterans who won't soon let his mottos be forgotten.

Troy Calhoun is the longest-tenured coach in this conference, entering Year 18 at the Air Force Academy. He lined up against Bohl's team's nine times over the last decade. Wyoming won five of those. The average margin of victory in all of those meetings was nine points.

"I mean, he is just just class -- a great competitor," Calhoun said. "He was proud to be the coach at Wyoming. (He showed that in) the way he embraced the state, certainly the pride that he felt in the university and for the Laramie community. He was absolutely fantastic for our league, too."

Bohl rode off into the sunset in December after a 10-year stint in Laramie. He is the longest-tenure coach in school history. He capped his career at Wyoming with a 61-60 record after winning just six games over his first two seasons. In Year 3, the Cowboys, with the help of future first-round draft pick Josh Allen, found themselves in the Mountain West Championship game.

While Bohl was never able to secure the program's first conference title since 1988, he did the next best thing -- beat his rivals. Mainly, Colorado State.

Bohl was 7-3 overall in the Border War and closed his run on a three-game winning streak against the Rams.

Jay Norvell hasn't forgotten.

"I have huge respect for coach Bohl and how he's always handled himself in the profession. He's always been so good to me," CSU's third-year head coach said. "Just always competing against him, you know, he always knew you really have to be ready and have your team prepared. He also made me a better coach because of that."

Bohl didn't shy away from jumping into rivalry banter during CSU week. He would often say he refused to stop for gas in the state of Colorado. He also added he has given that school way too much money, sending his wife's horses to the veterinarian school in Fort Collins.

That was all in fun.

His true character showed after the 2020 season opener in Reno. Norvell was the head coach at Nevada then. His father, Merritt Norvell, passed away just days before the Cowboys and Wolf Pack would kickoff a COVID-19-shortended campaign.

Nevada would eventually prevail 37-34 in overtime.

Bohl delivered this message after the loss.

"I know it's been an emotional week for Nevada and coach Jay Norvell. I knew his dad, he was an athletic director at Michigan State. He did so many things for college athletics. It's always tough to lose a game, but if there is ever a game .... I'm happy for Jay Norvell and the Norvell family."

Norvell hasn't forgotten that, either.

"It was a tough week," he said. "I lost my dad that week, and I was gone all week. I was doing zoom meetings with the coaches, getting ready for the game and then having to call the game. But it was just so special to have my players and coaches support me so much. And coach Bohl couldn't have been more gracious."

Bohl, 65, is now the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. He's still in touch with his coaching peers, frequently asking them what changes they want to see made in today's game. In other words, he's a busy man.

So far, even too busy for a cold one.

"You know, we keep saying we're going to meet at the forks (Wyoming-Colorado border) and have a cold beer -- and we're still going to do that," Norvell joked. "But I miss him."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players