Jay Sawvel named head coach

[WYO1016]

When asked what Sawvel's primary task would be, Burman quickly answered, "Win chapmionships."

[ragtimejoe1]

When asked what Sawvel's primary task would be, Burman quickly answered, "Win chapmionships."

Someone needs to ask that question of Burman.

I've never been so disenfranchised with WYO football. Just unbelievable.

[LawPoke]

When asked what Sawvel's primary task would be, Burman quickly answered, "Win chapmionships."

Tater Bowl and AZ Bowl championships like Bohl? Need to clarify.

[DamThatRiver22]

I've spent the last while mulling it over, talking with quite a few fans (both Wyoming fans and neutral fans), and going back and forth over it. My initial reaction was quite mixed.

However...I actually think it'll be alright, and this might've been the right call (or at least a decent one).

We're a stable program with a solid culture and identity, and we've already done a bunch of recruiting.

We don't need a rebuild. Like, at all. Some adjustments? Sure. Blow it all up? Nah.

I do have concerns. But this is probably best case scenario and the safest route.

If our offense is even marginally better, we're competing for championships. Whether that comes from Polasek (who did show the ability to open things up a bit more and be more creative as time went on) having more leeway under Sawvel than he did with Bohl, or it comes from Sawvel hiring a different OC, who knows. But it's hard to get much worse, no? Hell, our offense could potentially improve immensely from literally doing nothing, or from just firing Mike Grant or any number of other small changes.

Defense concerns me. Sawvel isn't a terrible defensive coach, but he's obviously not great. He comes from a different defensive background than the Bohl tree. His areas of specialty have still suffered, and he slowly got away from the Bohl/Hazelton/Dickert schemes and philosophies as time went on. With Bohl gone, I fear our strengths (the line and edge, which are not Jay's specialty) may suffer as well, and we may abandon the Bohl scheme completely.

BUT that's easily mitigated by a solid DC hire, and maybe firing Boyd.

Keeping our recruits, hitting the portal for talent, maintaining the culture and stability, and then making a few minor tweaks is all that's really needed.

I get that it seems lazy...and tbh, maybe it is. But maybe Burman actually stumbled into the right decision by being lazy, lol.

Give Sawvell a couple of years. If he at least maintains, give him another year or two before cutting the rope. If he slides backwards, cut the rope. Basically, give him a solid chance and some time, but don't give him the ten years we gave Bohl.

Edit: As with any coaching hire at this level...some of you wouldn't have been happy regardless of who got the nod.

[LanderPoke]

Hope that Sawvel keeps the culture of giving Wyoming kids scholarships alive. We've had some great players from Wyoming that I feel other coaches would not have given a chance. Also, I really hope the strong walk-on program continues at UW.

[bladerunnr]

I'm very disappointed in this hire. First, was Sawvel on anyone's list to be hired away as a head coach or DC anywhere else? So what was the hurry?
Secondly, we've rehashed this many times. But the defense wasn't all that great this year and the offense needs a complete make over. Our offense was 11th out of 12 teams in yards per game this year.
I don't see how this hire is going to rectify our most glaring problems. After 10 years of pretty dismal offense, I would have thought a new perspective on the program would be appropriate. I hope I'm wrong. I usually am so maybe this will work out great.

[laxwyo]

This program doesn’t need blown up. Figured it would be someone in the program or really close. Sawvel is the logical choice out of everyone.

[J-Bone]

I'd like to see names on jerseys. I'm sure the players would, too.

[LawPoke]

Arguably one of the bigger traffic days for the athletic department website and it is broken. Well done. As always.

[ragtimejoe1]

Any word on contract? Better be around 900k.

[Wyokie]

Something to consider...did Burman even ask Vigen if he wanted the job?

[DamThatRiver22]

Any word on contract? Better be around 900k.

Only two coaches in the entire MWC (Chang and Gonzalez) made less than that this season, come on now. And if a HC is making that much less, then you know the assistant pool is accordingly less.

Sometimes I'm glad none of you are ADs; you'd kneecap the program for twenty years if you had your way. Lol.

We don't need to pay someone like Sawvel and his staff top dollar, but undercutting them sets a bad precedent, is a bad look, and is just stupid. Bohl was overpaid, sure, but we don't need to go to the opposite extreme.

Sawvell has 30 years coaching experience, eight years at the P5 level, and has been here 4 years as a part of a relatively successful program under the MWC's highest-paid coach in Bohl. Making him one of the lowest paid coaches in the MWC would be comical and isn't proportionate...and would just set us up for another coaching change in a year or two. Regardless of your feelings on the hire itself, paying him that low simply isn't good business.

Edit, for the record:

2.34M—Bohl, Wyo
$2.30M—Brennan, SJSU
$1.78M—Odom, UNLV
$1.75M—Avalos, BSU
$1.70M—Norvell, CSU
$1.55M—Tedford, Fresno St
$1.38M—Anderson, USU
$1.27M—Hoke, SDSU
$950K—Wilson, Nev
$700K—Gonzales, UNM
$600K—Chang, Hawai'i

Air Force, N/A (AFA doesn't disclose employee contracts, but Calhoun is a respected alumni and former player, is the longest tenured coach in the MWC, is one of the most successful MWC coaches, and has P5 and NFL experience. Stands to reason he's at least in the middle.)

[ragtimejoe1]

Why pay more? 900k base with incentives for success. If he wins, he'd be in the upper half. Literally no other fbs program would hire him for head coach. 900k + potential incentives is more than fair.

I would have try to add to Bohl's and swing for the fences. I'm not sure why the only options are hiire within or blow up the program. I'm pretty sure there are hire options that aren't internal and won't blow up the program.

[laxwyo]

Why pay more? 900k base with incentives for success. If he wins, he'd be in the upper half. Literally no other fbs program would hire him for head coach. 900k + potential incentives is more than fair.

I would have try to add to Bohl's and swing for the fences. I'm not sure why the only options are hiire within or blow up the program. I'm pretty sure there are hire options that aren't internal and won't blow up the program.

You think some dude is going to walk in from the streets and put his reputation and livelihood on the line having people he doesn’t know under him? lol

[LanderPoke]

If there were a time for a national search to be successful this was it. A decent team with a decent roster. A good coach probably thinking “I can do a lot with that”. But whatever. We’ll never know

[ragtimejoe1]

Why pay more? 900k base with incentives for success. If he wins, he'd be in the upper half. Literally no other fbs program would hire him for head coach. 900k + potential incentives is more than fair.

I would have try to add to Bohl's and swing for the fences. I'm not sure why the only options are hiire within or blow up the program. I'm pretty sure there are hire options that aren't internal and won't blow up the program.

You think some dude is going to walk in from the streets and put his reputation and livelihood on the line having people he doesn’t know under him? lol

Changing staffs doesn't mean blowing up the program. The right staff can take it up a notch.

If Bohl is WYO's peak, the hire makes sense. I personally think it could be better.

[ragtimejoe1]

If there were a time for a national search to be successful this was it. A decent team with a decent roster. A good coach probably thinking “I can do a lot with that”. But whatever. We’ll never know

Exactly. Burman's peak is Bohl. This hire proves it. We need new AD

[WYO1016]

You think some dude is going to walk in from the streets and put his reputation and livelihood on the line having people he doesn’t know under him? lol

Changing staffs doesn't mean blowing up the program. The right staff can take it up a notch.

If Bohl is WYO's peak, the hire makes sense. I personally think it could be better.

Changing staffs absolutely means blowing up the program. Different coaching styles, different play books, practices run differently, different philosophies on strength and nutrition, different personalities. The list goes on and on. The only thing that doesn't change with a new staff is the players on the team (for the most part).

[Cornpoke]

If there were a time for a national search to be successful this was it. A decent team with a decent roster. A good coach probably thinking “I can do a lot with that”. But whatever. We’ll never know

Exactly. The program is in good shape and has potential for more. This would be attractive to a good coach on the market. I understand the "continuity" hire.. .but that leaves us exactly where we are. Mid level MWC team. Burman may set the NCAA record for most hires by a single AD... that along speaks volumes.

I do wonder if Vigen was considered.

[DamThatRiver22]

Why pay more? 900k base with incentives for success. If he wins, he'd be in the upper half. Literally no other fbs program would hire him for head coach. 900k + potential incentives is more than fair.

Firstly, every coach in the MWC has built-in incentives. He wouldn't be the only one hitting them, and it wouldn't move the needle on his position much...especially with how low you're wanting to pay him in the first place.

Secondly, as I mentioned, you can pile all the incentives on there all you want, but setting a base salary that low almost guarantees a proportionately lower assistant pool, which cuts his legs out from under him. Y'all don't want to blow everything up.....but do you really think anyone is going to take a pay cut to stay? And do you think he's going to be able to subsequently hire a competent staff on a bottomfeeder pool?

Thirdly, you straight up don't know what calls he's gotten, or what calls he would have gotten had he not immediately been named successor. He has 8 years as a P5 DC. He was well-liked at Minnesota, floundered a bit at Wake, and has spent four years since as DC under one of the best defensive-minded HCs in the country in Bohl. I don't think he's the cream of the crop by any means, but your adamant assertion that he wouldn't get any HC job anywhere in the country for the insanely low amount you want to pay him is absurd. There are several HCs in the SBC, CUSA, and MAC that make higher than that and several teams in those conferences would probably love to have an established name in Sawvell (who isn't nearly as much of an unknown presence as some people in our little bubble here seem to think), lmao.

And fourthly, let me reiterate that it's a bad look for the program and any potential future coaches and assistants.

Again, I'm f*cking glad none of you are ADs. Y'all want to have your cake and eat it, too, and you'd drive the program into the ground day 1. Disagree with the hire all you want, but now that it's done your vision of the financial aspect is insane. People want Bohl or better performance on a bottom 2-3 MWC coaching and assistant pool...that's insane.