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Davis Potter
Feb 6, 2020 Updated 18
hrs ago
Wyoming assistant coach Pete Kaligis talks with
Cowboys players during their game against Idaho on Sept. 7, 2013 at War
Memorial Stadium in Laramie.
File, Star-Tribune
LARAMIE — With a little familiarity, Wyoming has filled out its
defensive coaching staff.
Jay
Sawvel has been hired as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator while
former UW assistant Marty English and Benny Boyd have also joined the staff, UW
coach Craig Bohl announced Thursday. English, who was an assistant at UW under
Joe Glenn and Dave Christensen from 2003-11, is returning to coach defensive
ends. Boyd will coach cornerbacks.
The trio replaces Jake Dickert, A.J.
Cooper and John Richardson, all of whom left last month to join Nick Rolovich’s
staff at Washington State. Sawvel, who was out of coaching this past season,
will take over the defense from Dickert, who’s taking the same position with
the Cougars after one season as UW’s defensive coordinator.
Sawvel,
who will also coach the Cowboys’ safeties, previously had stints as the
defensive coordinator at Minnesota and, most recently, Wake Forest. Sawvel
spent six seasons on staff at Minnesota from 2011-16, taking over as defensive
coordinator for the 2016 season.
“Jay
comes from the great coaching tree of (former Minnesota coach) Jerry Kill and
has a long relationship with Coach Kill,” Bohl said in a statement. “I’ve
admired Jay’s work through the years. He’s an outstanding recruiter, a great
secondary coach and an experienced coordinator.”
Sawvel directed a Golden
Gopher defense that season that finished in the top 25 nationally in scoring
defense, rushing defense, total defense, sacks and turnovers forced. Sawvel
joined Dave Clawson’s staff in the same capacity at Wake Forest the following
season, but Sawvel was fired four games into the 2018 season following the
Demon Deacons’ 56-27 loss to Notre Dame.
He will take over a UW defense that
finished in the top 15 nationally in points and rushing yards allowed this
season. The Cowboys are losing six defensive starters, including their top
three tacklers in Alijah Halliburton, Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia. But UW is
set to return six of its top eight defensive linemen, including sack leader
Solomon Byrd.
Sawvel,
who played at Division III Mount Union in the early 1990s, has also coached at
Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois.
“I
am honored and excited to be a Cowboy,” Sawvel said in a statement. “Having an
opportunity to work for a championship coach like Coach Bohl is something I am
really looking forward to. The players here have been great to me as I’ve
gotten a chance to meet them, and I can’t wait to start working with them
daily.”
English returns to UW after spending
the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Football Championship
Subdivision member Northern Colorado, his alma mater. His time at UNC was
preceded by a six-year stint as an assistant at Colorado State, the latter two
spent as the Rams’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
English spent the first six seasons of his first stint at UW as
Glenn’s linebackers coach. He doubled as defensive coordinator and special
teams coordinator under Christensen from 2009-11, helping the Cowboys to two
bowl appearances during that time.
“Marty English enjoys a great
reputation recruiting the Rocky Mountain area,” Bohl said. “He has spent time
previously here at Wyoming, at Colorado State and at Northern Colorado. ... He
has tremendous defensive experience. Marty will add great value on our
defensive staff, and we look forward to his recruiting efforts in the state of
Colorado.”
Boyd comes to UW after one season
coaching cornerbacks and special teams at Eastern Illinois. Before that, Boyd
spent four seasons in the same roles at Central Washington. The Illinois native
has also had stints as an assistant at North Dakota and Aurora (Illinois)
University, where he played from 1996-99.
“This is a tremendous opportunity,
and I am humbled to join a program the caliber of the University of Wyoming,”
Boyd said in a statement. “To be able to work with Coach Bohl and this coaching
staff and to uphold the high standards that have been set here at Wyoming is a daunting
task but is one I am extremely excited about.”
Said Bohl, “Benny is a very capable
corners coach and special teams coordinator as well. He has demonstrated his
skills by molding young men and doing an excellent job of mentoring many
players over his long career.”
Bohl also announced the promotion of defensive tackles coach
Pete Kaligis to defensive run-game coordinator, a title previously held by
Cooper. Kaligis, the longest-tenured assistant at UW, is entering his 12th
season on the Cowboys’ staff.
“His role will increase with these
new responsibilities,” Bohl said of Kaligis. “He transitioned from being an
offensive coach prior to joining our staff to becoming a very effective
defensive coach who does a great job mentoring his players.”
