After the fans had departed from the stadium and the excitement from the Arizona Bowl settled down, Wyoming fans remembered what made this game so bittersweet. After a 42 year coaching career, 20 of which he was a head coach, Craig Bohl called it a career and is stepping away from coaching.
This news doesn’t come as a surprise, as Bohl made the announcement in early December and speculation had swirled around his retirement over the summer. Nevertheless, it’s a big moment for the program as they transition to new head coach and former defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel.
Bohl spent over half of his career in various assistant positions across college football, all in defensive roles. It was during his tenure at Nebraska where he gained traction and rose to the position of defensive coordinator.
In 2003, Bohl became the head coach for the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison. Over 10 years at NDSU, Bohl built an incredible legacy and program, taking the team into Division One football and winning three consecutive FCS Championships.
After the third championship, in 2013, Bohl made his final transition as a coach, coming to Wyoming. Bohl took over a program that was coming off two straight losing seasons and had gone to two bowl games in the past ten years.
His new Cowboys team got off to a rough start, with another two losing seasons to begin and a hard two win season in 2015. In 2016, Josh Allen would rise to prominence for the Pokes, and Wyoming went 8-6, went to the conference championship, and punched a ticket to the Poinsettia Bowl. While they lost both postseason games, it began an eight year stretch of great success for the Cowboys. This included six bowl games over the eight years with four wins in those games.
Bohl became the winningest coach in Wyoming Cowboys football history and had the longest tenure of any head coach for the team. Already a legend for the Cowboys, Bohl built a legacy and a program that will continue on long after this season.
“I’ve not gone to work a day in my life,” said Bohl after last night’s victory. “It’s been a really tremendous profession and it’s great to go out with these guys,” he continued.
On the day he announced his retirement, Bohl was understandably emotional, but last night, he was happy and relaxed. “I have a real sense of ease about moving on. It was time for this Cowboy to ride off,” he said.
Despite it being his last press conference after his final game, Bohl kept comments short and sweet, and showed how he trusted the program that he helped build to continue winning and maintaining a ‘Cowboy Tough’ culture. “Coach Sawvel is going to do a great job,” Bohl stated. “The future looks really bright and the culture is set,” he said.
At peace, Bohl joked with reporters, grinned, but didn’t draw out his final words. After an incredible career in which he created two impressive programs, had numerous titles and bowl games along with creating NFL stars and mentoring coaches, Bohl made one final statement.
“Peace, I’m out.”
