Wyoming OC: 'Teamwork Requires Great Communication'

LARAMIE -- Jay Johnson had a bird's-eye view last fall of the disaster that was Wyoming's offense.

Christian Taylor is hoping to have a front-row seat to its resurgence.

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Just the thought of calling plays from the press box draws a funny look from the 42-year-old. He has done that just once in his coaching career. That came at a Division-III program, which means his perch wasn't exactly in the heavens.

It's not about the optics, though, for the Cowboys' new offensive coordinator.

"This is the greatest team game in the world, and teamwork requires great communication," Taylor said. "You just find it's a lot easier to communicate with them if you're looking at them eye to eye on the sideline."

Tyler Hughes has never once tossed on a headset to share ideas with a coach, and that includes Taylor, who served in the same position at William and Mary during his freshman and second season in Williamsburg, Va.

His OC was on the sidelines at Marietta High School in Georgia, too.

"I can't really imagine him not being on the sideline and, knowing who he is as a person, I don't think that will ever happen. He loves being out there," Wyoming's starting quarterback said. "I love that he's out there, too. He gives me feedback and watches the iPad with us. He gives us certain looks that you can't necessarily talk about if he's upstairs."

Johnson, who was demoted after a gut-wrenching loss at Air Force last October, oversaw a unit that averaged just 20 points per game under his leadership. Those numbers are skewed a bit thanks to a pick-six and a kick return for a touchdown against San Jose State.

After a 28-0 blanking of Border War rival Colorado State, the offense completely bottomed out, scoring just 17 total points over the final four games. Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight stepped in for Johnson, who is now an analyst at Oregon.

Tim Polasek, now the head coach at North Dakota State, also called plays from the booth in Laramie from 2021-23. His offenses weren't exactly prolific, either.

"He will be on the sideline, which I think is important, because he gets a chance to talk to the quarterbacks," head coach Jay Sawvel said of Taylor. "There's value with people in the booth -- and we will have a couple people on both sides of the ball in the booth -- but this whole iPad thing now has changed a lot of stuff."

During his two seasons on the staff of the Buffalo Bills, Taylor was upstairs. His job was to evaluated offenses and break them down, looking for weaknesses. He said in the NFL, using tablets is important, but show only still frame-by-frame photos.

In the NCAA, you get live video, including the entire all-22 from above.

He will still rely on fellow coaches Justin Hiller, Davis McCartney and Mason Schultz to be his eyes in the sky.

"They are doing an awesome job," Taylor added. "Three excellent coaches."

This new "position-less" offense, one that is predicated on deception at the line of scrimmage and getting the ball in the hands of a variety of playmakers, has been a hit with everyone in that huddle this offseason. Even members of the defense have been impressed.

"We're facing the most complex offense we're going to see all year," linebacker Parker Moore said. "So, it's the whole iron-sharpens-iron thing."

Wyoming will take on CSU in the 2026 opener Sept. 5 inside Canvas Stadium. Kickoff for the 118th Border War is slated for 4 p.m. You'll know where to find Taylor.

"I think the guys are really eager to play a game because I think they're probably tired of hearing how the past couple of seasons have gone," Taylor said with a grin. "So, I think they're eager to go prove to themselves and to others what they're capable of doing.

"... Now we need to do it against somebody else."

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