Wyoming fires Defensive Coordinator after 51-44 loss

Oct 19, 2013; Laramie, WY, USA; A general view of the Wyoming Cowboys helmet and the state flag within the steamboat logo during the game with the Colorado State Rams. The Rams defeated the Cowboys 52-22. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /

After giving up more than 50 points in two straight games, Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen fired defensive coordinator Chris Tormey on Tuesday. Defensive line coach Jamar Cain has been named as the interim defensive coordinator.

In a statement, Christensen said the following of the move: “I felt that we needed to make a change at this time to give our football team and the young men on it the best opportunity to win our remaining four regular-season games. The last two weeks, our defense has not performed up to the expectations of our coaching staff, our players, nor our fans.”

If they were going to fire him during the season, this was the week to do it as they are on their bye. The bad news is that they come off of that bye to play undefeated Fresno State led by Derek Carr and Davante Adams on November 9^th. This is not exactly a light debut for Cain to come up with a game plan.

The Cowboys do not expect an overwhelming effort from their defense. They have some expectation that they will give up points, but their offense led by quarterback Brett Smith averages 36.5 points per game, so they the defense just needs to slow down the opponent. This past week, Wyoming lost to San Jose State 51-44. The failure of the defense the week before against Colorado State was bad as they gave up 52 points but the offense only put up 22. With San Jose State, the offense did enough to win but the defense could not do anything and that is where the problem became too much to bear.

Wyoming, currently 4-4 (2-2 in conference), hosts Fresno State, then goes on the road to play Boise State, hosts Hawaii and finishes up with Utah State on the road as they fight to get bowl eligible. Getting bowl eligible, getting those extra practices and extra exposure is critical for a school like Wyoming. For Christensen, that simply has to happen for the Cowboys to be successful. As a result, he made the move to fire Tormey in hopes of giving the team the best chance to get into a postseason game.

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