COCKHILL FIRED!

[dapokes]

Now that he's gone..who do we go after for OC??

[dapokes]

Since Lloyd Carr is out at Michigan...I'd like to see us pursue one of his offensive staff members (qb, wr, or rb coach) or take one from a bigger program to promote him from his current position. Any thoughts?

[MrTitleist]

Montana fans are wanting Cockhill back so they can fire our current OC.. haha. Such irony.

[dapokes]

haha they can have him!
who do you think we should go after?

[MrTitleist]

No idea, to be perfectly honest. Someone that's going to utilize the running game, and not be afraid to go Air Wyoming with the ball. Someone that's not going to call a conservative game.. is that asking too much?

[scapegaot griz]

No one in Missoula is calling for Cockhill to be brought back here other than a few idiots. Nice try titleist. You guys took a chance with Glenn and are paying the price now. No way billy is brought back here unless it is to sell insurance.

[Kansan Cowboy!]

I honestly think we should go after the OC from Nebraska.
Yeah they went 5-7, but their Offense played lights out. they were putting up 30 to 70 points a game. It was their D that killed them.
So if we have an Off like Nebr's and a D like wht we have now, I could see us winning more games.

[MrTitleist]

Hey there ScapeGoat! A few idiots indeed!

Would the OC at Nebraska really want to go to Wyoming? It'd be a step down in prestige, for sure. I think if we get anyone, it's going to come from the lower ranks of college football. Someone probably from 1-AA or D2.

[Adv8RU12]

You could go down to high school and not do much worse than Cockhill.

[scapegaot griz]

I am NOT a billy fan by any means, but how many fan bases do you think are happy with their OC? Not too many from my count. UM wins but doesn't put the points on the board. Put points on the board but don't win... gone as well. So only the OC who scores a ton, plays the style the fan base likes, and wins is safe. When Joe came to UM his OC was Ron Richards. Never heard of him??? He lasted one game as the OC and then was relegated to observer. Billy replaced him and won, but fans disliked him as well. I am convinced that the HC should be named OC and take the fall for the performance of the team. May be in name only, but the HC is responsible for the offense put on the field.

[dapokes]

yes, because going d-1a or 2 would solve our offensive woes...come on titlelist! The Nebraska OC was a better idea than that.
There is absolutely NO WAY we dig to lower programs or divisions to get an OC. We go to a big program who's had success immediately!
scapegoat-please don't act like you've followed our program in the last 5 years..

[MrTitleist]

yes, because going d-1a or 2 would solve our offensive woes...come on titlelist! The Nebraska OC was a better idea than that.
There is absolutely NO WAY we dig to lower programs or divisions to get an OC. We go to a big program who's had success immediately!
scapegoat-please don't act like you've followed our program in the last 5 years..

...didn't we go down a level to get our current HC?

Going down 2 levels seems to have worked for U. of Cincinnati, who has the coach from Grand Valley State (D2) coaching them right now. He won a NC with GVSU, Cincy hired him afterwards, he coached UC in their bowl game and won, now he has them at the top of CUSA. The bad voodoo from reaching down levels is shrinking. Jim Tressel at Ohio State.. his previous stint was at 1-AA Youngstown State. It wouldn't be unheard of for UW to go down a level to find their man. There are some VERY good offenses no matter what division you're in, but it's all about coaching and play-calling. Sometimes you're overmatched, sometimes you're winning the battles.. it doesn't matter where the coaches come from.

[MrTitleist]

From the Casper Star Tribune:

Laramie WY - Something had to give, and Wyoming didn't waste much time.

Less than 24 hours after the Cowboys closed out their disappointing season with a 36-28 loss in the Border War at Colorado State, UW coach Joe Glenn shook up his staff and fired offensive coordinator Bill Cockhill.

The move itself was a long time coming and no surprise, though the swift action could be considered a bit of a shock given Glenn's long-standing loyalty.

"The time came to make a change at offensive coordinator," Glenn said. "We're going to open a national search and see if we can get somebody in here to kick start our offense."

Offense wasn't the only problem for the 5-7 Cowboys, but even with one of the worst special teams units in the country, Glenn said this is going to be the only change he'll make.

Glenn didn't indicate a specific timetable or identify any favorites in the national search, but the process will likely be over by Christmas and he's not going to hire somebody he doesn't already know.

Glenn has spent the last eight years building a relationship with Cockhill, but the offensive regression has been hard to ignore lately and the pathetic production over the second half of the season highlighted the writing on the wall.

The Cowboys averaged barely more than 15 points per game while dropping six of their last seven games, falling quickly out of conference contention and coughing up a bowl bid even after a 4-1 start.

Cockhill was also listed as UW's quarterbacks coach, and starter Karsten Sween's struggles this season were perhaps the most glaring for the Cowboys.

After a promising freshman season, Sween threw 17 interceptions and often lacked decisiveness in the pocket, a frequent criticism of Cockhill's signal-callers.

The sophomore didn't take any questions from the media after Friday's loss to the Rams, instead offering a statement and retreating back to the locker room.

"I just want to say that I played as hard as I could (Friday) for the state of Wyoming and the football team," Sween said. "I left it all out on the field, and that's one thing I know I'm going to do as best I can.

"I'm going to work as hard as I can this offseason to be the best quarterback in this league, this conference next year. I just want to say sorry to all the fans for how this season went, but just know that I left it all on the line and we came up a little short."

That rarely happened during his breakthrough campaign last year when he posted a 5-2 record as the starter, but late this season defenses around the league seemed to have figured Sween out.

It didn't help that he was largely relegated to throwing screen passes and short crossing patterns, though he never criticized Cockhill or the play-calling during the tough closing stretch.

He seemed ill-suited for the no-huddle or the zone-option rushing attack the Cowboys tried to install this season, and considering how heavily invested Glenn is in Sween, the next offense figures to be geared toward his strengths.

"This wasn't easy at all, and I have a lot of respect for (Cockhill)," Glenn said. "We're just trying to find an identity that we can hang our hat on."

And they have no intention of waiting long to do it.

Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or [email protected]

Cowboys Tracker

n SATURDAY: After Wyoming's discouraging 36-28 loss in the Border War to end the season on Friday, coach Joe Glenn started the offseason by firing offensive coordinator Bill Cockhill.

n OVER AND OUT: The Cowboys were one of the nation's least efficient offenses in Cockhill's fifth season at UW, starting with the startling struggles of his quarterbacks and their 19 interceptions. Cockhill had one year left on his contract at a base salary of $123,000

n UP NEXT: Glenn offered no favorites in the national search for a replacement, but said it would be somebody he already knew. The process figures to be over by Christmas.

[MrTitleist]

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007 ... orts03.txt

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Wyoming football coach Joe Glenn said offensive coordinator Bill Cockhill will not be retained as a member of the coaching staff.

“I appreciate Bill's past contributions to our program, but I feel that it is time to change the direction of our offensive staff,” Glenn said Saturday. “We of course wish Bill and his family all the best in the future.”

Glenn said the university will conduct a national search for a new offensive coordinator.
*
“Wyoming football has a great tradition, and a great history of exciting offensive football teams. With that in mind, I'm confident we will be able to attract outstanding candidates to take over as offensive coordinator for our football program,” he said.

Cockhill had one year remaining on his contract at a base salary of $123,000 per year.

Wyoming's offense entered the final game of its regular season ranked No. 107 in total offense (322.3 yards) out of 119 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams and was No. 109 in scoring with 18.6 points.

The Cowboys (5-7, 2-6 Mountain West) lost six of their last seven games.

Cockhill had just finished his fifth season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Cockhill, a Helena native, was a wide receiver at the University of Montana from 1990-93 and began his coaching career as a restricted earnings coach at UM in 1994 and coached the wide receivers from 1995-2000. During that time, Montana won seven Big Sky Conference titles, advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs nine consecutive times and played in four national championship games, winning in 1995 and 2001.

[WYCowboy]

I'm wondering if firing Cockhill was Glenn's idea or Burman's. Maybe Glenn saw the writing on the wall and did it to reduce the ultimatum from Burman. At any rate, I have a feeling this entire process is not finished yet - I don't think Glenn and Burman have had their sit-down meeting yet. It wouldn't surprise me to see Glenn gone before next season. Many of the problems with this team were not addressed by the firing of Cockhill. I did not watch the tv show last night, so I don't know what was said.

[MrTitleist]

Glenn will be here next season. If he was going to be let go, it would have happened already. I think he's in good shape for next season.

[uhwarrior23]

It's about darn time! Good luck finding an OC.

[Wyokie]

It's about darn time! Good luck finding an OC.

Better late than never I always say.

[WyoCow85]

I have been calling for Cockhills head all season, but I agree with some previous posts. None of this has a very good feel when it comes to this entire staff's future, including Glenn's. Lets look at it point blank. Everybody has been calling for Cockhill's job because our offense blows. They cant score, gain yards, avoid turnovers, or field a solid QB. Naturally you want the OC gone. Well, there is a reason you have a head coach. Very few people actually know the inner workings of a coaching staff, and who really is responsible for what when its good or bad, myself included. What does it say about Glenn when you look at how this all went down? I was worried Glenn would not fire Cockhill because of the relationships the entire coaching staff have with each other. So you would assume they were working together to get this offense going to save his job. Will it take an offensive coordinator who can soley 180 flip this offense to save Joe Glenn. You would expect better then that from a HC.