The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Craig Bohl

Followed Dave Christensen. Craig Bohl moved Wyoming from Regional Program IV to Regional Program II in 10 seasons.

61–60

2014–2023 · 1 stint

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Wyoming, 10 seasons

+5.7

Regional Program IV → Regional Program III.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)

How much that is, against every other stint

Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.

Typical stint7.010.2 median13.9middle half of all stints

Wyoming14.8pt#55 of 258 · more than most

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

7–3 against his rivals. Just 1–6 against Bryan Harsin.

Rivalry record

7–3

70.0% · 1 rival

One-score games

22–20

52.4% · margin ≤8

Rivalry ledger

Colorado State7–370%

The toughest matchup

vs. Bryan Harsin1–6

7 meetings, 2014–2020

’14 L’15 L’16 W · erased a 14-pt deficit’17 L · blew a 7-pt lead’18 L’19 L · blew a 7-pt lead’20 L · blew a 3-pt lead

14% win rate across a real, 7-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.

Performance by opponent class

Power Program

1–17 5.6%

National Program

8–8 50.0%

Regional Program

43–31 58.1%

His own effect, isolated

A statistical estimate of this coach’s contribution to team performance, separated from that season’s roster talent, returning production, and his coordinators — pooled across his whole head-coaching career.

Offense marginal impact

-0.04

#178 of 319 · a typical amount

Defense marginal impact

+0.50

#14 of 325 · more than most

Model fit as of 2026-09-04.

Coaching career

2014–2023

Wyomingcaretaker

Regional Program IV → Regional Program II

Craig Bohl moved Wyoming from Regional Program IV to Regional Program II in 10 seasons.

14th-best Wyoming tenure of 22 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Performs about as expected for his recruiting talent on offense and outperforms his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent

+0.7 pts

#109 of 208 · a typical amount

Defense vs. talent

+27.1 pts

#13 of 208 · more than most

Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed Dave Christensen (2009–2013) · succeeded by Jay Sawvel (2024–2026).

Season	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Record & result
Record	4–8	2–10	8–6	8–5	6–6	8–5	2–4	7–6	7–6	9–4
Postseason	—	—	L bowl	W bowl	—	W CFP	—	W bowl	L bowl	W bowl
Recruiting rank	#127	#113	#116	#99	#124	#97	#113	#109	#92	#109
Style — pass rate
Pass rate	45.6	39.2	37.6	43.8	35.8	30.8	32.8	35.4	38.8	39.4
Coordinators
OC	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Brent Vigen	Tim Polasek	Tim Polasek	Tim Polasek
DC	Steve Stanard	Steve Stanard	Steve Stanard	Scottie Hazelton	Scottie Hazelton	Jake Dickert	Jay Sawvel	Jay Sawvel	Jay Sawvel	Jay Sawvel
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense	23	32	73	8	29	43	22	43	17	55
Defense	18	10	14	97	88	91	93	55	54	68
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%	36.3	27.3	34.4	39.3	26.8	24.9	28.9	34.9	36.3	39.5
Red-zone pass%	43.7	35.2	30.0	40.4	37.5	21.6	22.2	32.9	42.0	44.7
4th-down go%opp. territory	27.8	51.4	27.7	26.3	14.6	21.4	26.9	38.5	5.0	15.6

Roster construction · portal era

Barely touches the portal — recruits and develops his own.

Portal arrivals

2.6★ avg rating

Portal departures

left via the portal

Net portal flow

-26

#180 of 187 FBS stints

Who they bring in

Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.

Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.

Avg. size (raw)

6′0″, 203 lbs

across 6 of 7 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix

Size vs. position-typical

+0.9 lbs

#214 of 255 · less than most

Avg. class year

#12 of 255 · more than most

Top states: AL (1), SC (1), OR (1), IA (1), NJ (1)

Who won the portal our read

Talent added

23.4

position-weighted

Talent lost

56.8

position-weighted

Net

-33.4

arrivals minus departures

Best addition: Andrew Peasley (QB) from Utah State

Biggest loss: Levi Williams (QB) to Utah State

Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.

Does the system survive a coordinator change?

OC: Brent Vigen → Tim Polasek · 2021the system held

2-season window either side.

1st-down pass rate: 26.9% → 35.6% (+8.7 pts)

Confound, shown not hidden: only 85% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.

DC: Steve Stanard → Scottie Hazelton · 2017the defense leveled up

2-season window either side.

DC: Scottie Hazelton → Jake Dickert · 2019

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

DC: Jake Dickert → Jay Sawvel · 2020

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

Roster size, by position

Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)

Quarterback

223 lbs

6′3″ avg · #107 of 767 · more than most

Running back

207 lbs

6′0″ avg · #381 of 791 · a typical amount

Wide receiver

203 lbs

6′2″ avg · #46 of 791 · more than most

Tight end

246 lbs

6′4″ avg · #308 of 731 · a typical amount

Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters

Interior line

306 lbs

6′4″ avg · #523 of 779 · a typical amount

D-line

264 lbs

6′2″ avg · #724 of 753 · less than most

Linebacker

227 lbs

6′2″ avg · #445 of 772 · a typical amount

Cornerback

187 lbs

5′11″ avg · #532 of 771 · a typical amount

Safety

202 lbs

6′1″ avg · #62 of 346 · more than most

Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.

Where the roster comes from, by position

Grows Tight end from high school

100%

#164 of 188 stints

Grows Edge from high school

100%

#191 of 208 stints

Postseason detail2016: Lost to BYU 21–24 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl2017: Beat Central Michigan 37–14 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl2019: Beat Georgia State 38–17 CFP2021: Beat Kent State 52–38 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl2022: Lost to Ohio 27–30 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl2023: Beat Toledo 16–15 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl

10 NFL Draft picks: Marqueston Huff (2014), Robert Herron (2014), Mark Nzeocha (2015), Brian Hill (2017), Chase Roullier (2017), Josh Allen (2018), Marcus Epps (2019), Logan Wilson (2020) + 2 more

61–60