LARAMIE – The atmosphere at War Memorial Stadium made a lasting impression on Christian Taylor.
 
As a young offensive assistant at San Diego State in 2010, Taylor left Laramie with a victory after quarterback Ryan Lindley passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns and running back Brandon Sullivan added three rushing touchdowns in the Aztecs' 48-38 win over Wyoming that season.
 
Taylor also made the trip back to sea level impressed with UW and the game day vibe at 7,220 feet.
 
"To be honest, I didn't know much about the University of Wyoming," Taylor said. "That 24 hours here was super intriguing. One, it was a really tough game. I was drawn to the culture that this place represents – the toughness, the grit, the physicality, the way the team played. You can just get that sense from the whole area and the community.
 
"I followed the program since then. It's always a place I was drawn towards. It kind of fits what I believe in and my persona as a football coach. That's what initially intrigued me about the opportunity."
 
When Jay Sawvel was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2023 season, Taylor reached out to express interest in joining his UW staff if an opportunity presented itself down the road.
 
For the past two seasons Taylor – who followed Brady Hoke from SDSU to Michigan and had successful stints as an offensive coordinator at Illinois Wesleyan, San Diego and William & Mary – was an offensive advisor and defensive assistant with the Buffalo Bills.
 
The answer to the obvious question: Yes, Josh Allen approves of Taylor leaving the Bills to become the new offensive coordinator for the Cowboys.
 
"He was super excited and had nothing but good things to say about this place," Taylor said of the reigning NFL most valuable player. Allen returned to War Memorial Stadium to have his No. 17 retired on Nov. 22. "He said the people are awesome, the people love football, awesome university with salt of the earth people and that I would love it up here.
 
"He wants to do anything he can to help us and he's fired up that it ended up being me to come up here and help get this thing rolling right."
 
Sawvel, who was able to retain eight of the top 10 players from the 2025 roster he prioritized and added 20 transfers from the portal to the 2026 roster, hired Taylor to develop productive quarterbacks and create an offense that can put more points on the scoreboard to help the defense.
 
"We've recruited well in the two years that I've been the head coach here. We've retained our players at a high level. We've not had off-the-field issues," Sawvel noted. "We just had the best academic semester that we have had in my six years here by far, not even close. We've played well on defense.
 
"We didn't score (enough) points. … That's where we've got to get better."
 
During his time at William & Mary, his alma mater, Taylor was named the 2023 American Football Coaches Association FCS assistant coach of the year, and he was also an FCS coordinator of the year finalist. The Tribe set a school record with 11 wins and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals with an offense ranked in the top 10 in 13 statistical categories.
 
Working on the defensive side of the ball, special teams and alongside the superstar quarterback from UW with the Bills helped provide Taylor with a "Ph.D in football."
 
"To leave Buffalo at the time, to be blatantly honest, was a really tough decision," Taylor said. "My passion is coordinating an offense. That's what I love to do, that's what gets me going when I wake up each morning and I was itching to do that again. …
 
"I see how close this program is to achieving some great things and I'm hoping to come help get that done for us."
 
Shortly after the season concluded in Honolulu, Sawvel made the trip to Buffalo, N.Y., to interview Taylor as his top offensive coordinator candidate. Due to flight issues, he was diverted to Cleveland and then made the drive to Western New York in December determined to land the bright play-caller.
 
Then the staff targeted Tyler Hughes, a dynamic graduate transfer from William & Mary recruited by Taylor, to upgrade the quarterback room. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior passed for 2,330 yards with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed for 670 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
 
"There's a vision that I have for this offense. Coach Taylor knows that vision well," Sawvel said. "He's a perfect hire. Tyler Hughes is a perfect quarterback for it, Mason Drube is a very good quarterback for it, Landon Sims is a very good quarterback for it, signing Taylor Hasselbeck is a very good quarterback for it.
 
"There's a much better alignment to everything."
 
Hughes, who is from Marietta, Ga., made the drive to Jacksonville to watch Allen lead the the Bills' to a recent playoff win over the Jaguars and reunite with Taylor.
 
"It's just crazy how life works sometimes," Taylor said. "If you would have told me a few years ago that Ty and I would hook back up in Laramie, Wyoming, I would have said you are nuts."
 
The Cowboys are in their second week grinding through the winter strength and conditioning program. Spring practice opens March 24 and fans can get an early peek at the new offense during the spring game on April 25 with Taylor coaching again at War Memorial Stadium.
 
"I want people to feel and see the physicality, toughness and grit that we're going to play with," Taylor said. "We've got to be a two-dimensional offense. We've got to be elite in the run and the pass game. Once you're a one-dimensional offense it's too easy to defend. I've been in that defensive press box (with the Bills). If you know they're passing, or you know they're throwing it's really easy to call a defense."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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