Taylor Plans to Bring Grit, Physicality to Pokes’ Offense

LARAMIE -- Josh Allen wasn't involved in the decision, but he was thrilled with it.

Christian Taylor, who served as a defensive quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills the previous two seasons -- he said he was simply getting a "PhD" in football -- was officially introduced to the media Saturday afternoon in Laramie.

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The long-time offensive coordinator and position coach at the college level has already had a taste of the high plains. That came on a visit to War Memorial Stadium back in 2010 as a member of Brady Hoke's staff at San Diego State.

He said he felt the passion in that atmosphere. Over the brief 24-hour period, he became immediately attracted to the culture and toughness. It was always a place he's been drawn to, he added.

The stamp of approval from the NFL's Most Valuable Player made it a no-brainer.

"He was super excited," Taylor said, referring to Wyoming's most famous alum. "He asked if I was sticking through the Bills season first. I said, 'absolutely but, I was super excited. He had nothing but good things to say about this place. He said that people are awesome, the people love football and it's an awesome university with down-to-earth people and that I would love it up here.

"So, he wants to do anything he can to help us, and is fired up that it ended up being me to come up here and help get this thing rolling right."

What will this new-look offense entail?

Creativity in the run game, for one, something head coach Jay Sawvel has been adamant about since the plane touched down from Honolulu. An athletic quarterback will also play a major role in this offensive revamp.

Enter Tyler Hughes, a signal caller Taylor himself recruited to William & Mary back in 2022 out of Marietta High School in Georgia. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior became the first QB in school history last fall to throw for more than 2,000 yards and rush for an additional 600. He added 31 touchdowns in the process.

"There's physical traits when you watch him on video, there's physical traits when you see him play and how he operates on the field," Sawvel said. "He's got a good arm and he's very mobile, not only within a structured run game, but just, OK, play breaks down and there's 15 yards and then he's out of bounds and we keep the clock, you know, keep the chains moving, and everything that way. That's something we didn't have a year ago, in that regard."

That's not all.

"We sat down with him face to face and you get to learn the person and kind of get to see how much he loves football," he continued. "You know, we're going to have to chase him out of the building. That's what you want in quarterbacks."

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Wyoming capped a 4-8 campaign with the 45th-ranked defense in the nation last season, allowing an average of just 344.2 yards per game. That unit, which was remastered in the previous offseason, gave up only 20.5 points per game, the third best mark in the Mountain West behind only Fresno State (18.8) and San Diego State (15.4).

The problem?

The Cowboys managed to score a grand total of 10 points against those former conference rivals in back to back lopsided road losses. Want to bring an immediate scowl to Sawvel's face? Bring up his offense's average points per game last fall -- 16.

Enter Taylor.

Before transitioning to the NFL, Taylor served as the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at his alma mater, leading the Tribe from 2020-23. Some of the highlights during that four-year stretch include single season school records in rushing yards (3,455), rushing yards per game (265.8) and rushing yards per carry (5.9). During that same 2022 season, his offense averaged 33.5 points per game while rolling up 448.8 yards an outing.

Quarterback Darius Wilson also connected on better than 63% of his throws while amassing 2,286 yards and 16 touchdowns through the air. He added 532 more on the ground to go along with four scores.

William & Mary finished No. 8 in the national FCS polls with an 11-2 record. The Tribe eventually fell to Montana State in the quarterfinals.

How did Taylor follow up that performance?

The 41-year-old was named the FCS Assistant Coach of the Year after his unit once again featured one of the most potent running attacks in the nation. Three running backs -- Malachi Imoh, Bronson Yoder and Martin Lucas -- combined to rush for 1,524 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wilson added 1,568 passing yards and 377 more with his legs.

"Being really good at your core concepts and your base fundamentals," Taylor said, is what makes numbers like the one above happen. "Dress it up a million different ways and stay unpredictable."

Sawvel's marching orders, publicly, anyway, are straight forward -- Score.

Wyoming's longtime athletics director has a vision, too -- develop a quarterback.

Taylor said he's ready for that responsibility.

"The opportunity to leave Buffalo, at the time, to be blatantly honest, was a really, really, tough decision," he said. "My passion is calling 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. So, I had some good chats with (former Bills) coach (Sean) McDermott about it also. But, that was the ultimate decision. I see how close this program is to achieving some great things, and I'm hoping to come help get that done for us."

Wyoming inked 20 new transfers during the two-week January portal window. While Hughes could be considered the biggest priority, Sawvel and Co. also signed three veteran offensive linemen in Jason Maciejczak (Nebraska), Chandler Donaway (East Texas A&M) and Jeremiah Katt (Northern Arizona).

The main addition, though, could come from within.

Leading rusher Samuel "Tote" Harris announced he would return for his sophomore campaign. So did slot receiver Deion DeBlanc. Tight end Jake Wilson, who missed all of 2025 with a knee injury, is also back in the mix.

Taylor has only been in town for three days, but he's done his homework.

"It's really hard to tackle in space," he said. "I was part of hours and hours of defensive conversations of, 'how do you tackle guys in space?' It's hard. So, whatever we can do, however many ways we have to do it to get those athletes in space, that'll help us as an offense."

Don't be alarmed by the title Taylor had bestowed upon him in Buffalo, either. His main responsibility, he added, was studying -- and breaking down -- elite offensive schemes at the highest level. He had a pretty good quarterback to practice against on a daily basis, too.

Though he wasn't getting into detail -- despite saying he could "talk ball" all day long -- Taylor laid out what he envisions for his unit March 24 when the Cowboys take the field for spring practices.

"When people go against us, and people watch us, they're going to feel us play," he said. "No. 1, I want people to see and feel the physicality, the toughness and grit that we're going to play with. We've got to be a two-dimensional offense. We got to be elite in the run and in the pass game. Once you're a one-dimensional offense, it's too easy to defend.

"... It's a cliche, but target your best players and get them on the field to do what they do. Football is a simple game. Sometimes, as coaches, we make it a lot more complicated than it needs to be, but it'll be a variety of personalities. You can classify it as a position-less offense. You're not going to know how we're going to line up based on who's on the field."

Buckle up.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players