Wyoming in the Market For New Running Backs Coach

LARAMIE -- "Page not found."

Don't bother looking for Donnell Kirkwood's bio on Wyoming football's official website.

You won't find it.

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The team's newest running backs coach, who was hired just 82 days ago, abruptly left the program Tuesday morning, the opening day of spring practices in Laramie.

Kirkwood is reportedly heading to Washington State.

"It's unfortunate timing," head coach Jay Sawvel said. "It's a disappointing thing. It wasn't a major difference in finances involved in this type of situation even though, I guess, he'll get a little bit of a raise where he goes and he can go enjoy that.

"So, we're going to talk about people that are relevant to the Wyoming Cowboys and not talk about people who aren't."

Kirkwood came to Laramie from the University of North Dakota, replacing longtime UW coach Gordie Haug, who ironically was hired by the new staff in Grand Forks.

That's not the only irony tied to this departure.

Sawvel also coached Kirkwood when he was a running back at the University of Minnesota from 2010-14, where he was named the 2014 Paul Giel Award recipient during his senior year. That honor is reserved for the player who demonstrates concern for the school and unselfishness on and off the field.

During his introductory press conference on Feb. 5, Kirkwood touched on a number of subjects, including reuniting with his former college coach, his impression of the returning running backs and the beauty of his new home, among other things.

His philosophy, he added, was simple.

"We gotta come in and bring a different mentality," Kirkwood said. "It'll be every day, every day. Like, I couldn't care less about how talented you are, it's all about work ethic. When you work hard, it'll come together."

Kirkwood is joining former UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund in Pullman. The two worked together for one season back in 2023 before the latter jumped ship to South Dakota State and eventually Wazzu.

Sawvel said Tuesday night he would be working the phones to quickly find Kirkwood's replacement. He even busted out a Craig Bohl quote, saying "Don't lock your knees," meaning the program needs to remain flexible and keep on moving.

The tone in Sawvel's voice, though, left little doubt about his feelings on the matter. His words didn't mask much, either.

"Like I said, it's inconvenient," he added. "There's a time for everything, and there's an understanding of certain things, OK? You know, had this been, go to Oregon, triple your money, I would have been the first guy to say, hey, you know, you got to do that. When it's not that, you sit there and look at it and go, OK, this is not a good deal. So, we'll get it handled."

This isn't the first coach to bolt before the ink was dry on his contract.

Remember AJ Blazek?

Didn't think so.

He was hired as the team's new offensive line coach in January of 2020, replacing Bart Miller, who recently accepted the same position at the University of Illinois. Blazek came from Bohl's old stomping grounds, North Dakota State.

He was at Vanderbilt by February.

Prior to Miller joining the staff in Laramie, Bohl hired Klayton Adams, who spent the previous six seasons at Colorado. That became official on Jan. 11. Adams lasted all of 27 days before accepting an assistant offensive line position with the Indianapolis Colts.

This is not the first time a coach has left Wyoming for Pullman, either.

Dennis Erickson led the Cowboys to a 6-6 record in 1986, his lone season on the high plains. That offseason, he was lured away by Wazzu, which was located in his home state. He roamed the sidelines inside Martin Stadium for just two years.

More recently, Jake Dickert, Wyoming's defensive coordinator in 2019 and a safeties coach in 2017-18, left to join Nick Rolovich's staff. Cornerbacks coach John Richardson and defensive ends coach AJ Cooper followed him to the Palouse.

When Dickert became the head coach in 2021, he hired Pete Kaligis, the longest-tenured coach in Cowboy history.

Though he led the defensive tackles at the time, Kaligis also served as a co-offensive coordinator, ran the offensive line and running backs and was a run-game coordinator during his 12 seasons in Laramie.

Those two are now at Wake Forest.

Sawvel on Tuesday was more interested in talking about footwork, fundamentals and hand placement. It's the "boring" stuff, he added, that needs to be worked out early on in camp.

He's confident he'll soon find a replacement in the running back room.

"I'm OK with it," he continued, referring to Kirkwood's exit. "We'll do a good job."

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