Laramie, Wyo. (May 21, 2019) — Wyoming head football coach Craig Bohl announced on today Willie Mack Garza is joining the Cowboy coaching staff as safeties coach. Garza had previously coached with Bohl at North Dakota State for four seasons (2005-08), serving as the defensive coordinator for the Bison his last three seasons. Garza will be entering his 24th season as a college football coach in 2019.
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During Garza’s time working with Bohl at North Dakota State, the Bison compiled a 33-11 (.750) record, had two 10-1 seasons and defeated three FBS schools in Minnesota, Ball State, and Central Michigan.
“We are excited about the body of work and experience that Coach Garza brings to our coaching staff,” said Bohl. “Willie Mack and I have enjoyed a long relationship through the years. He is a seasoned coach, who had a lot to do with our defensive success at North Dakota State, and he is very experienced in coaching within our system.
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“I do want to make one thing clear, Willie Mack has acknowledged a mistake he made 10 years ago that resulted in him being disciplined by the NCAA for a recruiting violation. Since then, he has been reinstated by the NCAA. We have a reputation of holding ourselves to high ethical standards here at the University of Wyoming, and I expect Coach Garza to follow those high standards.”
In November 2012, the NCAA infractions committee imposed a three-year “show-cause” order upon Garza in connection with a recruiting violation he was involved in at the University of Tennessee in June 2009. That “show-cause” order limited Garza’s ability to accept another job at an NCAA school during that three-year period.
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“Our compliance staff has worked with the NCAA to gain a thorough understanding of exactly what occurred in relation to Coach Garza’s ‘show-cause’ order,” said Tom Burman, UW Director of Athletics. “Our compliance staff also reached out to other schools who have hired coaches who previously had ‘show-cause’ orders imposed upon them to get a better understanding of education they provided to those coaches and other processes they put in place. We are committed to bringing in the best coaches available to help our student-athletes and our teams succeed, but we will never compromise our standards in regard to doing things the right way here at Wyoming.”
With the addition of Garza to the Wyoming coaching staff to coach the safeties, UW defensive coordinator Jake Dickert will shift to coaching the Cowboy linebackers in addition to continuing in his role as defensive coordinator.
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Willie Mack Garza’s Coaching Experience
2019- Wyoming Safeties
2019 Texas A&M Commerce Defensive Secondary
2018 Dixie State Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Secondary
2017 Dixie State Defensive Secondary
2016 Lamar Cornerbacks Coach
2015 Prairie View A&M Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator
2013-14 Pearl River C.C. (Miss.) Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Secondary
2010 USC Defensive Secondary
2009 Tennessee Defensive Secondary
2006-08 North Dakota State Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Secondary
2005 North Dakota State Defensive Secondary
2004 Tarleton State Defensive Secondary
2001-03 TCU Cornerbacks
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