Willie Mack Garza has joined Wyoming's staff, the program announced Tuesday.
Garza spent the 2017-18 campaigns at Dixie State, the last one as defensive coordinator. He left Dixie State earlier this year to join David Bailiff's staff as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach, but will now return to the Rocky Mountain region. Garza coached for Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl from 2005-08 at North Dakota State.
"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."
Garza left Fargo after the 2008 campaign to work for Lane Kiffin, first at Tennessee and then USC. He was hit with a 2-year "show cause" penalty for a recruiting violation during his year at Tennessee, but that period has now long passed.
"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," Bohl said. "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."
With Garza now aboard, defensive coordinator Jake Dickert will slide from defensive backs coach to linebackers coach.
"First and foremost this is a blessing that Coach (Craig) Bohl and the University of Wyoming Athletics Department has provided me this opportunity to come coach here," said Garza. "I love coaching. It is in my blood. I love being around the players and the other coaches, going into the WAR Room and preparing. This is also an opportunity for me to provide a platform for young men to be successful on and off the football field in the four to five years that they are here and for the rest of their lives."
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