Dave Christensen
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Dave Christensen’s first year as a college head coach was filled with highlights. He led the Wyoming Cowboys to a bowl game in his first season, becoming only the second Cowboy head coach to accomplish that feat — the other being Paul Roach in 1987. Christensen became the first UW head coach to win a bowl game in his first season, as his Pokes defeated Fresno State, 35-28 in double overtime, in the New Mexico Bowl.
Entering 2011 Coach Christensen led the Cowboys to yet another New Mexico Bowl appearance, posting an 8-5 record in regular season play, and 5-2 in Mountain West Conference play. In 2012 The Pokes were led to their fourth consecutive Border War Victory against rival Colorado State University, another feat that hasn’t taken place since the rivalry originated in 1968.
Wyoming Football hired its dynamic and innovative new leader on Dec. 1, 2008, as University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman announced that Christensen, then the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Missouri, had been selected as the new head coach of the Cowboys.
“We are thrilled to be able to attract a coach with the experience that Coach (Dave) Christensen brings to our program,” said Burman at the time of Christensen’s hiring. “He is one of the great offensive minds in college football, and he will bring a very exciting brand of football to Jonah Field.
“The plan he presented to us for building a comprehensive program was the best we heard in our search process. I am confident that he will put an outstanding coaching staff together, and that they will hit the ground running. With Dave leading Cowboy Football, I believe our program will make dramatic progress in the coming years and return to a position of prominence in the Mountain West Conference.”
After serving as an assistant coach at the college level for 24 years, Christensen expressed the emotions he felt upon earning his first head-coaching position.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be given the opportunity to lead the Wyoming Cowboy Football program,” said Christensen. “The opportunity to become a head coach is something I’ve been preparing for my entire career.
“This is a great job at an outstanding university. Wyoming has a rich football tradition, and combined with the new, state-of-the art facilities, I know we can win here.”
Christensen became the 31st coach in Wyoming Football history, and was signed to a five-year contract — a contract that was extended in the spring of 2010 to run through Dec. 31, 2014. At the time of Christensen’s contract extension, Burman had this to say.
“In his first year, Coach (Dave) Christensen did an outstanding job of returning Wyoming Football to a competitive position in the Mountain West Conference. He led our football program to a winning record and a New Mexico Bowl victory, and it was evident by the large number of fans at the bowl game that he has reenergized our fan base.
“We are excited about the future of Cowboy Football and the leadership that Coach Christensen has provided, and we are pleased to announce this extension of his contract.”
While the offensive coordinator at Missouri, Christensen was named the 2007 National Offensive Coordinator of the Year by Rivals.com and was also runner-up for the 2007 Frank Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in the nation each season.
He helped lead the Missouri Tigers to the Big 12 Championship game in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons as champions of the Big 12 North.
In 2008, Mizzou ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in passing offense (330.4 yards per game), No. 6 in scoring offense (42.2 points per game) and No. 8 in total offense (484.1 yards per game). The Tigers concluded the 2008 season ranked No. 16 in the final USA Today Coaches’ Poll, No. 19 in the final Associated Press Media Poll and were No. 21 in the final BCS Rankings entering the college bowl season. Missouri defeated Northwestern, 30-23 in overtime, in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl.
The 2007 season saw Missouri conclude the season ranked No. 4 in the final Associated Press ranking. That was the highest season-ending ranking in school history for the Tigers. Mizzou finished the season by defeating Arkansas, 38-7, in the Cotton Bowl, giving the Tigers a school record 12th win on the season. His 2007 offense ranked No. 5 in the nation in total offense (490.3 yards per game), No. 8 in scoring offense (39.9 points per game) and No. 9 in passing offense (314.1 yards per game).
Christensen served as an assistant coach under Gary Pinkel from 1992 to 2008 — first at the University of Toledo from 1992-2000 and then at Missouri from 2001-08. Christensen was Pinkel’s offensive coordinator from 1997-2008, and coached the offensive line for 17 seasons at Toledo and Missouri.
Beginning in 2005, Christensen devised and implemented one of college football’s most exciting, no-huddle, spread offenses.
In 2007, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, while Christensen’s offense scored a school record 558 points, far surpassing the previous Missouri record of 399 points in a single season.
In addition to Daniel’s fourth-place finish in the 2007 Heisman Trophy voting, Christensen’s offensive unit had three other Tigers earn national honors that year. Senior tight end Martin Rucker and freshman wide receiver Jeremy Maclin were both Consensus First Team All-America selections, marking the first time in Missouri school history that it had two Consensus First Team All-Americans in the same season. Senior center Adam Spieker was named a finalist for the Rimington Award, which honors the nation’s top offensive center each season. Spieker also earned Third Team All-America honors from Associated Press.
Three additional Tiger offensive linemen earned All-Big 12 honors in 2007, including Tyler Luellen (a Second Team selection), Colin Brown (Honorable Mention All-Big 12) and Kurtis Gregory (Honorable Mention All-Big 12).
His final season at Missouri, the Tigers once again had two Consensus First Team All-Americans in Maclin and tight end Chase Coffman. Coffman also was selected as the winner of the 2008 John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end, while Maclin was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the nation’s top wide receiver. Joining Coffman and Maclin as All-Big 12 offensive performers in ‘08 were: running back Derrick Washington (Second Team); offensive lineman Gregory (Second Team); offensive lineman Tim Barnes (Honorable Mention); offensive lineman Brown (Honorable Mention); quarterback Daniel (Honorable Mention) and wide receiver Tommy Saunders (Honorable Mention).
The Tigers finished the 2006 season with the nation’s No. 8 ranked offense, averaging 425.6 yards per game, and that included the nation’s No. 10 ranked passing attack, at 276.2 yards an outing. Two of Christensen’s linemen earned All-Big 12 honors, as senior tackle Joel Clinger earned First Team honors and Spieker was an Honorable Mention selection.
Christensen’s offense underwent a major transformation to a spread, no-huddle attack in 2005, and was very successful in the first year running the new system. His attack, executed by record-setting quarterback Brad Smith, ended the 2005 season ranked in the top four in the Big 12, and in the Top 40 nationally in three major categories – rushing (205.3 yards per game – No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 17 in the NCAA), total offense (429.8 ypg – No. 4 in the Big 12 and No. 24 in the nation) and scoring offense (30.8 points per game – No. 4 in the Big 12 and No. 34 in the country).
Despite going to battle each week with a young offensive line that featured just one senior starter, the offense jelled right away, as the Tigers rolled to 657 yards in the 2005 season opener against Arkansas State. That was just three yards shy of the school record. Three of Christensen’s linemen won All-Big 12 honors in 2005, led by senior left guard Tony Palmer, who earned First Team league honors for the first time in his career. He was joined by sophomore center Spieker and junior right tackle Joel Clinger, who both won honorable mention acclaim. Palmer also earned Second Team All-Big 12 accolades in 2004, and eventually became a seventh-round draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams.
In 2003, the Tiger rushing attack proved to be one of the most potent in the nation, as MU led the Big 12 Conference, and ranked sixth nationally with an average of 237.5 yards per game. That marked the first time since 1960 that MU won a conference rushing championship, when the Tigers led the old Big Eight with a mark of 249.3 yards per game. Its 3,087 rushing yards for the season ranked second in school history. Senior center A.J. Ricker and senior tackle Rob Droege each earned First Team All-Big 12 honors for their play in 2003, while sophomore guard Palmer earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12. Ricker and Droege both signed free agent contracts in the spring of 2004 with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Scott Paffrath signed a free agent deal with the Washington Redskins following the 2005 NFL Draft.
Under Christensen’s guidance, Mizzou featured one of the most potent attacks in school history in 2002. The Tigers averaged 30.0 points per game, and the 360 points scored were the third-most in MU history at the time. Christensen’s balanced run-pass attack turned redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Smith into one of the nation’s most talked about players, as he became just the second player in NCAA Division I-A history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Mizzou’s emphasis on a disciplined attack also produced an offense that led the nation in fewest turnovers, with just 11 offensive giveaways in 12 games.
In his final seven seasons at the University of Toledo, the Rockets’ offense set or reset some 75 school records. During that period, the Rockets posted an undefeated and Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship season in 1995 and won three MAC West titles (1997, 1998 and 2000). They concluded the ‘95 campaign with a 40-37 overtime win over Nevada to capture the Las Vegas Bowl Championship. In 1999, Toledo was 10th in the country in rushing (239.2) and led the nation in yards per attempt (5.35).
Christensen coached center Andy McCollum while at Toledo. McCollum was a First Team All-MAC selection in 1992, and would later become the starting center for the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. Another Toledo lineman, Colin Westrich, was named Third Team All-American by the Sporting News in 1999.
Christensen came to Toledo from Idaho State University where he coached the offensive line, tight ends and running backs for two seasons (1990-91). Prior to his stint at Idaho State, he served two seasons as a graduate assistant offensive line coach under Don James at the University of Washington in 1988 and ‘89. Christensen also played football for the Huskies for three seasons from 1980-82.
Christensen earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Western Washington in 1985 and a master of science degree in college instruction and sports science from Eastern Washington in 1988.
He is 49 years old, born Jan. 17, 1961. Christensen and his wife Susie have three children, Katie, D.J. and Emily.
National Award Winners/Candidates
2008 Chase Coffman, TE John Mackey Award Winner, Nation’s Top Tight End
Jeremy Maclin, WR Fred Biletnikoff Award Finalist, Nation’s Top Receiver
2007 Chase Coffman, TE John Mackey Award Semifinalist, Nation’s Top Tight End
Chase Daniel, QB Heisman Trophy, Finished No. 4 in balloting
O’Brien Award, Walter Camp Award and Manning Award Finalist
Maxwell Award Semifinalist
Adam Spieker, OL Rimington Award Finalist, Nation’s Top Center
2006 Chase Coffman, TE John Mackey Award Semifinalist, Nation’s Top Tight End
2012 Coach of the Year Dave Christensen
2012 Freshman of the Year Brett Smith
All-Americans Coached
Wyoming All-Americans
2009 Shamiel Gary, SS First Team Freshman All-American, Football Writers Association of America
Missouri All-Americans
2008 Chase Coffman, TE First Team, Consensus
Jeremy Maclin, WR First Team, Consensus
2007 Jeremy Maclin, WR First Team, Consensus
Martin Rucker, TE First Team, Consensus
Chase Daniel, QB Second Team, Associated Press, Walter Camp, Sporting News, Rivals.com
Adam Spieker, OL Third Team, Associated Press
Toledo All-Americans
2000 Chester Taylor, RB Honorable Mention, Football News
1999 Colin Westrich, OL Third Team, Sporting News
All-Conference Players Coached
Wyoming All-Conference Players
2009 John Fletcher, DT First Team
Brian Hendricks, LB Second Team
Chris Prosinski, FS Second Team
David Leonard, WR Honorable Mention
Austin McCoy, P Honorable Mention
Mitch Unrein, DE Honorable Mention
Austyn Carta-Samuels, QB Freshman of the Year
Missouri All-Conference Players
2008 Jeremy Maclin, WR First Team
Derrick Washington, RB Second Team
Chase Coffman, TE Second Team
Kurtis Gregory, OL Second Team
Tim Barnes, OL Honorable Mention
Colin Brown, OL Honorable Mention
Chase Daniel, QB Honorable Mention
Tommy Saunders, WR Honorable Mention
2007 Chase Daniel, QB First Team and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
Jeremy Maclin, WR First Team and Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year
Martin Rucker, TE First Team
Adam Spieker, OL First Team
Chase Coffman, TE Second Team
Tyler Luellen, OL Second Team
Colin Brown, OL Honorable Mention
Will Franklin, WR Honorable Mention
Kurtis Gregory, OL Honorable Mention
Tony Temple, RB Honorable Mention
2006 Joel Clinger, OL First Team
Martin Rucker, TE First Team
Chase Coffman, TE Second Team
Chase Daniel, QB Second Team
Will Franklin, WR Honorable Mention
Adam Spieker, OL Honorable Mention
Tony Temple, RB Honorable Mention
2005 Tony Palmer, OL First Team
Brad Smith, All-Purpose First Team
Joel Clinger, OL Honorable Mention
Sean Coffey, WR Honorable Mention
Martin Rucker, TE Honorable Mention
Adam Spieker, OL Honorable Mention
2004 Tony Palmer, OL Second Team
Sean Coffey, WR Honorable Mention
Brad Smith, QB Honorable Mention
2003 Rob Droege, OL First Team
A.J. Ricker, OL First Team
Zack Abron, RB Second Team
Brad Smith, QB Third Team
J.D. McCoy, TE Honorable Mention
Tony Palmer, OL Honorable Mention
2002 Rob Droege, OL First Team
Justin Gage, WR First Team
A.J. Ricker, OL Second Team
Zack Abron, RB Honorable Mention
Brad Smith, QB Honorable Mention
2001 Justin Gage, WR First Team
Aaron Crittendon, OL Second Team
Zack Abron, RB Third Team
A.J. Ricker, OL Third Team
Dwayne Blakely, TE Honorable Mention
Justin Bland, OL Honorable Mention
Mike Hayes, OL Honorable Mention
Toledo All-Conference Players
2000 Tavares Bolden, QB First Team
Jim Harding, OL First Team
Chester Taylor, RB First Team
Michael Schaefer, OL Second Team
1999 Chester Taylor, RB First Team
Colin Westrich, OL First Team
1998 Colin Westrich, OL First Team
Mike Bilik, TE Second Team
1997 Dwayne Harris, RB First Team
Jim Bates, OL Second Team
Mike Bilik, TE Second Team
Brock Kreitzurg, WR Second Team
Chris Wallace, QB Second Team
Colin Westrich, OL Second Team
1996 Nate Johnson, OL Second Team
1995 Kevin Montgomery, OL Second Team
1994 Chadd Dehn, OL Second Team
Pete Stone, OL Second Team
1993 Charlie Webb, OL Second Team
1992 Andy McCollum, OL First Team
College Head-Coaching Record
Overall Record Conference Record Conference Postseason
Season School W L % W L % Finish Appearance
2009 Wyoming 7 6 .538 4 4 .500 5th New Mexico Bowl
College Assistant-Coaching Record
Overall Record Conference Record Conference Postseason
Season School W L T % W L T % Finish Appearance
2008 Missouri 10 4 0 .714 5 3 0 .625 1st (Big 12 North) Valero Alamo Bowl
2007 Missouri 12 2 0 .857 7 1 0 .875 1st (Big 12 North) AT&T Cotton Bowl
2006 Missouri 8 5 0 .615 4 4 0 .500 2nd (Big 12 North) Sun Bowl
2005 Missouri 7 5 0 .583 4 4 0 .500 2nd (Big 12 North) Independence Bowl
2004 Missouri 5 6 0 .455 3 5 0 .375 3rd (Big 12 North)
2003 Missouri 8 5 0 .615 4 4 0 .500 3rd (Big 12 North) Independence Bowl
2002 Missouri 5 7 0 .417 2 6 0 .250 5th (Big 12 North)
2001 Missouri 4 7 0 .364 3 5 0 .375 5th (Big 12 North)
Record at Missouri (8 years) 59 41 0 .590 32 32 0 .500
2000 Toledo 10 1 0 .909 6 1 0 .857 Tie 1st (MAC West)
1999 Toledo 6 5 0 .545 5 3 0 .625 Tie 2nd (MAC West)
1998 Toledo 7 5 0 .583 6 2 0 .750 1st (MAC West) MAC Champ. Game
1997 Toledo 9 3 0 .750 7 1 0 .875 1st (MAC West) MAC Champ. Game
1996 Toledo 7 4 0 .636 6 2 0 .750 Tie 2nd
1995 Toledo 11 0 1 .958 7 0 1 .938 1st Las Vegas Bowl
1994 Toledo 6 4 1 .591 4 3 1 .563 6th
1993 Toledo 4 7 0 .364 3 5 0 .375 Tie 7th
1992 Toledo 8 3 0 .727 5 3 0 .625 Tie 3rd
Record at Toledo (9 years) 68 32 2 .676 49 20 2 .704
1991 Idaho State 3 7 1 .318 2 6 0 .250 7th
1990 Idaho State 3 8 0 .273 1 7 0 .125 9th
Record at Idaho State (2 years) 6 15 1 .295 3 13 0 .188
1989 Washington 8 4 0 .667 5 3 0 .625 Tie 2nd Freedom Bowl
1988 Washington 6 5 0 .545 3 5 0 .375 6th
Record at Washington (2 years) 14 9 0 .609 8 8 0 .500
1987 Eastern Washington 4 7 0 .364 2 6 0 .250 8th
1986 Eastern Washington 6 5 0 .545 (NCAA I-AA Independent) NA
Record at E. Washington (2 years) 10 12 0 .455 2 6 0 .250
1983 Western Washington 1 9 0 .100 1 6 0 .143 8th
Record at W. Washington (1 year) 1 9 0 .100 1 6 0 .143
Overall Record as a Head Coach 7- 6-0 (.538) in one season
Football Bowl Subdivision Record as an Assistant Coach 141- 82-2 (.631) in 19 seasons
Overall Record as a College Assistant Coach 158-118-3 (.572) in 24 seasons