Wyoming loses offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon to New Mexico State

The Wyoming Cowboys are in the search of a new offensive coordinator since Gregg Brandon left to take the same position with the New Mexico St. Aggies. Brandon had been with Wyoming for the past two years running the offense and coaching the quarterbacks. He brought great experience since previously was the head coach at Bowling Green from 2003--08.

The move is an interesting one since New Mexico State is going into the wilderness known as football independence due to the WAC no longer sponsoring football. There is no way this job is considered a step up for Brandon.

Here is what newly promoted New Mexico State says about hiring Brandon:

"Gregg (Brandon) brings a wealth of experience that is hard to find at this level, while being one of only two people I trust to hand over the play calling for this offense. Obviously having head coaching experience at the Division I level at Bowling Green University gives him a lot of experiences that will be very valuable to this program. I think the biggest thing that Aggie fans need to know is that Gregg Brandon wanted to be here at New Mexico State."

Brandon knew Martin when the two coached in the MAC, so there was familiarity between the two. However, the main reason for the move came down to cold hard cash. New Mexico State was able to offer a hefty pay raise to Brandon, and not due to his duties switching from coaching the quarterbacks to the running backs.

It is hard to imagine that New Mexico State was able to offer a significant pay raise for a new coach, because just a few years ago the program was so hard out for cash that they asked fans to provide snacks after practice. Now with the WAC falling apart and very little television revenue coming in, the only way it makes sense that New Mexico State can offer more money is that they no longer are paying DeWayne Walker.

Walker up and left the program as their head coach recently to take a job in the NFL. The job he took was the defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. So that opened up some cash, and it also shows how difficult it is going to be at New Mexico State.

One can not fault Brandon for taking job with a coach he has ties with, or to take a job worth more money. While Wyoming was not the best team in the Mountain West, they were better off than New Mexico State.

While the loss has terrible timing, it is not all that bad for Wyoming. This is head coach Dave Christensen's offense, so there will not be much of a difference for whoever the program decides to hire. It very well could be possible that Wyoming may not hire a new offensive coordinator, and just let Christensen handle the offense and head coaching details.