There probably won’t be any time for a quick stop at Campus Pollyeyes for Gregg Brandon. He’ll be too
busy working.
Brandon, who coached at Bowling Green for eight years, including six years as head coach, returns to
Northwest Ohio this weekend as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Wyoming Cowboys.
The Falcons host the Cowboys Saturday with kickoff at noon in Perry Stadium.
Brandon was let go by Bowling Green after the 2008 season. After posting an 8-5 record and going to a
bowl game in 2007, Brandon had been given a three-year contract extension by BG athletics director Greg
Christopher.
“One of the things that I wish I had done when I left was have the opportunity to just tell everybody
publicly what a great experience it was to be the head coach at Bowling Green,” Brandon said in a
telephone interview on Monday.
Brandon was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Bowling Green under Urban Meyer in 2001
and 2002. He took over as head coach for the 2003 season after Meyer abruptly left for Utah.
The Falcons were 44-30 under Brandon, including a 2-1 record in bowl games. The Falcons were 31-17 in
Mid-American Conference games under Brandon.
“To have the success that we had there, the bowl games and being in the hunt for MAC championships,
getting to the championship game, graduating our players — all the things that I wanted to achieve as a
head coach, I got an opportunity to do there,” Brandon said. “Unfortunately it didn’t end as we thought
it would, but at the end of the day I don’t have any regrets about the job I did there.
“The people were great, for the most part,” Brandon continued. “I coached some great players there,
learned a lot of football, and had some great coaches.
“That’s what I take away from my years at BG.”
Brandon also said he learned about the tradition of Bowling Green, including Doyt Perry and the stadium
named after the legendary coach, and the old-time players who return for games.
“That was a great thing about Bowling Green, the tradition and the pride the Falcons have throughout the
country,” Brandon said.
After leaving Bowling Green, Brandon spent one season as the offensive coordinator at the University of
Virginia and one year as the tight ends coach for the UFL Las Vegas franchise before being hired at
Wyoming. Brandon previously was the wide receivers coach at Wyoming from 1987-90. He has been in
coaching since 1981.
When asked if he thought he would be back in Bowling Green less than three years after leaving, Brandon
laughed and said: “You know what, that’s college football and it’s a business. I feel lucky that I’m
able to do what I do best and that I have an opportunity to keep doing that.
“So as long as I can stay employed and have fun doing what I’m doing then I’ll do it.”
When current Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen was an assistant coach at Missouri he visited Bowling
Green to learn more about the spread offense used by Brandon.
“I thought it would be fun to coach with him at a place that I knew,” Brandon said. “I know you can win
here. Don’t get me wrong it’s a tough job, but they’re all tough.”
The Falcons and Cowboys are both 2-0.
“We’re off to a nice start. It’s nice to get a couple of W’s,” Brandon said about his current team. “We
went in with a really young offense. The thing that we’re stressing with our guys is that we’re stepping
into the real world, going on the road and playing a D-I caliber team.”
Wyoming will adjust its practices to help acclimate the team for Saturday’s noon start, which is 10 a.m.
in Wyoming.
“I would rather play day games anyway,” Brandon said. “I hate those night games because you sit around
all day.”
When asked about what kind of reception he might receive from Falcon fans, Brandon said: “I’m just coming
to win a football game. All that peripheral stuff, this isn’t about Gregg Brandon. This is about
Wyoming-BG.”