Former Dragons LB Aaron Bohl ready for new role as Wyoming defensive coordinator

FARGO — As the sun sets on former North Dakota State head football coach Craig Bohl’s career, his son Aaron Bohl’s coaching career is ascending.

Aaron was recently elevated to defensive coordinator at the University of Wyoming for next season. First order of business, however, the Cowboys (8-4) play Toledo (11-2) at 3:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Dec. 30, in the Arizona Bowl in Tucson.

Craig is set to coach his final game for Wyoming after announcing his retirement in early December.

“I’m so excited for his retirement,” said Aaron, who turns 30 on Jan. 1. “He put everything he can into every program he was at. I’m excited to coach with him for his last game.”

Craig has a 60-60 record in his 10 seasons with the Cowboys. Prior to that, he spent 11 seasons at NDSU, leading the Bison to Division I FCS national championships (2011, 2012, 2013) in his final three seasons. He had a 104-32 record while at NDSU.

“I’m proud of him,” Aaron added. “He’s had a good career.”

Cowboys defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel is taking over for Craig, and Aaron will move into the defensive coordinator role next fall. Aaron — who played linebacker at Minnesota State Moorhead from 2012-2016 — has been on the Wyoming staff since 2017 and has coached linebackers since 2019.

“I’m excited for the challenge,” Aaron said of leading the Wyoming defense. “I’m excited to learn a lot. This is something I’ve wanted for a while.”

Bohl was a four-year starter for the Dragons and also was a three-year captain for Dragons head coach Steve Laqua.

“It’s a great step for him. I think he’s ready,” Laqua said. “It’s not just the Xs and Os. It’s his ability to lead.”

Aaron said his father and Laqua are among his biggest coaching influences.

“Coach Laqua was a huge one for me in terms of how to deal with people and leadership,” Aaron said. “He set a lot of my foundation of values and how I treat people, between him and my dad.”

Aaron added working with former Wyoming defensive coordinators Scottie Hazelton and Jake Dickert, along with Sawvel, are among his main influences when it comes to defensive schematics.

Hazelton and Dickert — now the head coach at Washington State — are both former NDSU assistant coaches.

“Those five have done a great job of setting my foundation,” Aaron said.

Aaron said he plans to run a defense similar to the “Tampa 2” defense, which NDSU ran under Craig Bohl and since.

“It’s still in the same family I would say,” Aaron said. “I consider us more of a cousin of the family rather than a brother. We have enough changes over time, but the foundation is still the same.”

Aaron said he’s ready to step into a coordinator role after learning from Hazelton, Dickert and Sawvel, along with his father, who has a background as a defensive coach.

Craig has been a college coach for more than 40 years.

“He’s shown me that for a long time, the attention to detail needed,” Aaron said. “It’s meant a lot to me.”

Laqua has enjoyed watching Aaron succeed as a coach.

“You’re happy for them when they succeed on the football field,” Laqua said. “When you see that same type of success in their personal and professional lives, you are as happy and satisfied as you are when they are making those gains when they are here as a student-athlete.”

Laqua said he first met Aaron when Aaron was in elementary school and hanging around NDSU’s football camps.

“He’s come a long way,” Laqua said. “It’s nice to see him continue to build on the leadership skills he displayed here at MSUM. … On his recruiting visit, he wanted to be a football coach.”

Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.