(Editor's note: UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. - The Wyoming Cowboys announced a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Wednesday when Tim Polasek was named to the University of Wyoming football coaching staff by head coach Craig Bohl. Polasek has been the offensive line coach at the University of Iowa the past four seasons (2017-20). Prior to Iowa, Polasek (pronounced PAWL-uh-seck) was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at North Dakota State for three years from 2014-16. He was a record-setting quarterback himself at Concordia University in Wisconsin.
“We’re excited about welcoming Tim Polasek to the Cowboy family,” said Bohl. “His experience coaching on the offensive side of the football is going to add great value as we continue to re-engineer and improve our offense going into the 2021 season.”
“First and foremost I’d like to thank my wife, Jill, for being by my side on this wild journey,” said Polasek. “She can’t wait to get to Laramie and meet the rest of the staff.
“To reunite with Coach Bohl, a true mentor of mine, is very special. A long time ago Coach Bohl took a chance on me and helped me learn how to be a teacher and a leader. He laid the foundation of what is my coaching philosophy and teaching style. I will do everything I can to help him continue his success with Cowboy Football.“A huge thank you to Kirk Ferentz for taking a shot on an offensive coach who had never coached the O-line. I’ve learned so much in my four years at Iowa, and I will forever be grateful. He taught me what is really important in this business and what is just noise. In my time at Iowa, I can honestly say that I learned something from him every day. Coach Ferentz and his staff exemplify what it is to be true professionals. I wish them all the best moving forward.“I would like to thank all of my former players for accepting me and allowing me to help them achieve success and reach their full potential. They all hold a special place in my heart. Their improvements, their journeys and their accomplishments are truly why I love coaching football.
“I can’t wait to get to Laramie to see the first-class facilities and meet everyone in the program. I’m excited to get to work with the staff and players. It’s going to be important that we have a strong connection, communicate at a high level and challenge each other daily. Go Pokes!”
Polasek was part of four FCS national championships, five Missouri Valley Football Conference titles and one Great West Football Conference title at North Dakota State.
At Iowa in 2020, the Hawkeyes won six straight games, all in Big Ten play, to conclude the regular season. The Hawkeyes scored at least 26 points in each of those six wins. The winning streak included road wins at Minnesota, Penn State and Illinois, and trophy game victories over Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 15 in the nation in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings and the final Coaches Poll rankings, while ranking No. 16 in the final Associated Press media poll.
Iowa has won three straight postseason games and 12 straight non-conference games. The Hawkeyes were selected to compete in the 2020 Music City Bowl, but that event was canceled. Iowa’s current streak of eight straight bowl invitations matches the longest in school history. The Hawkeyes have won 27 games the past three seasons.
Iowa’s offense in 2020 led the Big Ten in red-zone offense (0.917), ranked second in scoring (31.8) and third in fewest tackles for loss allowed (5.1). Sophomore center Tyler Linderbaum and senior tackle Alaric Jackson earned First Team All-Big Ten honors, while senior Cole Banwart was a Second Team selection. Linderbaum was one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy. Linderbaum and Jackson each earned First and Second Team All-America honors from media outlets.
The Hawkeyes won their final four games in 2019 and ranked 15th in the nation in the final Associated Press and Coaches Polls. Iowa concluded the 2019 campaign with a 10-3 record and defeated No. 22 USC, 49-24, in the Holiday Bowl. Iowa’s three losses were all to ranked opponents by a combined 14 points. The Hawkeyes were 4-1 in trophy games for the third straight season. Iowa ranked third in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed in 2019 (1.8), led the league in red-zone offense, ranked second in fourth-down conversions and fourth in time of possession.
Iowa’s efficient offense in 2019 featured junior tackle Tristan Wirfs, the Big Ten’s Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. Wirfs earned First Team All-America honors from as many as three national outlets. Jackson earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors and Linderbaum was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Wirfs declared for the 2020 NFL Draft following his junior season and was the 13th player selected in the first round. Wirfs started every game in his rookie season at right tackle for Tampa Bay, including starting in the 2021 Super Bowl victory.
Iowa won six of its first seven games in 2018 and closed the season with wins in the final three games, including a 27-22 Outback Bowl win over No. 18 Mississippi State. The Hawkeyes won three of four trophy games for the third time in four seasons. The four losses came by a total of 23 points and all were decided in the final minutes of play. Iowa’s 5-4 Big Ten record earned a tie for second place in the West Division.
The Iowa offense in 2018 set a school record for most points scored in road games, averaging 42.8 points in the five Big Ten contests. The Hawkeyes averaged 31.2 points in all games, the ninth highest single-season total in school history. Iowa led the Big Ten and ranked 14th in the nation in fewest sacks allowed (1.2 per game).
Four of Iowa’s offensive linemen earned postseason recognition in 2018. Jackson and senior guard Ross Reynolds earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, while senior center Keegan Render earned Third Team honors and Wirfs gained Honorable Mention recognition. Render and Reynolds were invited to NFL camps immediately following the 2019 NFL Draft, with Reynolds earning a spot on the practice squad of the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Quarterback Nate Stanley passed for over 2,800 yards and 26 touchdowns, while Iowa’s trio of running backs combined to rush for 1,723 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Iowa won eight games in 2017, including a 27-20 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College to conclude the season. The Hawkeyes scored over 50 points in November wins over third-ranked Ohio State (55-24) and Nebraska (56-14).
Due to injuries to returning senior starters Boone Myers and Ike Boettger in 2017, the Hawkeye offensive line included a redshirt freshman at left tackle and a true freshman at right tackle for the majority of the season. The offensive line paved the way for running back Akrum Wadley (1,109) to surpass 1,000 rushing yards for the second straight season, while Stanley passed for 2,437 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Senior guard Sean Welsh earned First Team All-Big Ten honors, junior center James Daniels earned Honorable Mention recognition, and Jackson was named First Team Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
Daniels declared for the 2018 NFL Draft and was a second round selection of the Chicago Bears. Boettger and Myers, who both missed the majority of the season due to injury, signed free-agent contracts following the draft.
Polasek is the all-time leading passer at Concordia University in Wisconsin. He set single-game, single-season and career records in TD passes, passing yards, completions and completion percentage. Polasek was the 2000 Badger-Illini Conference Player of the Year. He was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection in 2000-01 and Second Team in 1999.
Polasek graduated from Concordia in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree from Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2005.
A native of Iola, Wis., and his wife, Jill, were married in May 2014.
Tim Polasek Year-by-Year Coaching History
Year School Position
2003-04 Wisconsin-Stevens Point Passing Game Coordinator/QBs/WRs/TEs
2005 Wisconsin-Stevens Point Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs
2006 North Dakota State Graduate Assistant
2007-11 North Dakota State Running Backs
2012 North Dakota State Special Teams and Recruiting Coordinator/TEs/FBs
2013 Northern Illinois Tight Ends/Fullbacks
2014-16 North Dakota State Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs
2017-20 Iowa Offensive Line
Bohl also announced the addition of new offensive line coach Derek Frazier to the Cowboy coaching staff on Wednesday. Frazier most recently was the assistant offensive line coach with the New York Jets of the the NFL.
“We are certainly excited about Derek Frazier joining Cowboy Football,” said Bohl. “He has a long history with Wyoming Football. His father was a great player here, and Derek spent many afternoons in War Memorial Stadium as he was growing up. He is really a loyal Cowboy fan.
“Derek enjoys a great national reputation and has coached at both the collegiate and professional levels. There is no doubt he is going to do an excellent job moving our offensive line forward as we continue to make great progress with our offense this offseason.”
“I want to say that I am very excited and humbled to be a part of Coach Bohl’s staff and represent the strong tradition that is Wyoming Cowboy Football,” said Frazier. “I know first hand what Cowboy Football represents, by growing up and following the program with my mom and dad, as well as being on the other sideline. I went to many Wyoming bowl games with my parents and many Cowboy Joe events. I’m fired up to get started.
“This opportunity is a chance to work with tough young men, who play hard-nosed football in a great culture that Coach Bohl has instilled.
“Having been around the program for so many years because of my family’s connection to Wyoming, it is very special to now be part of that tradition. Not only did my dad play here, but my uncle, Jeff Frazier, played here.”
His father, Tom Frazier, was co-captain of Wyoming’s 1966 team that posted a 10-1 record and defeated Florida State, 28-20, in the Sun Bowl. The Cowboys finished the season ranked No. 15 in the nation, and Frazier was a First Team All-WAC end.
Derek Frazier grew up in Fort Collins, Colo., where he played at Rocky Mountain High School. He went on to play center at Northern Colorado for former Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn and was the starting center on UNC’s 1996 NCAA Division II National Championship team. Frazier was selected as his team’s Most Inspirational Player as a senior in ‘96.
After being a four-year letterman (1993-96) at Northern Colorado, Frazier began his coaching career as a high school coach in Juneau, Alaska at Douglas High School
He was the assistant offensive line coach for the New York Jets for the past two seasons (2019 and ‘20).
Prior to that, he spent four seasons at Central Michigan where he was the Offensive Line coach in 2015 and ‘16 before being elevated to Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach for the 2017-18 seasons. CMU appeared in three consecutive bowl games from 2015-17. The Chippewas faced Minnesota in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl, played Tulsa in the 2016 Miami Beach Bowl and faced Wyoming in the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The 2017 season saw Frazier lead an offensive line anchored by veteran J.P. Quinn -- a Third Team All-MAC selection -- that paved the way for Jonathan Ward to become CMU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2014.
In addition, Frazier’s offensive line protected quarterback Shane Morris in the Chippewas’ no-huddle, uptempo scheme, helping the signal-caller to a memorable year in which he threw for 3,237 yards and 27 touchdowns. Morris’ yardage total was the seventh best for a single season in program history, and his 27 TD passes tied for the second best in CMU history.
In 2015 and 2016, Frazier led a unit that protected quarterback Cooper Rush, who developed into one of the very best to ever play for CMU, finishing his career second in program history in passing yardage (12,891) and touchdown passes (90).
Among Frazier’s top protégés during his time at CMU were two-time First Team All-MAC center Nick Beamish, along with Ramadan Ahmeti and Quinn.
Frazier spent three seasons as the offensive line coach at Colorado State where he helped lead a program that went from four victories in his first season (2012) to 10 in 2014. He helped CSU earn bids to the 2013 New Mexico Bowl, where they defeated Washington State (48-45) and the 2014 Las Vegas Bowl where they lost to Utah (10-45). The Rams went from the ninth-ranked offense in the Mountain West Conference in 2012 to the second-ranked in the MW in 2014. Frazier’s offensive line paved the way for the Rams’ Kapri Bibbs to rush for 1,741 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2013.
Two Frazier-coached offensive linemen from Colorado State, Ty Sambrailo and Weston Richburg, earned First Team All-Mountain West honors and Richburg was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants. He was one of several players that Frazier mentored who were drafted by an NFL team or signed professionally as a free agent.
Frazier coached at Fresno State from 2006-11. He served as the offensive line coach for the 2006-08 seasons and added the responsibility of run-game coordinator for the 2009-11 seasons. Frazier had previously been a graduate assistant coach at Fresno State in 2003 and 2004. During his years at Fresno State, Frazier was part of six bowl teams. The Bulldogs appeared in: the 2003 Silicon Valley Bowl, defeating UCLA (17-9); the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl, defeating Virginia (37-34); the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl, beating Georgia Tech (40-28); the 2008 New Mexico Bowl vs. Colorado State (35-40); the 2009 New Mexico Bowl against Wyoming (28-35); and the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Northern Illinois (17-40).
The Bulldogs dominated the line of scrimmage in consecutive bowl game victories over UCLA in 2003 and No. 18 Virginia in 2004. While at Fresno State, he helped develop All-American offensive lineman Logan Mankins, and Freshmen All-Americans Ryan Wendell, Kyle Young and Cole Popovich.
Frazier was a part of a Bulldog coaching staff whose offense ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in scoring offense and was one of the nation’s most efficient in third-down conversions and red zone efficiency. Fresno State produced consecutive 1,000-yard rushers Dwayne Wright and Bryson Sumlin each year and Fresno State ranked No. 15 in the NCAA in rushing offense with 228.0 yards per game. The Bulldog line paved the way to a single-game record 503 rushing yards vs. Hawaii in 2004.
Frazier was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Adams State College for two seasons (2001-02) where he also served as the weight throws coach for the Adams State track & field team
During the 2000 season, he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. He led Nichols to a 7-3 record and its first-ever postseason appearance.
He spent one season as a high school offensive line coach in Juneau, Alaska at Douglas High School.
Frazier earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northern Colorado in 1997 and an MBA from Nichols College in 2000. He and his wife, Taryn, have a daughter, Katelyn, and a son, James.
Derek Frazier’s Year-by-Year Coaching History
Year School Position
2000 Nichols College (Mass.) Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
2001-02 Adams State (Colo.) Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
2003-04 Fresno State Graduate Assistant
2005 Northern Arizona Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
2006-08 Fresno State Offensive Line
2009-11 Fresno State Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2012-14 Colorado State Offensive Line
2015-16 Central Michigan Offensive Line
2017-18 Central Michigan Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2019-20 New York Jets (NFL) Assistant Offensive Line
