Chris Tormey Chris Tormey ( born May 1 , 1955 ) is an American football coach . Formerly the head coach at Idaho and Nevada , he is currently an assistant at Wyoming , the defensive coordinator and secondary coach . Tormey was an assistant coach for 16 seasons at Washington , ( 1984 – 94 & 2004 - 08 ) ; he also spent two seasons as a UW graduate assistant ( 1980 - 81 ) . Early years . Born in Omaha , Tormey grew up in Spokane and played high school football at Gonzaga Prep under longtime head coach Bill Frazier ( 1908 - 2000 ) . After graduation in 1973 , he played college football at the University of Idaho in Moscow . Tormey had a standout sophomore season in 1974 for the Vandals under first - year head coach Ed Troxel , but incurred a knee injury in final game of the season which required surgery . He redshirted in 1975 and returned in 1976 and was named the team ' s outstanding defensive player . Tormey was all - conference ( Big Sky ) in 1976 at defensive end and at outside linebacker in 1977 . Idaho changed from a five - man defensive line ( 5 - 2 defense ) to a 4 - 3 after the 1976 season . Tormey completed his bachelor ' s degree in education in 1978 . Assistant coach . Tormey had a brief stop with the Washington Redskins of the NFL in 1978 , then began his coaching career as a high school assistant back at Gonzaga Prep , where he also taught geography . In 1980 his collegiate coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Washington in Seattle , a position he left in 1982 to coach the defensive line at his alma mater , serving under newly - hired Idaho Vandals ' head coach Dennis Erickson . After two years on the Palouse , Tormey returned to the Huskies in Seattle , where he would remain for 11 seasons , 1984 - 94 , coaching tight end s , linebacker s , and the secondary for Don James and Jim Lambright . UW shared the national championship ( with Miami ) in 1991 . For the 1994 season Tormey was named acting defensive coordinator . Head Coach . Idaho . Following the 1994 season , John L . Smith left Idaho and Tormey returned to Moscow to succeed him as head coach . Tormey ' s first season in 1995 was the Vandals ' last in the Big Sky and Division I - AA ; Idaho joined the Big West in Division I - A in 1996 . His starting salary in 1995 was $ 71 , 868 . In his five seasons at the helm in Moscow , Tormey compiled a 33 - 23 record ( . 589 ) , including the Vandals ' first - ever bowl appearance in 1998 in the Humanitarian Bowl , a 42 - 35 victory over 17 - point favorite Southern Mississippi . The Vandals earned the bowl berth by winning the Big West title with a dramatic one - point overtime win over rival Boise State , on the road in Bronco Stadium in Boise . The bowl victory propelled Idaho to an impressive 9 - 3 record in 1998 , their third season back in Division I - A , and Tormey was named Coach of the Year in the Big West . The Vandals went 7 - 4 in 1999 , including a 28 - 17 win over neighboring Washington State , eight miles ( 13 km ) to the west . It was Idaho ' s first football victory over the Cougars since 1965 in the Battle of the Palouse . Nevada . Following the 1999 season , Tormey moved south to Reno to coach the Nevada Wolf Pack , which was leaving the Big West to join the WAC . Tormey was the head coach for four seasons ( 2000 - 03 ) , compiling a 16 - 31 record ( . 340 ) . He succeeded Jeff Tisdel , a former All - American quarterback for the Wolf Pack . While Tormey ' s win totals improved each season ( 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ) , he was released from the fifth and final season of his contract at the end of the 2003 season , the final game marked by a 56 - 3 blowout loss at Boise State . Most notably , Tormey failed to defeat bitter in - state rival UNLV in the annual Battle for the Fremont Cannon , but his Nevada team did defeat the Washington Huskies 28 - 17 in Seattle that final season . Nevada ' s athletic director Chris Ault hired himself to succeed Tormey , his third stint as head coach of the Wolf Pack . Assistant coach . Back to Washington . Tormey was quickly rehired at Washington in 2004 as a defensive assistant under head coach Keith Gilbertson , and stayed on with the new coach Tyrone Willingham , becoming the recruiting coordinator . Hawai ' i . Following the dismissal of Willingham after Washington ' s winless 2008 season , Tormey joined head coach Greg McMackin at Hawai ' i as an assistant coach for two seasons . McMackin was the defensive coordinator at Idaho during Tormey ' s senior season in 1977 . Washington State . Tormey returned to the mainland and the Palouse in 2011 to join the Washington State staff as the linebackers coach under fourth - year head coach Paul Wulff . The coaching staff was relieved of its duties following the season and Mike Leach was hired as head coach for 2012 . Wyoming . In late December 2011 , Tormey joined the staff of head coach Dave Christensen at Wyoming for 2012 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach . Christensen played at Washington in the early 1980s when Tormey was a graduate assistant .