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David John Christensen (born January 17, 1961) is a former American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
coach and player, who was most recently an assistant coach at Arizona State. He previously worked as the
offensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...
and run-game coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He previously served as the
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
for the
University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
. He was previously the
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
at the
University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
from
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
to
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, where he compiled a record of 27 wins and 35 losses (). Prior to Wyoming, Christensen was the offensive coordinator for the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
and the
University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...
.


Early life

A native of
Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
, Christensen attended the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, where he played under head coach Don James on the Huskies football team from 1980 to 1982. He earned a B.A. degree in
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
from Western Washington University in 1985 and a
M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in
sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...
from
Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...
in 1988.


Coaching career

Christensen was formerly the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
. He served as an offensive assistant under
Gary Pinkel Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record o ...
for 19 years, including the last 16 as his offensive coordinator. He first joined Pinkel at the
University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...
in 1990 as offensive line coach, and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1992. Pinkel left for Missouri in 2001, and brought Christensen along as his offensive coordinator. From 2005–2008, Christensen employed a passing-oriented version of the no-huddle
spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the defense horizontall ...
.Player Bio: Dave Christensen
, University of Missouri Tigers Football official website, accessed 24 November 2008.
In the 2007 season, Christensen's offense used this scheme to good effect by scoring a school record 558 points. Additionally, Missouri ranked fifth in total offensive yards (490.29 per game), eighth in scoring offense (39.86 points per game), and ninth in passing yards (314.07 per game). The same season propelled
Chase Daniel William Chase Daniel (born October 7, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted f ...
to Heisman finalist status. Martin Rucker and Jeremy Maclin were named consensus All-Americans, making it the first time two Tigers were named as such in the same season. Christensen himself was a finalist for the Broyles Award and
Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
named him as the Offensive Coordinator of the Year. Christensen's name had been mentioned with respect to the head coaching position of several ailing programs, namely,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
,
Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
, and
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
,. He ultimately accepted the head coaching job at
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. Christensen led the Cowboys to a
2009 New Mexico Bowl The 2009 New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 19, 2009, at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of the 2009–10 NCAA bowl seas ...
win in 2009 against the Fresno State. On October 13, 2012; Christensen confronted
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
coach Troy Calhoun after the Cowboys' narrow 28-27 loss to the Falcons. Believing Calhoun had told Air Force quarterback Connor Dietz to fake an injury in order to buy more time before the game-winning touchdown, Christensen launched a profanity-laced tirade at Calhoun, calling him a "fly boy." Christensen apologized the next night and was reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference for his actions. On October 22, Wyoming athletic director
Tom Burman Thomas K. Burman (born January 4, 1966) is an American athletics administrator who is the current director of athletics for the University of Wyoming. He previously served as athletic director for Portland State University, and as associate athlet ...
suspended Christensen for the Cowboys' game against Boise State and fined him $50,000. Assistant head coach Pete Kaligis coached the team in that game. On December 21, 2020, Christensen announced his retirement from college coaching after 38 years. On November 18th 2022 it was announced Christensen would take over as head coach for the Wroclaw Panthers in the European League of Football.


Head coaching record


College

* Christensen was suspended for the Boise State game on October 27 for his actions in the Air Force game on October 20. Assistant head coach Pete Kaligis served as interim coach for the Boise State game. Wyoming credits the entire 2012 season to Christensen.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Dave 1961 births Living people Idaho State Bengals football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches Washington Huskies football players Western Washington Vikings football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Sportspeople from Everett, Washington