Boise State coach Andy Avalos is busy building his staff. Here are some names to watch.
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos is in the process of building his first staff, and he may have hinted at who he intends to fill it with during his introductory press conference.
“Once a Bronco, always a Bronco,” he said over and over.
There are coaches all over the country who have ties to Boise State — many of whom have coached or played with Avalos.
He confirmed Sunday that he brought player development and recruiting assistant Da’Vell Winters with him from Oregon, but his role is unclear. The Broncos’ new coach also said he’ll retain co-defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson, and on Tuesday afternoon, Boise State announced him as defensive coordinator.
The only thing certain is that the Broncos have to replace defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding, offensive line coach Brad Bedell, strength and conditioning coordinator Jeff Pitman and Associate Athletic Director Brad Larrondo, all of whom followed former Boise State coach Bryan Harsin to Auburn.
The Broncos are also in the market for a new outside linebackers/STUDS coach after Zac Alley joined Terry Bowden at Louisiana-Monroe as his defensive coordinator.
There hasn’t been word on the future of the rest of the coaches on the current staff, but Avalos has history with most of them.
He and safeties coach Gabe Franklin were teammates at Boise State. He was also on the Broncos’ coaching staff with tight ends coach Kent Riddle, offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau and cornerbacks coach Jalil Brown, and he was a coach during wide receivers coach Matt Miller’s career.
Sticking with his “once a Bronco, always a Bronco” theme, Avalos could retain any number of them and running backs coach Winston Venable, but he may also have other ideas how to fill those roles.
Avalos’ hiring broke a string of Boise State coaches tied to the Broncos’ offensive system, first installed by Dirk Koetter (1998-2000) and continued by Dan Hawkins (2001-05), Chris Petersen (2006-13) and Harsin (2014-20).
Here’s a list of former Boise State players and coaches who are currently on college or NFL coaching staffs and may be getting a call from Avalos in the coming days, if they haven’t already.
Nate Potter — tight ends, Montana State
One of three consensus All-Americans in Boise State history, Potter was a four-year starter and three-time all-conference pick as an offensive lineman from 2008 to 2011 before playing 44 career games for the Arizona Cardinals. He was on Harsin’s first staff in 2014 and stayed on as a graduate assistant until 2017 before he spent one season as the offensive line coach at the College of Idaho.
For the past two years, Potter has coached tight ends at Montana State under former Boise State assistant Jeff Choate, who was a candidate for the Boise State job when Harsin left.
Klayton Adams — assistant offensive line coach, Indianapolis Colts
The Broncos could turn to another former player to replace Bedell in Klayton Adams, who has spent the past two years as an assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts.
Before making the jump to the NFL, he spent six years at Colorado, where he coached the offensive line, carried the co-offensive coordinator title and coached running backs and tight ends. He was a graduate assistant at Boise State in 2006.
Adams was a center at Boise State. He and Avalos were teammates and helped the Broncos win Western Athletic Conference titles in 2003 and 2004.
Byron Hout — defensive line, Montana State
With Danielson now defensive coordinator, Boise State needs a defensive line coach.
Hout was a two-time all-conference pick as a defensive lineman at Boise State from 2008 to 2011. He made stops as a graduate assistant at Washington State (2012) and Boise State (2013-15), and he has spent the past five years coaching the defensive line at Montana State.
Khyree Marshall — graduate assistant, Oregon
Avalos could look to another former Bronco to fill a role on the defensive staff in former Boise State defensive lineman Kharyee Marshall (2010-13), who spent the past two years working with him as a graduate assistant at Oregon.
Marshall joined Boise State’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2018 before following Avalos to Oregon. He could be an option to coach the defensive line for the Broncos, and he also has experience coaching defensive backs from a stint at the College of Idaho.
Kirby Moore — wide receivers, Fresno State
If Miller doesn’t hang around as wide receivers coach, the Broncos could look to a former player currently coaching in the Mountain West.
The younger brother of former Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Kirby has spent the past four seasons coaching wide receivers at Fresno State. He also picked up the title of passing game coordinator this past season under first-year coach Kalen Deboer.
Moore was a wide receiver at Boise State from 2009 to 2013, and the Broncos went 45-8 during his playing career.
Lee Marks — running backs, Fresno State
If Venable isn’t retained, Boise State could bring a recently departed coach back to handle the running game.
Marks and Avalos were teammates at Boise State, and Marks just finished his first season as the running backs coach and run game coordinator at Fresno State after spending six years on Boise State’s staff.
He helped recruit running back George Holani, and during the five years Marks spent as Boise State’s running backs coach, the Broncos produced a 1,000-yard rusher every season.
As a running back at Boise State from 2002 to 2005, Marks was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference pick and was the Broncos’ leading rusher twice during his career. He was Boise State’s Offensive Most Valuable Player in 2005.
Wildcards and long shots
There are a few coaches with ties to Boise State at Power Five programs or in the NFL who would be tough to pry away from their current teams, but Avalos would likely love to have them.
Dirk Koetter — offensive coordinator, Atlanta Falcons
Avalos mentioned Koetter during his introductory press conference Sunday, saying the Broncos’ former coach was moving back to Boise and he told him to “bring his whistle with him.”
Koetter was Boise State’s head coach from 1998 to 2000. He was also the head coach at Arizona State (2001-2006), and in 2019, he joined the Atlanta Falcons for his second stint as their offensive coordinator. He was also offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he was the head coach in Tampa Bay from 2016 to 2018.
With the rise of analysts in college football, maybe Avalos could find a way to use his former coach.
Pete Kwiatkowski — defensive coordinator, Washington
A defensive lineman at Boise State from 1984 to 1987, Kwiatkowski was the Broncos’ defensive coordinator from 2010 to 2013 before following former Boise State coach Chris Petersen to Washington. In 2017, he was named Washington’s co-defensive coordinator and he has assumed the role alone since Jimmy Lake took over after Petersen resigned following the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.
Kwiatkowski and Avalos worked together closely in coaching the Broncos’ defensive line in 2012-13.
Scott Huff — offensive line, Washington
Huff started 40 games at center for the Broncos from 1999 to 2002, he was on Petersen’s staff for eight years at Boise State and he stayed on after Petersen left, eventually adding the co-offensive coordinator title in 2016. He followed Petersen to Washington the next year and has been the Huskies’ offensive line coach ever since. He was a teammate of Avalos at Boise State.
Bush Hamdan — wide receivers/quarterbacks, Missouri
Hamdan was a quarterback at Boise State from 2004 to 2008. He was on Petersen’s staff at Washington in 2015 and 2016 as a wide receivers and quarterbacks coach and was the Huskies’ offensive coordinator in 2018 and 2019. He also spent a year as the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons. He spent the 2020 season at Missouri as former Boise State offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz’s wide receivers and quarterbacks coach.
Chris Strausser — offensive line, Indianapolis Colts
Strausser is in his second season as the Colts’ offensive line coach. He also spent two seasons with the Denver Broncos. He was on Petersen’s staff at Boise State as a tight ends and offensive line coach from 2007 to 2013 and followed him to Washington, coaching the Huskies’ offensive line from 2014 to 2016. After his first stint as Boise State’s offensive line coach from 2001 to 2005, he spent the 2006 season as assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Colorado.
Gerald Alexander — defensive backs, Miami Dolphins
A defensive back at Boise State from 2002 to 2006, Alexander and Avalos were teammates. He is in his first season as the defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins, who he played for in 2011. Prior to that, he spent three seasons coaching defensive backs under former Boise State defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox at California. He played five seasons in the NFL with stops with Detroit, Jacksonville, Carolina, Miami and the New York Jets.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
