Boise State introduces offensive, defensive coordinators, announces two more hires
Boise State football coach Andy Avalos’ first staff is beginning to take shape.
Offensive coordinator Tim Plough and defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson were introduced Wednesday. Both hires were announced Tuesday.
Boise State also announced Wednesday afternoon that it has hired longtime Utah State assistant coach Frank Maile to lead the defensive line and former Oregon assistant Reid Kagy as strength and conditioning coach.
Kagy is the fifth member of the staff Boise State has announced, including former Oregon player development and recruiting assistant Da’Vell Winters. But given that Avalos’ background is on the defensive side of the ball, offensive coordinator may have been the most important job Avalos had to fill.
Plough, a former quarterback at UC Davis, was a bit of a wunderkind for the Aggies. During the first of his two stints on the coaching staff, he called the plays for the offense at just 25 years old.
The now 35-year-old father of three reached another milestone in his career this week, leaving the FCS behind for a job in college football’s top division. He replaces Eric Kiesau, who got the job last year after Zak Hill left for Arizona State.
There has been no word whether Kiesau will be retained.
“There’s talent here,” Plough told reporters Wednesday. “There’s been talent here for a long time, and there’s obviously been success here for a long time.”
The San Diego native has extensive ties to UC Davis, which is where he met his wife, Christine, and took the field as a player. He was a quarterback for the Aggies from 2003 to 2007, and he earned a starting role as a senior.
He joined the staff as a student assistant in 2008, coordinated the passing game from 2010 to 2012 and orchestrated one of the most explosive offenses in the FCS the past four years. In between, he was an assistant at Northern Arizona from 2013 to 2016, the last two years as offensive coordinator.
In 2017, UC Davis led the Big Sky Conference with 484.7 yards of offense and 384.3 passing yards a game. The Aggies led the conference with 322.8 passing yards per game in 2018, and ranked No. 3 in 2019 with 309.2. They didn’t play in 2020 after the Big Sky postponed the season because of COVID-19 with hopes of playing this spring.
Former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins, who took over at UC Davis in 2016, said Plough has turned down job offers to be a head coach in the FCS and was a finalist last year when Larry Fedora was hired as offensive coordinator at Baylor. Fedora has since been replaced by Jeff Grimes.
“It was going to take something fantastic to get me out of that situation, and this is truly an extraordinary opportunity for me to be around somebody I truly respect,” Plough said. “It’s the perfect fit and the right timing.”
Plough said he knew of Avalos before getting the job, but they only met once. He likes to remind the Broncos’ new coach of a win UC Davis earned over Sacramento State when Avalos was an assistant there in 2011.
“Andy Avalos is a fantastic coach but an even better person,” Plough said. “For him to reach out to me and have belief in me, that meant a lot.”
Plough said he doesn’t plan to rip up the playbook and start fresh at Boise State. There will be some similarities to what the Broncos have run in the past and to what he ran at UC Davis.
He said the most notable differences will be the offense’s faster tempo and its more aggressive approach.
“The easiest way to win a football game is to make more explosive plays than your opponent and win the turnover battle,” he said. “We’re going to be super aggressive. We’re not going to wait for the defense to show us something. We’re going to attack the defense and make them react to us.”
Plough has spoken with Boise State quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Jack Sears, and he called divvying up playing time between two talented field generals “a good problem to have.”
“Both guys are extremely talented and both have a lot of positives,” he said. “Both want to play and they’ve expressed that to me and how important Boise State is to them.”
UC Davis averaged more than 40 pass attempts per game over the past three seasons, but the Aggies didn’t ignore the running game. Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. posted 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground in 2019.
Plough said the running game will continue to be a staple of the Broncos’ offense. Boise State didn’t produce a 1,000-yard rusher in 2020, snapping a streak of 11 straight seasons, although the Broncos only played seven games because of COVID-19 and lost top running back George Holani to an injury in game two.
“We need guys that can catch the football, guys that can make guys miss and somebody that is the most trustworthy guy on the team,” he said.
Danielson wants relentless defense
Danielson replaces Jeff Schmedding, who left to coach inside linebackers at Auburn.
Danielson confirmed that he also had an opportunity to join former Boise State coach Bryan Harsin at Auburn, but a desire to finish the job with many of the players he helped recruit and the chance to work with Avalos, who he called his mentor, convinced him to pass on the SEC.
“I absolutely love this place. More importantly, I absolutely love our players,” said Danielson, who was named Boise State’s interim head coach when Harsin left and said it wasn’t a role he took lightly. “I’m a man of faith, and I felt convicted to see this process through.”
He didn’t specify what job was offered, but he told Harsin he couldn’t even think about accepting until he could pass the reins to a new coach. He also had a feeling Avalos had a good shot at getting the job and knew that would make it even harder to leave.
The 32-year-old Solana Beach, California, native was hired in 2017 when Avalos was still the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. They met on the recruiting trail when Danielson was an assistant at his alma mater, Azusa Pacfic, and they have stayed in touch ever since.
Danielson said he reached out to Avalos a couple times in the past year to get an idea of how Oregon was dealing with a season plagued by COVID-19.
“He’s like a big brother to me from a mentor standpoint,” Danielson said. “What I love about Andy is he can hold people to a high standard and hold them accountable, but you always know that he cares about you deeply, and a lot of guys can’t do that.”
Danielson spent the past two seasons as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Boise State. He takes over a defense that ranked No. 6 in the Mountain West last season, surrendering 27.1 points a game. The Broncos were No. 6 in the conference in total defense (373.3 ypg) and No. 7 in rushing defense (163.7 ypg).
“First and foremost, our defense is going to be relentless,” Danielson said. “Hopefully when you’re watching from the stands or wherever we are, it looks like we have 30 players on defense.”
His first job is to find a way to improve on the three turnovers Boise State forced in seven games last season. In 2019, the Broncos forced just 19 in 14 games.
“Creating takeaways is monstrous to playing good defense, getting the ball back and stealing extra possessions,” said Danielson, admitting the Broncos’ lack of turnovers frustrated him last season. “Takeaways start with being relentless and that pursuit to the football.”
Maile joins fold
Maile spent 10 years as an assistant at Utah State and was named interim head coach for the final three games of last season after Gary Andersen was fired. He also served as interim head coach in 2018 before Andersen was hired.
“Frank Maile is a high-character individual, and someone that cares deeply about everyone affiliated with our program — especially the young men we bring into it,” Avalos said Wednesday in a press release. “He is someone that Bronco Nation will be drawn to because of his passion and enthusiasm, not only for our student-athletes, but also our community. On top of being an outstanding person, father and husband, he is also a phenomenal football coach.”
The 38-year-old was at the center of a controversy in December, which ultimately resulted in Utah State’s players voting not to play the final game of the season against Colorado State.
In the weeks before new head coach Blake Anderson was hired, several Utah State’s players requested a meeting with university President Noelle Crockett to voice their support for Maile. It was during that meeting that Crockett allegedly made statements that some players interpreted as having a religious or cultural bias.
The comments resulted in separate investigations by Utah State’s Board of Trustees and the Utah Board of Higher Education, the results of which are expected to be released Friday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
A former defensive lineman at Utah State (2004-07), Maile has worn many hats during his time on the Aggies’ coaching staff. Last season, he served as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach — both of which were titles he also held from 2016 to 2018.
He coached tight ends in 2019 and defensive line from 2011 to 2013. He joined the staff in 2009 as a graduate assistant, and spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as the defensive line coach at Vanderbilt.
“I am so pumped to be part of this family and Bronco Nation,” Maile said Wednesday in a press release. “I am humble and grateful that coach Avalos would allow me the privilege to influence these young men and this community, and feel blessed for such a big-time opportunity.”
In 2018, Maile coached an Aggies defense that led the nation in turnovers forced (32), interceptions (22) and three-and-outs forced per game (5.69), while ranking third nationally with six defensive touchdowns. In 2017, Utah State allowed 182.5 passing yards per game to rank No. 19 nationally, and forced 29 turnovers, which ranked No. 6 in the country.
Kagy to lead strength program
Kagy followed Avalos to Boise State after spending the past two years with him on Oregon’s staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. He replaces Jeff Pitman, who followed Harsin to Auburn.
“Reid brings a blue-collar mentality that meshes seamlessly into who we are, and I absolutely believe in his ability to develop our student-athletes both on the field and off,” Avalos said Wednesday in a press release. “He will be a major part of how we are building the young men brought into this program to contribute as members of this football team, but also within the Treasure Valley community.”
Prior to Oregon, Kagy was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Iowa State from 2016 to 2018 and held the same position for two years at Cincinnati.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to work with an elite head coach in Andy Avalos, but the prestige of Boise State is also what drew me here,” Kagy said in Wednesday’s press release. “The Broncos have a national reputation for a blue-collar work ethic, and I’m looking forward to working with the student-athletes in this program.”
