College coaches are on the move. Where have former Boise State assistants landed?
The coaching carousel has been spinning pretty much nonstop since college football’s regular season ended, and several former Boise State coaches have been along for the ride.
Here’s a look at where those former Broncos have landed. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks as more former Boise State coaches are likely to land or change jobs, including former Washington defensive coordinator and interim head coach Bob Gregory and the Huskies’ former special teams coordinator, Keith Bhonapha.
Lee Marks, Washington — After serving as interim head coach at Fresno State and leading the Bulldogs to a win over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, Marks will join former Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer at Washington as the Huskies’ running backs coach. DeBoer was hired in late November after another former Boise State assistant, Jimmy Lake, was fired.
Marks coached at Boise State from 2014 to 2019, beginning his tenure as an assistant strength coach and leaving as running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator. The former running back was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference pick at Boise State from 2001 to 2005; he posted 1,773 rushing yards and eight touchdowns during his final two seasons as a starter. He left to coach at Fresno State last January.
Scott Huff, Washington — Huff is one of a few holdovers from Lake’s staff at Washington. He will continue as the Huskies’ offensive line coach after joining the staff in 2017 under former Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, who took over at Washington in 2014 and retired following the 2019 season. During his playing career, Huff started 40 games at center for Boise State from 1999 to 2002. He coached at his alma mater from 2006 to 2016, beginning his tenure as tight ends coach and ending as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator. He also coached special teams for the Broncos.
Junior Adams, Washington — Adams also will remain at Washington after joining the staff as wide receivers coach in 2019. He coached wide receivers at Boise State from 2014 to 2016. The Broncos won two Mountain West championships during his tenure, and Adams mentored Boise State’s Cedrick Wilson and Thomas Sperbeck, who both had 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 — the first and only time the Broncos have had a pair of players hit that mark in the same season.
Julius Brown, Washington — Brown is following DeBoer and Marks from Fresno to Washington to coach the Huskies’ cornerbacks. He was a three-year starter at defensive back for Boise State from 2000 to 2003, and he helped the Broncos win two WAC championships. He also began his coaching career at Boise State, first as a graduate assistant and then as director of player personnel from 2009 to 2011. He returned to Boise State as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2014 to 2015, and his coaching career has also included stops at Troy, Arkansas State, Utah State and Texas Tech. He was hired to coach defensive backs and serve as recruiting coordinator at Fresno State in 2020.
Kirby Moore, Fresno State — Moore will serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under new Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford, who was the Bulldogs’ head coach from 2016 to 2019, when he resigned for health reasons. He was rehired as DeBoer’s replacement earlier this month.
Tedford originally hired Moore as his wide receivers coach in 2017. Moore was promoted to offensive coordinator before the New Mexico Bowl, his first game as the Bulldogs’ play caller. Fresno State had 467 yards of offense in a 31-24 win over UTEP. Moore, the younger brother of former Boise State quarterback and current Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, was a wide receiver at Boise State from 2009 to 2013. He began his coaching career at The College of Idaho.
Mike Sanford Jr., Colorado — Sanford has joined Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell’s staff as offensive coordinator. He spent the past two seasons in a same role at Minnesota, which opted not to renew his contract for the 2022 season. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boise State in 2014, and he’s also served as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame (2015-16) and Utah State (2019).
Sanford spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as head coach at Western Kentucky. During his playing career, he was a quarterback at Boise State from 2000 to 2004.
Marcel Yates, Texas Tech — After one year at Oregon, Yates followed defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter to Texas Tech, where he will coach defensive backs. He joined the staff at Oregon after five seasons in the Pac-12: four as the defensive coordinator at Arizona and one as the defensive backs coach at California. Yates had two coaching stints at Boise State. He coached the defensive backs from 2003 to 2011 before leaving to spend two seasons as co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as Boise State’s defensive coordinator before heading to Arizona. Yates was a defensive back at Boise State from 1996 to 1999.
Justin Wilcox, California — Wilcox has been the head coach at California for the past five seasons, compiling a 26-28 record, and he’ll be back for 2022. He was offered the head coaching job at Oregon earlier this month but turned it down, according to The Oregonian’s John Canzano. Oregon ended up hiring Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning.
Wilcox was defensive coordinator at Boise State from 2006 to 2009, and his career has also included stops as defensive coordinator at Tennessee, Washington, USC and Wisconsin.
