A former Boise State QB is coming home to take over as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator
Former Boise State quarterback Bush Hamdan is coming back to Boise.
Hamdan is the Broncos’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Boise State head coach Andy Avalos announced Wednesday.
Hamdan, a backup quarterback at Boise State from 2004 to 2008, replaces Tim Plough, who was fired following a loss to major underdog UTEP in September.
“Bush brings something to the table that a lot of people don’t,” Avalos told reporters on Wednesday. “He is a great leader. He is an unbelievable teacher, and he’s done it at a very high level.”
Avalos and Hamdan were teammates at Boise State in 2004 — Avalos’ senior year and Hamdan’s freshman season. The duo also coached against one another in the Pac-12, when Avalos was the defensive coordinator at Oregon and Hamdan ran the offense at Washington.
They’ve stayed close over the years, Avalos said, and that made his decision to bring another Bronco back into the fold an easy one. Hamdan joins former Boise State players Matt Miller (wide receivers), Nate Potter (tight ends/run-game coordinator) and graduate assistant Jabril Frazier on the Broncos’ coaching staff.
“Everything is about what is the most important thing for our family here?” Avalos said. “It’s really about knowing people and understanding who they are and then what their skill sets are and what their impact will be in a specific role.”
Hamdan is expected to sign a two-year contract that will pay him $400,000 in year one, according to his material term sheet. His base salary will increase to $425,000 in year two. He made $550,000 at Missouri this year, according to footballscoop.com.
Once his contract is approved by the Idaho State Board of Education, Hamdan will be the highest-paid assistant coach in program history.
Former defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding made $349,000 as former head coach Bryan Harsin’s highest-paid assistant. Another former defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski, made $352,000 as the highest-paid coach on Chris Petersen’s staff at Boise State.
Defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson made $290,000 as the highest-paid assistant on Avalos’ staff this the year. Plough made $280,000.
Interim offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will coach in the Frisco Bowl on Saturday (7:15 p.m., ESPN).
Hamdan, 36, brings an extensive coaching resume back to Boise.
He has spent the past three seasons coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers at Missouri, where he worked under former Broncos offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz.
Hamdam served as co-offensive coordinator at Arkansas State, where he was on Harsin’s staff in 2013. He was offensive coordinator at Davidson in 2014 and Washington in 2018-19, where he worked for Petersen. Hamdan also coached wide receivers at Florida in 2012 and quarterbacks for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.
Avalos said Hamdan’s experience at various levels of football has prepared him to “build on the standard we have in place here.”
“He’s coached at the highest level in college, he’s coached quarterbacks in the NFL and he’s been in and around different arenas,” Avalos said. “Bush has learned and grown through those experiences. He has experiences in multiple offenses, and Bush can adapt and adjust and has the knowledge to do so with the pieces in place.”
Avalos said the ability to continue the growth shown this year by redshirt freshman quarterback Taylen Green was “one of the primary factors” in the search for a new offensive coordinator.
Green took over after four-year starter Hank Bachmeier decided to transfer in September. Green, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound native of Allen, Texas, is 7-2 as the Broncos’ starter. He’s thrown for 1,905 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions and added 467 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground this season.
Hamdan has mentored some top-end quarterbacks during his career, including former Washington starter Jacob Eason, who was a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He also worked with former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw for more than 4,000 yards and led the Falcons to the playoffs in 2017.
“The philosophy he has to develop a quarterback is exciting,” Avalos said. “There are a lot of things that go into developing a quarterback. It’s not just things on the field.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 4:08 PM.
