Boise State’s first-year head coach just made the watch list for a prestigious award
In his first full season as a head coach, Boise State’s Spencer Danielson has been named to the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list.
The award, named for the Alabama legend, honors the best college football coach at the FBS level. The winner will be announced in Houston on Jan. 22, 2025.
Danielson was promoted from defensive coordinator last season following the firing of Andy Avalos to be interim head coach, and then got the job full time when the season ended. He has the Broncos sitting at 5-1 midway through the regular season and in a prime spot to chase a College Football Playoff berth.
Boise State is ranked No. 15 in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The AP rankings is the highest the Broncos have ascended since being No. 14 in the 2019 season.
Under Danielson, the Broncos rank third in the country for points per game (46.8) and first in the country in sacks (29).
This is after a season in which Danielson took over with Boise State sitting at 5-5. He promptly guided the Broncos to three straight wins, including in the Mountain West championship game, and they finished 8-6 after a loss to UCLA in the LA Bowl.
In addition to the Coach of the Year Award, a Conference Coach of the Year honor will be given to someone in each Power Four league and to one coach from the Group of Five conferences.
Coach of the Year watch list
Here’s the full list of finalists
Group of Five conferences, Pac-12 and Independent
Jamey Chadwell – Liberty
Spencer Danielson – Boise State
Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame
Jeff Monken – Army
Brian Newberry – Navy
Bryant Vincent – University of Louisiana Monroe
ACC
Mario Cristobal – Miami
Rhett Lashlee – SMU
Pat Narduzzi – Pittsburgh
Dabo Swinney – Clemson
Big Ten
Bret Bielema – Illinois
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
Ryan Day – Ohio State
James Franklin – Penn State
Dan Lanning – Oregon
Big 12
Matt Campbell – Iowa State
Kenny Dillingham – Arizona State
Chris Klieman – Kansas State
Joey McGuire – Texas Tech
Kalani Sitake – BYU
SEC
Kalen DeBoer – Alabama
Mike Elko – Texas A&M
Josh Heupel – Tennessee
Brian Kelly – LSU
Clark Lea – Vanderbilt
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
Kirby Smart – Georgia
