Kuna finds its next football coach. He comes with 21 years of Idaho experience
Kuna High went out of state to hire its last football coach. This time, it found someone with deep Treasure Valley roots.
The Kavemen hired Josh Bravo to lead their football program next season, promoting an assistant with 21 years of coaching experience in the Boise area.
Bravo spent the past five seasons as Kuna’s defensive line coach and the leader of its strength and conditioning program. His coaching resume includes stops at Skyview, Caldwell, Mountain View and Timberline. He was also the Kavemen’s associate head coach last fall.
He’s never led a high school football program. But Kuna Athletic Director Luke Wolf said he felt no need to post the opening and conduct another nationwide search. He knew just the man for the job.
“He’s got roots in both Ada County and Canyon County,” Wolf said. “Josh’s kids go to school here, so he’s vested, which is a big thing. The kids love him, and he loves the kids.”
Bravo, 41, said he’d never considered becoming a head coach until the Kuna job opened after the 2023 season. The nationally certified strength coach had always focused his energy on the weight room, where he could impact the entire school, not just one program.
But he said a few encouraged him to apply in 2023, and even more insisted he put his name into the ring this fall.
“I think the sky is the limit,” Bravo said. “Kuna is that blue-collar town. When I was coaching against it, it was always that blue collar, tough, disciplined mentality. I’d really like to lean on that.
“Our standard is all about hard work. I was talking to the (players) today. We want this to be the most disciplined and united team Kuna has ever seen.”
Bravo replaces Beau Smith, who told the Idaho Statesman in a written statement he was asked to resign. Kuna went 7-13 in two seasons under Smith. It won its first playoff game in the state’s top classification in 2024 before going 2-7 last fall.
“Although I disagreed with the decision, I respect the process and remain proud of the time I spent leading this program,” Smith wrote. “Coaching these players has been an honor, and I’ll continue supporting them and wishing them success in the future.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 3:05 PM.
