Andy Avalos is expected to be the next head coach at Boise State per a report from BJ Rains. We have confirmed Avalos is the choice.
Avalos and Montana State head coach, also a former Broncos assistant, were the finalists to replace Bryan Harsin, who left last week to become the head coach at Auburn.
In selecting Avalos, Boise State keeps the job inside the family while also taking the program in a different direction than past hires.
Avalos was an All-WAC linebacker at Boise State for Dan Hawkins, then began his career as a GA under Hawkins at Colorado. Following three seasons at Nebraska-Kearney and Sacramento State, Avalos returned to Boise in 2012 to be Chris Petersen's defensive line coach. He remained at his alma mater when Petersen left for Washington after the 2013 campaign, moving to linebackers coach on Harsin's staff in 2014 and becoming defensive coordinator in 2016.
After producing three top-40 scoring defenses and helping his alma mater to one Mountain West title and three MW title game appearances, he became Oregon's defensive coordinator in 2019. His two seasons in Eugene have seen the Ducks win the Pac-12 title in each year. The 2019 unit ranked No. 9 nationally in scoring defense and No. 11 in yards per play.
In selecting Avalos, Boise State gets a head coach whose blood runs blue and orange, who understands the culture of the program and, further than that, played a key role in creating and maintaining that culture. Avalos is the fourth consecutive Boise State head coach to previously work as a Broncos assistant, a tradition that dates back to when Hawkins took over the head coaching post in 2001.
But he's also different than hires past in that Avalos as a defensive background. Avalos will be the first head Bronco with a decidedly defensive background since Pokey Allen, hired back in 1993. (Choate, for the record, also has a background on defense and special teams.)
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.