Boise State to hire Andy Avalos

  The vacancy at the top of the Boise State football program appears to be filled with the reported hiring of Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos.

Boise State has a track record of hiring coaches with a past connection to the Bronco program and the hiring of Avalos is no exception as Avalos played and coached for Boise State before leaving for Oregon before the 2019 season to take the Ducks defensive coordinator position,

The thirty-nine-year-old Avalos was voted one of the thirty players in Boise State history in a vote in 2016 after his playing career that saw him lead the Broncos in tackles in three seasons from 2002-04.

Avalos was a defensive assistant at Boise State from 2012-18, holding the defensive coordinator spot for the final three seasons of his time at Boise under Bryan Harsin, Harsin's departure for Auburn opened up the head coach position for the Broncos.

Avalos was the clear choice after the other major candidate, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, decided to withdraw from consideration after signing a contract extension with the Cowboys.

Avalos will have to fill out much of his staff as many of Harsin's assistants and support staff have followed him to Auburn.

Normally, one would think that would be a given, but at a program such as Boise the connections to the program are more important than in many places, but with a newly hired athletic director (Jeremiah Dickey) that doesn't have a history with the university, many of Harsin's staff may have decided to head south and not wait for the hiring of the next head coach.

Boise State also usually hires coaches that don't have head coaching experience or very little if they do have a history.

If you move back to the beginning of Boise State's D-I era, only two head coaches had previous head coaching experience and in each case (Houston Nutt 1997 and Bryan Harsin), the newly hired leader had only one year of experience (Nutt at D-1AA Murray State and Harsin at Arkansas State) and the hiring of Avalos fits with that.

For all of the success that Boise State has had, they still aren't going to win battles for proven candidates even if they wanted to go after such a coach.

Andy Avalos seems to check the boxes for a Boise State, but he's coming into a program at a difficult time.

While Boise State has still had success in recent years, the Broncos haven't grabbed the coveted Group of Five spot in the New Years Bowl series since 2014 in Bryan Harsin's first season and despite winning their Mountain West division in each of the most recent four seasons, the Broncos have only won two of those four title games.

Boise State fans expect a little more from the program and while I wouldn't say that the Broncos have been underperforming of late, there hasn't been the occasional high point since 2014.

No matter the program's tradition, a G-5 school can never afford to stagnate and one hire that doesn't work out can set a program back for years and hurt a brand that few schools in the G-5 have.

I don't think that Andy Avalos is that hire that doesn't work out.

Avalos knows Boise, the community, the program, and what they need to do to succeed and that's a huge help to him.

However, if he would happen to not work out, at the G-5 level no matter your tradition, you can hit the floor with a thud- take a look at Bowling Green for an example of hitting that bottom and not bouncing back.

Back later with either a Browns preview against the Steelers, the Cavaliers in Milwaukee, or both.

We'll just wait and see. 

Bryan Harsin leaves Boise State, Hired at Auburn

  The Boise State Broncos are looking for a head coach as Bryan Harsin is headed for the SEC as the new coach of the Auburn Tigers.

Harsin took over at Boise State in 2014 replacing the program's top coach in their history (Chris Petersen) after one season as the head coach at Arkansas State, where he finished 7-5 and won a share of the Sun Belt title for the Red Wolves.

Harsin replaced Gus Malzahn at Arkansas State, who is the same coach that Harsin will be replacing at Auburn.

Harsin's first team at Boise was the only Bronco team to grab the Group of Five slot in the "New Year's Six" bowl games as the 2014 Broncos were selected for the Fiesta Bowl and defeated Arizona in Phoenix 38-30.

Harsin coached teams would win 52 games in the next five years and five more this season in the year of Covid-19, Boise State won three Mountain West championships (2014, 2017, and 2019), and would add two more bowl trophies to the Boise trophy case with wins over Northern Illinois in the 2015 Poinsettia Bowl and Oregon in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl.

Still, Harsin's teams often disappointed Bronco fans when it meant the most, losing the 2018 Mountain West championship on the Blue Turf at home in overtime to Fresno State, losing the most recent title last week to San Jose State, and while Harsin won less than ten games only one (nine in 2015) time, that means that under his watch, Boise State never lost fewer than two games in a season.

While that may seem to be an insanely unrealistic expectation from a fan base, keep in mind that Boise State is the powerhouse of the Mountain West, and more is expected of the Broncos than almost any other team at the G-5 level.

To me, it feels like this is a move that both parties are likely quietly pleased with.

Recent emails from Harsin to school officials had shown Harsin being very displeased with the Mountain West, their television money, and other grumblings, and with the opportunity to coach in the SEC available, you certainly cannot blame Harsin for moving on.

As for the school, they likely aren't all that disconsolate either. 

Harsin had likely burned some personal bridges, and while Boise State has been known to have made quiet overtures to join the AAC, they still are in the Mountain West, and Harsin's actions of late cannot have made the Broncos tasks inside the MWC very pleasant or made any thoughts of theirs very easy to pass through the league.

Harsin won a lot of games, but you can argue that he may not have won enough to have his behavior be worth the various internal issues.

Harsin's arguments may not have been totally wrong, but the university didn't need the hassle of having to deal with the various public relations problems either.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic covers the G-5 schools and he looks at some possible candidates here.

Kellen Moore would be the popular choice as the program's living legend, but Moore has never coached in college and has been a coach himself for only three seasons.

If you hire Moore, the fan base will be excited, but it's a bit more of a risk, and when the hometown hero fails, it can get very ugly.

Moore might be a better choice next time, but you take the chance that by next time Moore could be too big for a job such as Boise State.

Vannini mentioned Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, who played for the Broncos and was Harsin's defensive coordinator for three seasons before leaving for Oregon in 2019.

Avalos knows the program as a player and coach, has knowledge of the recruiting base, and might be a very good hire.

A guy that I might ask about is North Dakota State coach Matt Entz, who won a 1-AA national title in his first season with the Bison.

I'd be fine with any of the above three.

I'll be writing about the eventual hire when it is announced.

Back later with the Cavaliers season preview. 

 

Cleaning out the inbox

Photo: SF Chronicle

I've been working on tidying up the inbox often this week with passings (and I still have enough remaining for one more post), but there still are the regular notes to be swept up before the football and boxing weekend.

The final Sunday of the baseball season was meaningless for the San Francisco Giants and their fans as far as postseason baseball, but Sunday was a big day anyway as the Giants and their fans said goodbye to longtime manager Bruce Bochy before the future Cooperstown inductee managed his final game with the Giants.
The Ringer writes a great article on Bochy and whether or not the game has seen the last of his type of manager,
The invasion of the game with the "analytic" types will slowly winnow the old school baseball types from the game and even though the San Diego Padres, where Bochy spent most of his playing career, has been rumored to be interested in bringing Bochy south, it's pretty clear where the game is going.

The loudest ovation on Bochy's day among the roughly 100 former Giants that attended the ceremonies and the game, was very easy to gauge as it was clearly Tim Lincecum, who received the loudest cheer.
Lincecum has easily been the most popular Giant of my tenure as a fan and as popular as others have been, it's still Lincecum out in front of that race.
Lincecum will never be inducted in Cooperstown, but his four year run from 2008-12 was certainly of that level that included two Cy Young awards.
Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle writes of Lincecum's return, some memories and a little about what Lincecum is up to today, which is a lot when you consider how Lincecum stays away from the spotlight.
I may be writing posts on Bochy and/or Lincecum throughout the off-season.

The Chicago Tribune writes of the families and supporters of Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver as they continue to battle to clear the names of their ancestors on the 100th anniversary of the "Black Sox" scandal.
Jackson and Weaver are the two players that are involved with the scandal that has a viable claim of being somewhat innocent of the charges of throwing the 1919 World Series that would eventually claim the careers of several of the White Sox via commissioner decree the following year.

The Athletic travels through the state of Ohio for five days and eight hundred miles as the football passion of the state is recorded through the various people involved with high school, Ohio State, Ohio State's club team and one school playing eight-man football.
I found the rules and problems with eight-man football to be especially interesting and I wonder how viable eight-man football could be in some areas.
As one official was quoted as saying "Eight-man football is better than no football".

The Athletic returns with an article on Kellen Moore, the 30-year-old offensive wunderkind of the Dallas Cowboys,
Moore, who spent a few years in the league as a backup with the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions, is best remembered as a quarterback for his days at Boise State, where Moore was a finalist for the 2010 Heisman Trophy and for leading the Broncos to a 50-3 record with Moore at the helm.
That record is even more spectacular when you look at the three losses coming by a combined six points and two of the three losses could have been avoided as field goals that would have won the game were missed on the final play.
The article looks at the impact Moore has at Boise State and in the Boise area, where he is still popular enough to be a commercial endorser for a local auto group and public service announcements as well.

The LPGA's official site writes of the challenge of Nelly Korda to her sister Jessica as the best golfer in the family.
Jessica has more tour victories (5 to 2), but Nelly has passed her older sister in the Rolex World Rankings (9 to 19) and seems to have a better all-around game compared to Jessica's big hitter status off the tee, but can struggle with the short game.
I wonder what it would be like to compete with a sibling in an individual sport at the world's highest level?
I suppose that the travel and all that comes with the grind that surrounds a tour could be very nice to travel with but during the event? That has to be quite difficult if both are in a battle for position.

Cleaning out the inbox

The inbox cleaning begins with a great article from the Athletic on the original 2000 coaching staff with the always interesting Mike Leach at Texas Tech.
That squad between the players and the coaching staff includes eight coaches that would be head coaches, eight more that would be coordinators at the D-I level and seven besides that would become coaches at various smaller levels.
It is really a fascinating look into the world of Leach at Tech and how his influence on those coaches affects the college football world 19 years later.

ESPN writes of the story of the network's first live event and why their broadcast library had no such record of the broadcast.
The slow-pitch softball game between the Kentucky Bourbons and the Milwaukee Schlitz was the first game telecast from ESPN in September of 1979 and the tape from that game had been missing for years.
The article has a companion piece from the E 60 program, which I'm sure you can find with a short Google search.

Back to the Athletic with the story of the first game between Boise State and Marshall from 1994.
That game was the 1-AA national semi-final with the winner playing for the national championship and Marshall was the more established of the two, making trips to the previous three title games, winning one of the three games, all against Youngstown State.
Youngstown was waiting for the winner of this one as well and while being more of a Boise State story, there is plenty of 1-AA history and Marshall as well.
Hard to believe twenty-five years later that Boise State is the national brand and the football power of the Mountain West, while Marshall is probably the choice for the traditional kingpin of Conference USA, which didn't even exist in 1994!

Politico writes of the "culture of fear and self-dealing" at Liberty University in Lynchburg Va.
Liberty is the university that seems to run and own the area and is now led by Jerry Falwell, Jr, who you may have heard his name in the news of late.
The article covers many problems with the school and the Falwell family and what I was surprised about was the sources that were spoken to that seemed to have a real love for the university and even the family, but feel that something needed to be done in order to 'save' it.
I found that quite interesting and having been to Lynchburg, the power that the Falwell's possess, I can completely understand the sources reluctance to go against the family.

Finally, Ramon Malpica invited me to guest on his new venture and I was happy to do so.
Ramon asked me questions about myself, favorite things, opinions on gun laws, the USFL and at the end of course-Boxing.
Please give it a listen and rate and subscribe on the podcast platform of your choice.

Cleaning out the inbox

Time for a long overdue cleaning of the inbox!

We start with ESPN's Uni Watch brought to you by Paul Lukas.
Uni Watch is one of my favorite columns on the ESPN site and whether or not I agree with Lukas and his opinions,it usually brings opinions and memories of my own to the forefront.
This one was a special article for me as the story told the history of the Houston Astros uniforms from the mid 1970's to the late 80's.
The "Tequila Sunrise" or the more commonly used "rainbow" togs have quite the history and to my knowledge,this brings the designers of these uniforms together in an oral history to tell their story for the first time....

ESPN returns to discuss just what remains of the facilities used in the last summer Olympics in Rio.
The Brazilian nation has learned what so many Olympic hosts have learned going back to Montreal in 1976-It just isn't as valuable as the money that you put into hosting it.
In just one year after the games,Rio has rampant debt and corruption along with crumbling venues that are not being maintained.
A sad,but easily foreseeable end....

The Cleveland Mustard battle that so often finds its way into the inbox has done so again,this time from Eater.com.
Eater looks at the history of Bertman's and Stadium,the rivalry and how chef Michael Symon has chosen a side in the battle!

I really like Bruce Markusen's Card Corner on the Baseball Hall of Fame site and he most often writes about players from the 60's-80's era,the era in which I grew up watching and collecting cards of.
In this edition,Markusen writes of one-dimensional slugger Cliff Johnson,a catcher in name,but truly a man without a position during his career.
The well-traveled Johnson was remembered by me most as a member of the 1979 Cleveland Indians,which were special to me as I've written before as the first year I was an Indians fan.
The Indians traded for Johnson in June as the Yankees were looking to dump Johnson after a wrestling match with Goose Gossage resulted in a broken thumb for the Yankee closer.
The cost of journeyman reliever Don Hood shows how badly the Yankees wanted rid of Johnson,but Johnson for the rest of that season in Cleveland was pretty close to a powerhitting star as he hit 18 homers as an Indian in just 72 games.
Johnson couldn't sustain that in 1980 though and was traded midway through that season for the immortal Karl Pagel.
I have one vivid memory of Karl Pagel that I really should write about one day...

I've been a Boise State football fan for longer than I realized now.
The west coast location,fun teams to watch and being a Mountain West team that plays lots of non-Saturday games have all contributed to my Bronco fandom.
SB Nation writes a fascinating story with lots of people close to the Boise State program that explains the past and present of how the Boise program was built and makes the argument that Boise State is the true "Moneyball" of college football.
It's comprehensive and you might want to read it two or three times to truly digest it.

We wrap up with this article on Paul Finebaum.the unlikely breakout star of ESPN over the last few years.
Finebaum,who might be a bit too SEC centric for my tastes,but still is my standard football show during the season,has come from a regional radio star to being ESPN's everyday college star on SEC Network and now his show will play some on ESPN2.
Sports Business Journal writes of the rise of Finebaum,how it happened,the relationship with his often zany callers and even his own mistakes.
It's an honest look at Finebaum as well as Finebaum admitting to a few mistakes in the past.

That finishes the inbox dustoff.
The plan is to start the final road trip of the year posts over the next few days.
I also will have boxing challenge,weekend boxing coverage and maybe even something else too...

Boise State nips Washington

I watched the Boise State-Washington game with mixed emotions.
I've became a Boise fan over the years of their little uprising vs the national powers and became a big Chris Petersen fan because of it.
As a result of Petersen,I started to pull for the Washington Huskies as soon as he went there, as you could have seen last season as I added Washington to the PPM,so I wasn't sure how I would handle watching Petersen's return to the blue turf with his Huskies in tow as the underdog,despite their Power Five conference status.

It wasn't tough in the end,as I rooted for Boise State in a less than thrilling 16-13 win.
Yes,there was a heartstopper at the end when Washington's Cameron Van Winkle's 46 yard field goal attempt just missed with seconds to go that could have forced overtime,but it was otherwise was not the best game that I ever watched.

It had to be emotional for both teams and I doubt that you will ever see another game between Petersen and Boise State,
This wasn't a crazy crowd fueled with anger,it was more of a respectful crowd that was thankful to Chris Petersen for his part in building Bronco football,yet realized that time marches on and his time had passed.

Each team dominated a half and as a result,you had a close game that went to the end,but the Broncos do have some things that they need to address..
Most notably of these is special teams,which allowed a punt return for a touchdown,a punt block that gave Washington another three points and had an extra point blocked,that would have taken the long field goal try out of play with a conversion.
Take special teams out of play and this game looks very different as the Boise State defense allowed just six points and both of those off bad field position.
I liked what I saw out of Jeremy McNichols as the running back replacement for Jay Ajayi with 89 yards and two scores,but I wondered about some of the play calling,which was pretty conservative.
Perhaps this was a result as the familiarity with Chris Peterson and this happens sometimes when staffs that know each other well,so it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next few weeks.

The Boise State defense is going to be very tough to beat in the Mountain West,if they play anything like they did against Washington in allowing just 29 yards rushing.
I'm already looking forward to seeing the Broncos against the option of Air Force,who gave Boise State their only conference loss last season.

I'm not going to have regular coverage of Boise State or anything,but perhaps on occasion,I'll type out a post especially on non-Saturday games.
PC is still rolling for now,so if I can keep on line,I have another post planned for tonight....