Andrew Avalos (born November 5, 1981) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is head football coach at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

, his alma mater. He previously worked as an assistant at schools including Boise State and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

before returning to Boise State as head coach.

Playing career

During his tenure as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

, he amassed 365 tackles, which was fourth all-time in Boise State history. He also led Boise State in tackles every year from 2002 to 2004. He was named first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors in 2003 and 2004. In 2016, he was listed in the top 30 players in Boise State history since Boise State installed their famous blue turf in 1986. Avalos had a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown in the

2004 Liberty Bowl The 2004 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played on December 31, 2004, in Memphis, Tennessee. The 46th edition of the Liberty Bowl was played between the Boise State Broncos and the Louisville Cardinals in front of 58,355 ...

Coaching career

Early coaching career

After coaching the linebackers at Corona High School, which was where he went to high school, he joined the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

coaching staff as a graduate assistant under

Dan Hawkins Danny Clarence Hawkins (born November 10, 1960) is an American football coach at UC Davis. A former player and sportscaster, he served as the head football coach at Willamette University (1993–1997), Boise State University (2001–2005), and th ...

in 2006. He mainly helped Brian Cabral with the outside linebackers there. He was there until 2008. He left Colorado for

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

school Nebraska-Kearney to coach the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. While he was there, Nebraska-Kearney went 20–4 and made the

NCAA Division II playoffs The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

both years he was there. He coached linebackers at

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

during the 2011 season.

Boise State

Avalos was hired at his alma mater,

, in 2012 as their

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...

. Boise State’s rush defense ranked 11th nationally in sacks in 2012 (2.92), and tied for 30th in tackles-for-loss (6.7) in 2013. He was also notable during this time for coaching future NFL Pro-Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence was ranked tied for 18th in sacks per game (0.86) in 2012, and tied for 10th nationally in 2013 (0.88). Before 2014, he was moved to become Boise State’s linebackers coach. Boise State forced 31 turnovers in both 2014, where they ranked ninth, and 2015, where they ranked fifth. Following his positional coaching jobs at Boise State, he was promoted to

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

in 2016. His defenses were consistent, as they ranked 29th, 38th, and 30th from 2016–2018 in team defense. He coached 2017 Mountain West Player of the Year

Leighton Vander Esch Leighton Vander Esch (born February 8, 1996) is an American football middle linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State Broncos football, Boise State, and was drafted by the C ...

, three–time first team All-Mountain West recipient

Curtis Weaver Curtis Weaver (born August 3, 1998) is an American football outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State Broncos football, Boise State. Early years Weaver attended ...

, and five different first team All-Mountain West players when he was the defensive coordinator.

Oregon

On February 27, 2019, Avalos was hired to serve as Oregon’s defensive coordinator, replacing Jim Leavitt. Under Avalos, Oregon’s team defense went from 49th in 2018 to ninth in 2019. Also in 2019, the #2 recruit in the country according to 247Sports.com, Kayvon Thibodeaux, committed to Oregon. He had nine sacks and one forced fumble in his first season as a Duck.

Return to Boise State

On January 8, 2021,

hired Avalos as their new head football coach.

Personal life

Avalos and his wife, Summer, have two daughters, Paityn and Paige.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avalos, Andy 1981 births Living people American football linebackers Boise State Broncos football coaches Boise State Broncos football players Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Nebraska–Kearney Lopers football coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Sacramento State Hornets football coaches Sportspeople from Corona, California Coaches of American football from California Players of American football from California