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| Andy Avalos |
Forty-two-year-old Andy Avalos has been named by TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes to replace Joe Gillespie as the Horned Frogs' defensive coordinator.
Gillespie just completed his second season as the head of the Horned Frogs’ defense. In 2022, TCU finished 95th in total defense and 91st in scoring defense. This season, the Frogs' defense finished 100th in total defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), allowing an average of 408.3 total yards of offense per game, and 78th in scoring offense, allowing an average of 27.83 points per game.
For the 2023 season, TCU finished 5-7 and did not qualify for a bowl game, after playing in the national championship game after the 2022 season. The Horned Frogs became just the third team since the College Football Playoff started in 2014 to make the playoff one year and miss a bowl game the next season.
Avalos comes to TCU from Boise State, where for the past three seasons he served as Boise State’s head football coach. He was the 2022 Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading the Broncos to a 10-4 record.
Avalos was fired after 10 games into Boise's 2023 season, becoming the first head coach in the program's history to be fired.
When Avalos was fired, Boise was 5-5 and in danger of having its first losing season since 1997. Under interim coach Spencer Danielson, who has been elevated to head coach, Boise won its last two games of the regular season and defeated UNLV in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game to reach 8-5.
Boise State is scheduled to play UCLA in the LA Bowl on December 16, in SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, California.
Before becoming Boise's head coach, Avalos was a defensive coordinator at
Oregon (2019-20) and Boise State (2016-18). With the Ducks, he was a 2019
semifinalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
During his career, Avalos has been a part of 15 conference championships and 13
bowl games. He has coached seven NFL Draft picks, four All-Americans, five
freshman All-Americans, three conference defensive players of the year and 50
all-conference selections.
Oregon won Pac-12 championships each season with Avalos in charge of its
defense. In his first year, Oregon improved significantly in nearly every major
statistical category while ranking among the nation’s elite units on its way to
a Pac-12 title, Rose Bowl win and 12-2 record. The Ducks won a
second straight Pac-12 championship in 2020 and earned an invitation to the 2021
Fiesta Bowl.
Oregon led the Pac-12 in sacks over the course of Avalos’ two seasons as
coordinator while ranking third in the conference in rush defense and
total defense. Oregon finished the 2019 season ninth in the nation in scoring
defense, allowing 16.5 points per game. The Ducks ranked 13th in rushing
defense (108.9 yards per game) and 22nd in total defense (329.1 yards per game)
with an improvement of nearly 57 yards from the previous season. Avalos’
defense finished second in the country in interceptions (20), sixth in passes
defended (76), 13th in sacks (41.0) and 21st in tackles for loss (97.0).
Prior to joining the Oregon staff, Avalos spent seven seasons coaching at Boise
State, including the final three as defensive coordinator. While at his alma mater, he also served as linebackers coach (2014-15)
and defensive line coach (2012-13). He was instrumental in the Broncos winning
Mountain West Championships in 2012, 2014 and 2017. The 2014 Broncos earned a
Fiesta Bowl trip against Arizona.
During his time as defensive coordinator, the Broncos led the Mountain West in sacks,
ranked second in rush defense and third in total defense.
In 2018, the Broncos were 10th nationally in sacks (three per game) and 20th in
turnovers forced (24). Included in the count were a nation’s-best 17 fumble
recoveries. Boise State also scored four defensive touchdowns, tying for
sixth-most in the country.
Boise State ranked 22nd nationally in total defense in 2017, allowing 332.6
yards per game. The Broncos’ 26 forced turnovers ranked 16th in the country.
The unit was led by Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Leighton Vander Esch, a first-round selection by the
Dallas Cowboys.
During Avalos' two seasons overseeing the defensive line, three Broncos
combined to earn five All-Mountain West honors. Included in that total was
two-time first-team honoree and Dallas Cowboys’ second-round pick DeMarcus
Lawrence. The Broncos ranked 11th nationally in sacks in 2012 with 2.9 per
game. In Avalos' debut season with the Broncos, the Broncos were eighth
nationally in scoring defense (15.8 points per game) and 12th in total defense
(315.6 yards per game).
Avalos also has worked at Colorado (2006-08), Sacramento State (2011)
and Nebraska-Kearney (2009-10). He began his
coaching career in his hometown of Corona, Calif., where he coached linebackers
at Corona High School.
A team captain and all-conference linebacker during his playing career
(2000-04), Avalos was the second graduate of Boise State to lead the
Broncos’ football program. He earned first-team All-WAC honors at outside
linebacker in each of his final two seasons, completing his career fourth
all-time at the school with 355 tackles. He was named to the All-Blue Team
during the 2016 season, a list of the 30 greatest players in Boise State
history. The Broncos won three WAC championships (2002, 2003, 2004) in his four
years as a starting linebacker.
TCU is scheduled to open the 2024 season on August 31, at Stanford.
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