Boise State coach had Koetter in mind as offensive coordinator candidate from beginning

Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter thought he’d be enjoying retirement on a golf course all spring, sipping Coors Light and sinking putts. Instead, he’s diving head-first into a job that will leave him little time to hit the course.

“I didn’t expect to be here, to be honest,” Koetter told reporters on Thursday. “My head is kind of spinning.”

Koetter, a 65-year-old Pocatello native, retired from the NFL in 2021 after a coaching career that began at Highland High School in 1983. His career included stops as head coach at Boise State (1998-2000) and Arizona State (2001-06), and for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-18). He was also offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Buccaneers.

He had two stints with the Falcons, the second of which ended in 2020.

Koetter has been around the program at Boise State the past few years. He joined the staff as an analyst in 2022 and ended up taking over as interim offensive coordinator after Tim Plough was fired four games into the season.

He was replaced last year by former Boise State quarterback Bush Hamdan, who stayed just one season and left in January to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator.

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Koetter was still around the program last year, once again acting as an analyst, and he said Thursday that he didn’t initially consider himself a candidate for the OC job. He was more of an adviser early in the search, Boise State coach Spender Danielson said Thursday. Koetter even sat in on a few early interviews.

Koetter may not have considered himself a candidate when the search began, but Danielson had other thoughts. He said his candidate pool was vast and he interviewed coaches with experience ranging from the NFL to FCS. But he also admitted he was targeting Koetter from the very beginning.

“Coach Koetter is a guy who I have the utmost respect for,” Danielson said. “I believe in who he is as a football coach, and even more as a mentor and as a man for these young players.”

Koetter acknowledged how persistent Danielson was, and he eventually convinced the old coach to make what Koetter called a “short-term commitment” to the team. He’ll make $460,000 to run the Broncos’ offense this year, according to his material term sheet.

“He’d ask me again and again every day,” Koetter said. “Spencer did a really good job of knowing what he was looking for and sticking to his guns, which is a good sign for him long term.”

Koetter said Thursday that he won’t take part in off-campus recruiting this year, but he will help evaluate quarterbacks in Boise State’s 2025 class. He will take on the day-to-day demands of preparing and running the offense, beginning Monday when the Broncos have their first spring practice of the year.

The annual spring game is scheduled for April 20 at Albertsons Stadium.

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Koetter said he took the job because of the respect he has for Danielson and the tradition at Boise State, which he said will always be dear to his heart. He also said he just missed the game, something many coaches struggle with after retirement.

“The competition part and the games, you can’t replace that anywhere else,” he said. “And then you have the tradition here. Spencer has done a great job adding his own spin on it, and that’s important to me going back to 1998.”

Koetter also said the talent the Broncos will put on the field this year helped seal the deal. He knows what running back Ashton Jeanty can do after watching him rack up 821 rushing yards as a freshman in 2022. Jeanty was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year last season after posting 1,347 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns. He’ll be the centerpiece of the offense, Koetter said.

“This is a run-first football team,” he said. “If you can run the football, you have a chance to be explosive in the passing game with the play action.”

Koetter doesn’t know former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson, who transferred to Boise State in January. He said Thursday that he’s seen the former five-star recruit throw on film and that’s all.

Koetter has plenty of experience mentoring top-end quarterbacks. He worked with Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, who racked up 4,719 passing yards and led the Falcons to the playoffs in 2012. Ryan went on to set franchise records in Atlanta for passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, completions, passer rating and wins.

Koetter also mentored former Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who threw for at least 3,500 yards every season from 2015 to 2017.

“The bottom line is we have to find multiple quarterbacks — more than one — who can help this team win in the fall,” Koetter said.

Grooming the future offensive coordinator

Koetter’s duties this year also include mentoring his eventual replacement. Danielson said Thursday that he is committed to promoting a coach already on staff to offensive coordinator eventually, and he appears to have his sights set on two former Boise State players: wide receivers coach Matt Miller and tight ends coach Nate Potter.

Miller, who played at BSU from 2010 to 2014, added the title of passing game coordinator to his resume on Thursday. He joined the Broncos’ staff in 2020 after four years at Montana State.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me,” Miller said. “I’m very grateful coach Danielson gave me this opportunity to take on more of that leadership role in the pass game, and working hand-in-hand with Dirk is going to be an awesome opportunity for me to continue to grow as a coach.”

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Miller, 32, spent his final two seasons at Montana State as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He said Thursday that he misses calling plays, and he aspires to be a coordinator again before eventually becoming a head coach.

“I believe in him and our players do, too,” Danielson said of Miller. “I know what type of football coach he is. I know what kind of mentor he is.”

Potter was an offensive tackle at Boise State from 2007 to 2011. He was picked by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft and began his coaching career as a quality control coach at Boise State in 2014.

The 35-year-old Denver native joined the Broncos’ staff as tight ends coach and run game coordinator in 2022, and added the title of co-offensive coordinator this year.

“He’s a phenomenal offensive coach,” Danielson said. “He does a great job of leading his room and touching every player on the team and making them better.”