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Boise State Football: Dirk Koetter is MWwire’s 2022 Coordinator of the Year
Koetter stepped into the breach at a difficult time for the Broncos and became the runaway pick as Mountain West football’s top assistant.
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The right man at the right time.
Mountain West Wire’s 2022 postseason honors:
All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Breakout Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
Most of the time in our staff vote for Mountain West football’s coordinator of the year, the selected coach is one who guides a dominant group from start to finish. This year, however, the top choice emerged from much different circumstances.
Boise State interim offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter didn’t begin the 2022 season with that title in hand, but after the Broncos languished in September, culminating in a flat performance on the road against UTEP, head coach Andy Avalos made a change. Then-coordinator Tim Plough was relieved of his duties and Koetter, a former Boise State head coach himself who’d most recently served as OC for the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 and 2020, got elevated to the role.
However, when combined with an unexpected switch at quarterback, the Broncos suddenly found themselves and ran through Mountain West play with an undefeated record thanks to a resurgent rushing attack. After failing to earn five yards per play in three of the team’s first four games, the Broncos would average no fewer than 6.0 YPP in any game the rest of the way and would finish in the top 40 nationally by, among other things, points per drive, sack rate allowed, and opportunity rate.
#BoiseState interim OC Dirk Koetter is full of awesome stories.
𝐆𝐎𝐃'𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 is one of them.
And just so you know, @MJD, the Broncos dialed it up a couple of times in last weekend's 49-10 win over Colorado State. https://t.co/U2iRSKkoxV pic.twitter.com/JJTWcy9U8T
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) October 31, 2022
Notable runners-up:
Spencer Danielson, Boise State defensive coordinator (8 points)
Our staff didn’t overlook Danielson’s contributions on the other side of the ball for the Broncos, who played about as well as expected throughout the year. His unit would finish 27th in defensive SP+ and allow just 1.53 points per drive, good enough to rank 13th overall, while posting an 8.3% sack rate and generating 18 takeaways.
Brian Knorr, Air Force defensive coordinator (7 points)
When the Falcons were at the top of their game in 2022, it often meant trouble for opposing offenses. Air Force finished the regular season ranked 10th by defensive SP+ and allowed 1.32 points per drive (fifth in FBS) and 5.06 yards per play, the third-best average in the Mountain West.
Also received votes: 4 points — Jeff Horton, OC, San Diego State; Kevin McGiven, OC, San Jose State; Kirby Moore, OC, Fresno State; Derrick Odum, DC, San Jose State; Mike Thiessen, OC, Air Force | 3 points — Freddie Banks, DC, Colorado State; Jacob Yoro, DC, Hawaii | 2 points — Kevin Coyle, DC, Fresno State; Tim Polasek, OC, Wyoming | 1 point — Keith Heyward, DC, UNLV; Rocky Long, DC; New Mexico; Anthony Tucker, OC, Utah State
