BOISE, Idaho — Matt Miller’s name is all over the Boise State football record books. A photo from his playing days is still displayed at the Broncos’ Bleymaier Football Center.
And since 2020, his name has been on the wall outside an office, now accompanied by his coaching title.
“This place means a lot to me and my wife,” Miller told MTN Sports. “And obviously now being able to give back forward to these student-athletes is something we’re very passionate about. And getting to do what I love every single day is awesome.”
Miller, a Helena Capital graduate and former Montana Gatorade player of the year, was a freshman All-American wide receiver at Boise State in 2011. He earned All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2012 and 2013, was a team captain in 2014 and left the Broncos as the program’s career leader in receptions (244). He also ranked second in program history in receiving yards (3,049) and third in receiving touchdowns (29).
Now, after spending four years on the coaching staff at Montana State, Miller is grooming Boise State’s next great receivers. He was named the Broncos’ wide receivers coach in 2020 and this year was elevated to passing game coordinator, where he’ll work closely alongside Boise State legend and new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter.
Koetter was the Broncos’ head coach from 1998 to 2000 and has a long coaching resume, including 14 years in the NFL.
“Being able to work hand in hand with Dirk Koetter every single day has been awesome, an absolute blessing,” Miller said. “Really learning from that guy who’s honestly probably forgotten more football than I’ll ever imagine knowing, and so being able to be a sponge around him and pick up everything I can from that guy has been very, very advantageous for me.”
After his playing days wrapped up, Miller immediately got into coaching. He began his career as an offensive quality control assistant at Boise State in 2015 and then was on Jeff Choate’s staff at Montana State from 2016 to 2019.
Miller started with the Bobcats as the wide receivers coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator during the 2018 season.
“2018 was kind of trial by error, getting thrown into the mix being the offensive coordinator there and having no clue what I was doing. I was just kind of going by the seat of my pants,” Miller recalled.
In 2019, Miller’s first full season as Montana State’s offensive coordinator, the Bobcats led the Big Sky Conference and ranked eighth nationally in rushing offense (258.1 yards per game). They were 25th in the country in total offense (426.5 yards per game).
Miller, though, wasn’t satisfied.
“Having another year of just trying to figure it out (in 2019), I thought, ‘I just don’t have it figured out,’” Miller said, “and had that humility to be like, ‘I need to go somewhere and learn more.’”
Boise State gave him that opportunity in 2020. Since then, he’s continued to put in the work to advance his career — much like many of his former Montana State colleagues.
This fall, when Boise State plays Nevada, Miller will match coaching wits with a host of former Bobcat coaches, including Choate, who was named the Wolfpack’s head coach last winter.
“He’s like a second father to me,” Miller said of Choate. “He’s still a guy that I can call probably all but one week out of the year for advice in this profession and how to handle business.”
Another Montanan on the Nevada coaching staff is defensive coordinator Kane Ioane, a Billings native who is one of the best to ever play at Montana State.
As a player, Ioane was a four-time All-American safety for the Bobcats. Now, he’s had his own long coaching career, where he overlapped with Miller at both Montana State and Boise State.
“Bigger picture, our wives got really close, our families got really close, and so that means the world to both of us,” said Miller, who with his wife, former Boise State volleyball standout Sarah Baugh, has a young daughter. “Having a friend in this profession who we can talk to — and when we’re down, we can pick each other up, and when we’re having success, celebrate that with each other — that’s a lot of fun for us.”
As both Ioane and Miller climb the coaching ranks, neither has forgotten his football roots back in Montana. Miller was a guest speaker last winter at a coaching seminar put on by the Kas Ioane Foundation, a charitable nonprofit Kane Ioane established in his father's name.
Miller regularly makes it back to the Treasure State — though not as often as he would like — to visit family, which is now spread between Helena, Havre and Bozeman. He still keeps tabs on Montana and Montana State and said he tries to watch the annual Cat-Griz game with his “own two eyes” even if it’s a replay well after the game has ended.
To Miller, it means something to be from Montana, and he has an immense amount of pride in his home state. He’s taken it to Boise State and will carry it with him throughout his career.
“I think it’s a great compliment when people tell you that, hey, you’re a Montana guy, you’re a Montana girl,” he said. “And that says a lot about who you are as a person, the values you have and the type of person you’re going to be every single day.
“Montana guys wake up every morning, be where your two feet are, outwork everybody. When times get tough, grab the extra gear, because that's what we're made of up there.”
