BILLINGS — Former Montana State assistant coach Kane Ioane will be the new defensive coordinator at Nevada under first-year Wolf Pack head coach Jeff Choate, a source confirmed to MTN Sports.
Ioane served as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Boise State for the past three seasons under Broncos head coach Andy Avalos. Avalos was fired 10 games into the 2023 season and has since been named defensive coordinator a TCU.
Ioane began his collegiate coaching career at Montana State under Mike Kramer in 2005. He served there under Rob Ash from 2007-15, and then under Choate in 2016 prior to leaving for a defensive analyst position at Washington in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Under Choate, Ioane coordinated the Montana State defense in 2019. MSU did not play during the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ioane departed for Boise State for the 2021 campaign.
As a player at Montana State, Ioane established himself as an all-time great. From 2000-03, the Billings Skyview alum was a four-time All-American as a safety and was the 2003 Big Sky Conference defensive player of the year. Ioane was named to the Bobcat Hall of Fame in 2014.
Choate was named the head coach at Nevada on Dec. 4. He replaces Ken Wilson, who went 4-20 in two years at the helm of the Wolf Pack. Choate spent the last three seasons as co-defensive coordinator at linebackers coach at Texas under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Choate was Montana State's head coach from 2016-19, going 28-22 overall with two playoff appearances, including a run to the FCS semifinals in 2019.
