BOZEMAN — Rumors are flying about who will be the next head football coach at Boise State, and Montana State head coach Jeff Choate is reported to be a top candidate.
“There’s a couple of names and coach Choate is one of them and he’s got a vocal backing amongst former players," said J Bates, the news director at KIVI in Boise.
According to Bates, he has heard Choate has already interviewed for the job. The website FootballScoop.com run by Scott Roussel reported Monday afternoon that Choate is one of the prime candidates. With Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and former Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore re-signing with the NFL franchise, it appears as though Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, a former Broncos player and coach, might be slightly ahead of Choate for the Boise gig.
“(After Moore), No. 2 in (the fans' eyes) is Andy Avalos, he was beloved here as a player and coach, doing great things in Oregon with their defense," Bates said. "That’s where I think a lot of the fans and the boosters want to go first. There’s some vocal players that want coach Choate here.”
Like Moore and Avalos, Choate has deep ties with the program. The MSU head coach was at Boise from 2006-11 as a running backs, linebackers and special teams coach.
“The only thing that’s probably getting in his way is, A, Kellen Moore was interested and, B, Andy Avalos might be interested. Otherwise I’d be willing to bet they would have already made the call,” Bates said.
FootballScoop reported, as well, that Chris Petersen, who was the head coach at Boise State while Choate and Avalos were there, is an influential voice in the process. Take that for what it's worth, but with Jeremiah Dickey being a hired as Boise State's new athletic director a few short days ago, the top two candidates could still miss out on the job.
“That’s another thing about having a new AD from outside the family, he’s got his own people," Bates said. "Who knows who he might be interested in and they could bring in, it could be a completely fresh start and go outside the tree.”
As of right now, Boise State is reportedly still going through the interview process, and a spokesperson for MSU has declined to comment. Calls to the Boise State athletics office have not been returned.
