Report: TCU set to hire Andy Avalos as defensive coordinator

Former Boise State head coach Andy Avalos is expected to become the new TCU defensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

TCU recently parted ways with Joe Gillespie, the former Horned Frogs DC. He originally joined the program after Sonny Dykes took the head coaching job.

However, TCU wanted a change and the school will bring in the former Broncos head coach.

Across nearly three seasons as the Broncos’ head coach, Avalos compiled a 21-14 record, including a 10-4 season in 2022 that resulted in a Frisco Bowl victory. This season wasn’t so kind to Avalos though.

Avalos was hired as the 11th head coach in Boise State program history on Jan. 9, 2021. That wasn’t the first time Avalos had returned to his alma mater after his all-conference collegiate career at linebacker between 2000 and 2004.

From 2012-2018, Avalos was a member of Chris Petersen and Bryan Harsin’s respective staffs. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2016 until his departure after the 2018 season.

After 2018, Avalos headed to the Pac-12 to take the DC job at Oregon, where he stayed for two seasons under Mario Cristobal before making the jump back to Boise State as their head coach.

He’s the reigning Mountain West Coach of the Year after the success brought to the program last season. It was Boise State’s first 10-win season since 2018, not to mention that Avalos led the team to its first bowl victory since 2017 as well.

Still, it wasn’t enough for the Boise State brass to feel comfortable moving forward with Avalos at the helm of the program. But, he’ll get the opportunity to turn a new leaf at TCU.

In 2022, the defense under Gillespie was actually worse than it was this season. They finished 91st in the nation by giving up 29 points and over 400 yards per game. Still, it was an improvement on defense from the final year under Gary Patterson. That unit was No. 118th in the country after giving up 34.9 points and 462 yards per contest. It also didn’t matter much as TCU was still able to go 13-2 en route to an appearance in the national championship.

Then, in 2023, it was more of the same as they gave up 27.8 points and, once again, over 400 yards of offense to their opponents.