A day after announcing it would be making a change, TCU has its new defensive coordinator.
On Monday, the Horned Frogs announced they are hiring former Boise State head coach Andy Avalos to replace Joe Gillespie, who was fired on Sunday after two seasons.
Avalos spent three seasons as the head coach at Boise State, winning 10 games in 2022 on his way to Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, and was fired near the end of the 2023 regular season before the Broncos played in the Mountain West Championship game.
He is a Boise State alumnus and has previously coordinated defenses for his alma mater and Oregon, producing elite units everywhere he has been and earning a nomination for the Broyles Award (Nation’s Best Assistant Coach) in 2019 after significantly improving Oregon’s defense and turning it into a top 15 unit.
TCU’s defense was very similar this season as the previous year, but more losses resulted from crucial blunders. The Horned Frogs actually improved in scoring defense, red zone defense, and run defense and had more sacks in 2023, but their passing defense was exposed, ranking 113th in the country.
Avalos has been known to run a 3-3-5 defensive scheme like Gillespie but differs in his ability to adjust his system to his personnel and deploy a more aggressive pass-rushing strategy.
During his final season at Boise State, the Broncos struggled with their pass defense but were better than TCU in almost every other defensive category, albeit in a non-power conference. Boise State finished the year with more sacks per game and allowed fewer points, rushing yards, and total yards than the 2022 TCU team that reached the National Championship Game.
After the season that was, change was clearly needed. Avalos has an elite track record as a coordinator and has worked wonders for other programs. Now, the Horned Frogs are hoping he can do it again.
