Coach Spender Danielson Just Announced A Devastating News…
Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter thought he’d be enjoying retirement on a golf course all spring, sipping Coors Light and sinking putts.
Instead, he’s diving head-first into a job that will leave him little time to hit the course. “I didn’t expect to be here, to be honest,” Koetter told reporters on Thursday. “My head is kind of spinning.”
Koetter, a 65-year-old Pocatello native, retired from the NFL in 2021 after a coaching career that began at Highland High School in 1983.
His career included stops as head coach at Boise State (1998-2000) and Arizona State (2001-06), and for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-18). He was also offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Buccaneers. He had two stints with the Falcons, the second of which ended in 2020.
Koetter has been around the program at Boise State the past few years. He joined the staff as an analyst in 2022 and ended up taking over as interim offensive coordinator after Tim Plough was fired four games into the season.
He was replaced last year by former Boise State quarterback Bush Hamdan, who stayed just one season and left in January to become Kentucky’s offensive coordinator.
Koetter was still around the program last year, once again acting as an analyst, and he said Thursday that he didn’t initially consider himself a candidate for the OC job. He was more of an adviser early in the search, Boise State coach Spender Danielson said Thursday.
Koetter even sat in on a few early interviews. Koetter may not have considered himself a candidate when the search began, but Danielson had other thoughts.
He said his candidate pool was vast and he interviewed coaches with experience ranging from the NFL to FCS. But he also admitted he was targeting Koetter from the very beginning.
Coach Koetter is a guy who I have the utmost respect for,” Danielson said. “I believe in who he is as a football coach, and even more as a mentor and as a man for these young players.
.” Koetter acknowledged how persistent Danielson was, and he eventually convinced the old coach to make what Koetter called a “short-term commitment” to the team. He’ll make $460,000 to run the Broncos’ offense this year, according to his material term sheet.
“He’d ask me again and again every day,” Koetter said. “Spencer did a really good job of knowing what he was looking for and sticking to his guns, which is a good sign for him long term.
Koetter said Thursday that he won’t take part in off-campus recruiting this year, but he will help evaluate quarterbacks in Boise State’s 2025 class.
He will take on the day-to-day demands of preparing and running the offense, beginning Monday when the Broncos have their first spring practice of the year. The annual spring game is scheduled for April 20 at Albertsons Stadium.