Ranking the Mountain West's College Football Coaches for 2023

Air Force's Troy Calhoun ranks as the top coach in the Mountain West.

Author:
Steven Lassan
Jul 3, 2023 1:29 PM EDT

In this story:

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

San Diego State Aztecs

San Jose State Spartans

UNLV Rebels

Nevada Wolf Pack

Fresno State Bulldogs

College Football

The Mountain West features a solid collection of coaches entering the 2023 college football season. At the top, Air Force's Troy Calhoun leads the way, but Fresno State's Jeff Tedford isn't far behind. Wyoming's Craig Bohl and Boise State's Andy Avalos headline the next tier. The next group of coaches is tough to sort out, as little separates the No. 5 coach from the No. 8 spot in the rankings.

Success with any college football team starts with coaching. Even if a program doesn’t have the resources of the nation’s elite jobs, a good coach can elevate a program into national title or conference title contention. However, similar to any position on the field, statistics may not tell the full story when judging a coaching tenure.

How did we compile the rankings for coaches by conference? For starters, it’s an impossible task. However, we tried to weigh every possible factor into this ranking. This is not simply a list of coaches ranked by accomplishment or wins. While those aspects are important, it doesn’t provide a complete picture of how successful coaches are. Also, every program has a different amount of resources available. Hierarchy in college football also plays a vital role in how successful programs are. It's always easier for programs with more built-in advantages to contend for a national title on a more consistent basis.

The above factors, along with career biography/resume, success in developing talent and landing prospects on the recruiting trail factored into the ranking. Additionally, how well programs value staff (is the head coach better as a CEO or hands-on approach) and the facilities or program resources matter into forming an outlook of how coaches have performed at different stops throughout their career.

Again, wins and the career biography to this point are important. But our rankings also take into account a blank slate and subjectivity. If you start a program from scratch, which coach would you hire knowing what they accomplished so far and their career trajectory? Remember, you don't get the assistants - only the head coach. And head-to-head wins do not matter for this ranking. Athlon will rank every coach for all 10 conferences this offseason. Here are the results for Mountain West:

MW '23 Preview: Predictions | All-Conference | Bowl Projections | 133 Rankings

Ranking the Mountain West's College Football Coaches for 2023

1. Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Calhoun is 121-78 at his alma mater, which includes back-to-back 10-win seasons over the last two years and an 11-win mark in '19. Since the former Air Force quarterback took over the program in '07, the Falcons have posted only four losing records and have played in the Mountain West title game twice. The only thing missing from Calhoun's resume? A Mountain West Championship.

Related: Mountain West 2023 Predictions

2. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Tedford's second stint in charge at Fresno State is off to a good start. The Bulldogs went 10-4, won the Mountain West Championship and finished No. 24 nationally in the final Associated Press rankings last year. Tedford's previous run in Fresno was highlighted by 22 wins from 2017-18 before he stepped aside due to health reasons after the '19 season. In addition to being one of the top offensive minds and quarterback gurus in college football, Tedford has a solid overall mark as a head coach (118-75) thanks to his stints at Fresno State and California.

3. Craig Bohl, Wyoming
Wyoming is a difficult job, but Bohl has brought consistency since taking over the program in '14. After a 6-18 start to his tenure, the Cowboys have played in five bowl games over the last seven seasons. Also, the only losing record (2-4) in that span took place during the abbreviated '20 campaign. Bohl is 52-56 since taking over in Laramie, which followed a 104-32 mark at North Dakota State with three FCS Championships (2011-13).

4. Andy Avalos, Boise State
Avalos' stock is on the rise after Boise State's midseason turnaround and 10-4 mark last season. Although 10 wins has been a regular occurrence for the Broncos in recent years, Avalos rallied the team from a 2-2 start and an early offensive coordinator change to a division title and bowl victory over North Texas (34-22). He's 17-9 since taking over at his alma mater in '21. Avalos is also regarded for his work on defense (at Boise and previously at Oregon), as Boise State has allowed less than 20 points a game in each of the last two seasons.

5. Jay Norvell, Colorado StateNorvell's debut in Fort Collins resulted in a 3-9 mark, but the program played better as the season progressed and a solid foundation is in place for '23 and beyond. Considering the Rams had only seven returning starters and significant preseason question marks last year, it's hard to knock Norvell too far in the rankings. His previous tenure at Nevada - a tough job in the Mountain West - resulted in a 33-26 mark with four consecutive bowl trips.

MW '23 Preview: Predictions | All-Conference | Bowl Projections | 133 Rankings

6. Blake Anderson, Utah State
Utah State was one of college football's biggest surprises in '21, reeling off 11 victories, a Mountain West title and a bowl win over Oregon State in Anderson's debut. Prior to taking over in Logan, Anderson went 51-37 at Arkansas State and had just one losing mark over seven seasons in charge. However, after starting his tenure in Logan with an 11-3 mark, the Aggies slipped to 6-7 last fall. The guess here is Anderson will get this program back on track in '23 and beyond.

7. Brent Brennan, San Jose State
As a California native and an assistant with experience in the Pac-12 and also at San Jose State, Brennan was a perfect hire when he took over the Spartans in '17. After some early growing pains (3-22 in his first two years), San Jose State is 24-20 over the last four seasons, which includes a Mountain West title in '20 and bowl trips in '20 and '22. Despite its location in fertile recruiting territory, this is not an easy job. Yet, Brennan has managed to elevate the Spartans into an annual bowl contender.

8. Brady Hoke, San Diego State
Ranking No. 8 among Mountain West coaches might be too low for Hoke but not much separates him from Jay Norvell, Brent Brennan, and Blake Anderson in our rankings. Hoke's second stint guiding San Diego State has been headlined by ups-and-downs over the last three years. After a 4-4 mark in '20, the Aztecs went 12-2 and finished No. 25 nationally in the final Associated Press poll the following year. However, Hoke's team slipped to 7-6 last season. His previous stint at San Diego State resulted in a 13-12 record (2009-10), with tenures at Ball State (34-38) and Michigan (31-20) bringing his overall record to 101-84 entering '23.

9. Barry Odom, UNLV
Most of Odom's coaching career has been spent in the South or Midwest, so it was a mild surprise to see him hired at UNLV. However, this program has plenty of upside, and Odom's demeanor and approach might be the right fit to help the Rebels take a step forward. Prior to this spot in the Sin City, Odom worked as a defensive assistant and coordinator at Missouri, Memphis, and Arkansas. He also had a 25-25 stint as Missouri's head coach from 2016-19.

10. Timmy Chang, Hawaii
With Chang's ties to the state of Hawaii and a record-setting career with the Rainbow Warriors, plenty of patience will be displayed as he looks to turn things around in Honolulu. In his first year at the helm, Hawaii went 3-10 but showed improvement as the season progressed.

11. Danny Gonzales, New Mexico
Gonzales is a New Mexico native and a former Lobo, but patience is likely wearing thin in Albuquerque with a 7-24 start to his tenure. Although Gonzales' speciality (defense) has made strides over the last three seasons, the offense averaged just 12.2 points a game in '21 and 13.1 a contest in '22. With three wins in Mountain West play since '20, this fall is a make-or-break campaign for Gonzales.

12. Ken Wilson, Nevada
Wilson was a veteran assistant with stops at Oregon, Washington State and an extended run at Nevada (1989-98 and 2004-12) before landing his first head-coaching gig with the Wolf Pack in '22. After a 2-0 start, Nevada proceeded to lose its next 10 games to finish 2-10 in Wilson's debut. A handful of additions through the portal should help Nevada take a step forward in his second year.