Ranking the Mountain West's College Football Coaches for 2024

Author:
Steven Lassan
May 23, 2024 11:26 AM EDT

In this story:

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

San Diego State Aztecs

San Jose State Spartans

UNLV Rebels

Fresno State Bulldogs

College Football

The Mountain West coaching ranks have experienced quite a bit of change in recent years. Every coach outside of Air Force's Troy Calhoun was hired in 2021 or later and six jobs changed hands this offseason. In addition to being the longest-tenured coach in the Mountain West, Calhoun's long track record of success in Colorado Springs makes him the easy No. 1 pick atop the conference rankings.

Fresno State's Jeff Tedford and two newcomers - New Mexico's Bronco Mendenhall and San Diego State's Sean Lewis - headline the next tier. But an intriguing group of coaches is right behind that group, including Utah State's Blake Anderson, Colorado State's Jay Norvell, UNLV's Barry Odom, and new Boise State coach Spencer Danielson.

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.

MORE COACH RANKINGS: Big Ten | SEC | Big 12 | ACC | Sun Belt | American | MAC | CUSA

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 in all conferences this offseason.

Here are the results for the Mountain West:

Ranking the Mountain West's College Football Coaches for 2024

1. Troy Calhoun, Air Force

Calhoun has spent 17 seasons in charge at his alma mater, which also makes him the longest-tenured coach in the Group of 5 ranks. The former Air Force quarterback was hired in '07 and consistently wins at a high level at a challenging job. The Falcons are 130-82 overall and have recorded five double-digit victory totals. Additionally, Air Force has won 29 games over the last three seasons. The No. 22 final ranking in '22 was the program's first top-25 finish since 1991.

2. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State

In addition to ranking among the top offensive minds in college football, Tedford is easily one of the best Group of 5 coaches entering the '24 season. The California native is 19-8 over the last two years in his second stint at Fresno State. He previously went 26-14 from 2017-19 with the Bulldogs before stepping down due to health reasons. Tedford also recorded an 82-57 mark as the head coach at California from 2002-12.

3. Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico

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Mendenhall returns to the sidelines after taking a two-year hiatus. The Utah native stepped down at Virginia in '21 after a 36-38 run in Charlottesville. That stint included a stretch of 17 victories from 2018-19. Prior to Virginia, Mendenhall went 99-43 at BYU and did not have a losing record in 11 years in charge. Mendenhall previously worked at New Mexico as an assistant from 1998-02. With a track record of getting the most out of rosters in difficult spots, Mendenhall should be a strong fit in Albuquerque.

4. Sean Lewis, San Diego State

Lewis is one of the top Group of 5 hires in the 2023-24 cycle. Also, his track record of producing high-powered offenses and building an entertaining style of play should inject needed energy into San Diego State's program. The Illinois native spent the '23 season as Colorado's offensive coordinator and went 24-31 as the head coach at Kent State from 2018-22. Don't let the record fool you: Kent State is one of the toughest jobs in college football and taking the program to two bowl trips and a pair of seven-win seasons was a huge success. The 38-year-old former Wisconsin tight end is one of college football's top rising stars in the coaching ranks.

5. Barry Odom, UNLV

Odom was one of college football's top first-year coaches last season, guiding UNLV to a 9-5 mark and their first appearance in the Mountain West title game. Also, the nine victories tied for the second-highest total for a single year in program history. Although Odom wasn't a flashy name when he was hired and was fired at Missouri after a 25-25 mark from 2016-19, his blue-collar approach proved to be what UNLV needed.

6. Blake Anderson, Utah State

After winning 11 games and the Mountain West Championship in his debut at Utah State in '21, Anderson has guided the team to a 12-14 mark and back-to-back bowl trips. Although the last two years haven't quite measured up to the '21 campaign, Anderson is still 74-54 overall as a college head coach after a 51-37 stint at Arkansas State (2014-20). In 10 seasons as a FBS head coach, Anderson has had only one year of fewer than seven victories (2020 at Arkansas State).

7. Jay Norvell, Colorado State

Norvell seems likely to move up this list by the end of '24, as the Rams are an interesting sleeper team to watch in the Mountain West. Colorado State went 3-9 in Norvell's debut in 2022 but improved to 5-7 with a couple of close losses preventing a bowl trip last fall. Norvell arrived in Fort Collins after going 33-26 at Nevada - one of the Mountain West's toughest jobs - and guided the program to four bowl trips and at least seven victories in each of his last four years at the helm (2018-21).

8. Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State

Niumatalolo's tenure at San Jose State will be a fascinating watch. The Hawaii native had a successful run at Navy by compiling 109 wins over 15 seasons. The Midshipmen posted three double-digit win totals, including two years of 11 victories and two finishes in the top 25. However, after an 11-23 record over his final three seasons in Annapolis, Niumatalolo was fired after the '22 campaign and spent last year working as an assistant at UCLA. Although he ran the option at Navy, Niumatalolo is planning a completely different style of play in San Jose with a wide-open passing game. How Niumatalolo adapts to coaching this style and his new conference surroundings will be an intriguing '24 storyline.

9. Spencer Danielson, Boise State

Danielson's earned the full-time job at Boise State thanks to a 3-1 finish and a Mountain West Championship victory over UNLV last season. The California native has worked with the Broncos as an assistant since '17, which includes a stint as the program's co-defensive coordinator since '19. Danielson is off to a strong start as Boise State's head coach and returns a team capable of earning the Group of 5 spot in the CFB Playoff. However, with just four games in charge, he's still largely an unknown and tough to rank for '24.

10. Jeff Choate, Nevada

Nevada is a tough job, but Choate is a strong hire after working for the past three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Texas and a previous stint as the head coach at Montana State. The Bobcats went 28-22 under Choate's watch from 2016-19, which included a No. 4 finish in the '19 season with 11 victories. Choate also has previous experience as an assistant at Boise State, Washington State, Florida, and Washington.

11. Timmy Chang, Hawaii

The Rainbow Warriors are making steady progress under Chang. After a 3-10 debut in '22, Hawaii improved to 5-8 last season and finished by winning three of four - including two high-profile wins against Colorado State and Air Force. The Honolulu native and former Hawaii QB should help this program to another step forward in the win column in '24.