Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal completed his coaching staff with the addition of Andy Avalos as the program’s defensive coordinator. Avalos has spent the last seven seasons at Boise State, including the last three as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
In each of Avalos’s three seasons as defensive coordinator (2016-18), Boise State finished in the top four in the Mountain West Conference in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and third down defense. The Broncos won 31 games over those three seasons and held 17 of their last 27 opponents to 20 points or less.
A former standout linebacker at Boise State, Avalos took over the defense at his alma mater in 2016 after two seasons as the program’s linebackers coach and two seasons coaching the defensive line. Boise State advanced to the Mountain West Championship game in both 2017 and 2018, allowing only 33 points combined and an average of 299 yards.
This past season, Boise State backed up its league-leading 34 sacks in 2017 with 39 sacks to rank 10th nationally and lead the Mountain West for the second consecutive year. The Broncos led the Mountain West with 24 forced turnovers in 2018, including a nation’s best 17 fumble recoveries. Boise ranked 22nd nationally in total defense in 2017, allowing 332.6 yards per game.
Avalos helped the Boise State defense hold 20 opponents from 2016-18 to 20 points or less, while the Broncos ranked tied for sixth nationally with 10 defensive touchdowns over that span.
Avalos’s defenses produced 21 All-Mountain West Conference selections from 2016-18, including eight first-team choices. Highlighting the 20-plus honorees is 2017 was Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Leighton Vander Esch, who was selected in the first round (No. 19) of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Vander Esch earned second-team All-Pro honors and an invitation to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season.
Over his seven seasons at Boise State, the defense ranked in the top 25 nationally in turnovers forced six times, highlighted by top 10 performances in 2012, 2014 and 2015. During Avalos' two seasons (2012-13) overseeing the defensive line, three Broncos combined to earn five All-Mountain West honors, including two-time first-team honoree DeMarcus Lawrence. Named an All-American in 2013, Lawrence was taken in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys and has been named to the Pro Bowl twice.
A four-year letterwinner for the Broncos, Avalos earned first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors at outside linebacker in each of his final two seasons. He completed his career ranked fourth all-time with 365 tackles, and led the Broncos in the statistical category in each of his final three seasons. He was named to the All-Blue Team during the 2016 season, a list of the 30 greatest players at Boise State since the inception of blue turf in 1986.
Avalos began his coaching career in his hometown of Corona, Calif., where he coached linebackers at Corona High School. He then spent three seasons (2006-08) at Colorado as a graduate assistant, two years (2009-10) at Nebraska-Kearney coaching the defensive line and one season (2011) at Sacramento State as the linebackers coach.