Analysis: What TCU is getting in new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos

With the news confirmed that TCU has found its next defensive coordinator, what is TCU getting in Andy Avalos?

For one, experience. Avalos has coached at the Division I level for more than a decade with a brief stint at Sacremento State before spending the next seven years in Boise State.

Avalos, a former standout linebacker for the Broncos, coached linebackers and defensive linemen before coordinating the Broncos’ defense from 2016-18 and then Oregon’s in 2019-20. What did those two stops tell us?

Let’s examine:

First stint in Boise

While most coordinators can be defined by their preferred scheme, it’s fair to consider Avalos a multiple defensive coordinator. There could be some 3-3-5, there could also be more of a 4-2-5 look. Avalos isn’t stuck trying to run one particular scheme.

Even in an odd-man front, rushing four is probably the default number as opposed to the three-man rush TCU often used.

In his first season, the Broncos won 10 games and had a top-three scoring defense and top five rushing defense in the Mountain West. Boise generated nearly 30 sacks and showed a knack for producing turnovers.

Boise was better in Avalos’ second season as the Broncos improved in scoring defense and rushing defense. The Broncos led the Mountain West in sacks with 34. Leighton Vander Esch earned MWC Defensive Player of the Year while Curtis Weaver had 11 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

In his final season, the Broncos once again led the MWC in sacks with 39 while still remaining near the top in virtually every category. Weaver developed into a first team All-MWC selection 9.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.

Avalos was able to consistently stay at the top of the conference in pressure with his willingness to show different fronts and packages. While the 3-3-5 may have been the primary structure of the defense, the Broncos showed four and five man fronts at times to disguise where the rushers were coming from.

Different formations like the 2-4-5 or 1-5-5 or 1-4-6 were all used. These formations are more commonly seen in the NFL at times, but Avalos brought it to college and had plenty of success.

It’s a big reason he was hired to take over Oregon’s defense in 2019.

Time in Oregon

In Avalos’ first season, the Ducks were elite an defense. The Ducks were ninth in scoring defense and 13th nationally in stopping the run. Kayvon Thibodeaux, a future first-round pick for the New York Giants, had his best season under Avalos has he posted a career-high nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

The Ducks led the Pac-12 in interceptions, sacks, and were second in many more like passing defense efficiency, red zone defense and third down conversions allowed.

Avalos brought the same defensive ideas to the Pac-12 with uniquely stacked defensive fronts that sent pressure from all over. Players like Troy Dye and current Miami Dolphins standout safety Jevon Holland all broke out in Avalos’ first season in Eugene.

Avalos’ second season was marred by the COVID-19 shortened season as the Ducks played just seven games. The production dropped across the board in a weird year, but Avalos had done more than enough to earn the head coaching job at his alma mater.

As Boise’s head coach

Avalos got off to a good start as head coach as he relied primarily on a 4-2-5 scheme according to Boise State media. In 2021, the Broncos improved from the 52nd scoring defense nationally to 12th as the Broncos held opponents to just 19 points per game.

The Broncos did a great job of constantly forcing turnovers and once again were one of the best teams in the MWC at getting after the quarterback.

Boise had another elite defense in 2022 with the 15th ranked scoring defense in the country. It was also one of Avalos’ best defeneses against the run as opponents were held under four yards per carry while quarterbacks completed only 51% of their passes. Avalos went 10-4 last season in his best season.

So what happened this season with the Broncos? The defense plummeted in scoring defense and passing defense and according to a source with in-depth knowledge of Boise State. Avalos eventually lost the locker room in part because of how much he “meddled” with the offense according to the source.

The Broncos’ best offensive player, Eric McAlister, entered the transfer portal in November in part because of what he described as an “on and off relationship” to Bronco Nation News. Quarterback Taylen Green entered the transfer portal after the season.

Boise rebounded after Avalos’ firing and won the Mountain West Conference championship game against UNLV.

While his tenure at his alma mater didn’t end the way he wanted, Avalos is back in a position where he has excelled at almost every year of his career.

So what can TCU can expect from Avalos? A multiple defense that will fit the Horned Frogs’ roster and that should specialize in getting after the quarterback and causing havoc with turnovers.