Nevada Football: Wolf Pack Officially Hire Jeff Choate As Head Coach
Nevada has officially hired Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate for the head coaching position
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Jeff Choate Is The New Head Coach For Nevada
The Nevada Wolf Pack officially hired Jeff Choate as their football head coach on Monday.
Choate will be the 28th head football coach in the history of the Nevada football program.
Nevada targeted Choate for its vacant head coaching position very early in their coaching search. By early Monday, Choate was named the new head coach. Choate will replace Ken Wilson as Nevada’s head coach after Wilson went 4-20 in his two seasons in Reno.
Jeff Choate was officially named the head coach at a press conference on Monday afternoon in Reno. Nevada athletic Director Stephanie Rempe and Nevada school president Brian Sandoval formally introduced Choate as the new head coach.
“ I am sincerely thankful to President (Brian) Sandoval and athletic director Stephanie Rempe, as well as the entire Nevada Athletics staff for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead Nevada football into the future,” Choate said after he was named the new head coach at Nevada.
Choate also went on to say “Together we are ready to climb the mountain , instill the Battle Born mentality and create a transformative experience for our players.” “Our goal is to reignite the fire within the Wolf Pack and elevate the program to championship heights.”
With Choate as the new head coach for Nevada, the Wolf Pack got a head coach with a winning pedigree. Choate was the head coach at Montana State from 2016 until 2021. During his time at Montana State, Choate went 28-22 and guided the Bobcats to back to back FCS playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019. Choate’s win total improved during his time in Bozeman from four to five to eight to 11 wins. In 2019 he did lead the Bobcats to FCS Final four in football which was their first FCS semifinal appearance since 1984.
Choate also boasts extensive experience as an assistant coach. Choate began his coaching career in 1992. In 2002, Choate got his first FBS assistant job at Utah State as a graduate assistant. From there, Choate was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois, Boise State, Washington State, Florida and Texas. It is at Texas where Choate is currently the co-defensive coordinator under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Per Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray, Choate will stay on as the co-defensive coordinator for Texas as the Longhorns are in the College Football Playoff. Choate will stay in Reno to get settled until the 15th of December when the Longhorns start preparing for their CFP semifinal game.
Choate looks to bring his brand of “blue-collar” toughness to Nevada football. During his time as head coach of Montana State, Choate’s offenses ran the ball close to two-thirds of the time on offense. Now one would see that stat and think that the offense would not produce many points. However, Montana State’s offense under Choate averaged 28.5 points per game during his time at Bozeman.
For a Nevada offense that did not even average 20 points per game under Ken Wilson, this will be a welcomed change. We have to wait and see who Choate hires as an offensive coordinator but expect a run-oriented offense. Hopefully, for Nevada fans, a more successful run-oriented offense under Choate.
This is a very solid hire for Nevada’s football program. Choate’s extensive coaching experience as an assistant and as a head coach is perfect for this program. Especially Choate’s head coaching time at Montana State, an FCS school with limited money and resources. Despite those limitations, Choate built the Bobcat program up to a FCS playoff team. So Choate has experience dealing with limitations and Nevada football has clear limitations.
Choate’s task is to get Nevada football back into bowl contention and championship contention. And not only is he task to get the Wolf Pack back into bowl/championship contention but to keep them in contention. As I said after Nevada fired Ken Wilson, the Wolf Pack must have a consistent converted effort to be a championship contenting football program.
With Jeff Choate, Nevada has a coach that has the track record to build a winner. A tough, blue-collar style of football that Choate wants to establish in Reno. It is on Choate to establish that mindset and it is up to Nevada AD Stephanie Rempe and school President Sandoval to set Choate up for success.
