As Jeff Choate, his wife and two children stood on stage as the “Spirit of the West” marching band played the Montana State fight song, a look of satisfaction graced the face of MSU’s new head football coach.
As Choate stepped to the podium to address a room of several hundred people dressed in a blue and gold suit with a Bobcat pin gracing the left breast pocket, he first chose to express the gratitude for everyone who helped the 45-year-old reach this point in his career.
MSU head coach Jeff Choate with wife Janet, son Jory & daughter Jacy
“My family has been so supportive of me in my journey to be a head football coach and this place is such a good fit for us,” MSU’s 32nd head football coach said as he stood on stage at the ballroom of the Strand Union Building on the Montana State campus. “I have some lifelong friends here today that have supported me on this journey. My dad passed away a few years ago and he would’ve been 69 years old yesterday. I know he is looking down on me right now and is proud of me. I didn’t get here alone. I was standing on some shoulders of some really wonderful people.
“I didn’t get here by myself. I’ve had so many coaches along my journey who have assisted me and helped me. Two of my greatest mentors are men who have coached here at Montana State, Mick Dennehy and Mick Delaney. Those two men have been so important in my life. Chris Peterson and the time I spent with him at Boise State and Washington, I learned so much from him as well.”
Choate is currently the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at the University of Washington. He will continue to coach the Huskies until the Heart of Dallas Bowl the day after Christmas. Choate takes over for Rob Ash, the all-time leader in wins after leading the Bobcats the past nine seasons. Ash won three Big Sky Conference titles and posted a 70-38 record since taking over in 2007. He was fired on November 23 two days after a 54-35 loss to rival Montana to cap a 5-6 season, his and Montana State’s first since 2001.
MSU head coach Jeff Choate
Choate played for and coached under Delaney, an assistant on Sonny Lubick’s staffs at MSU and Colorado State and the head coach at Montana for three years ending in 2014. Dennehy also served on Lubick’s staff in the early 1980s before taking over at Montana Western later in the decade. Dennehy was the head coach at Montana from 1996 until 1999 before taking the Utah State head coaching job. Choate coached on Dennehy’s staff in Logan, Utah.
Choate will have a base salary of $180,000. His contract will include similar bonuses as Ash’s, MSU athletic director Peter Fields said. Ash had a base salary of $174,538. His contract included guaranteed bonuses that raised his full earnings to at least $256,038. The contract is still up for approval by the Montana Board of Regents. Fields said the “regent policy” is for three-year contracts.
Choate rose to the top from a group of 84 applicants, including five that Montana State granted in person interviews to. Former Montana State offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey (2013-2015), Missouri wide receivers coach Andy Hill, Arizona State defensive coordinator Chris Ball and former Montana State offensive coordinator Brian Wright (2010-11) also received in person interviews.
Fields and a committee of eight people —committee chair George Haynes (MSU Faculty Athletic Representative), quarterback club members Doug Alexander and Rick Vancleeve, Camie Bechtold (Bobcat athletics), Dan Davies (support), Jackie Elliott (MSU SAAC president), Mitch Griebel (football player), Bob Mokwa (MSU Faculty Athletic Committee) and John Smith (Bobcat Club)— selected Choate as the next Bobcat football coach on December 4 and announced the hiring on Monday, three days later.
MSU Athletic Director Peter Fields
Fields said he had 16 to 18 candidates on the initial board that the committee “had a long conversation about.” Fields said the list included coaches currently working the South Eastern Conference, the Pac 12, the Big XII and several small schools. Choate emerged as the choice because of his history at successful programs like Boise State, Florida and Washington combined with the academic reputation of each place he has recruited to, Fields said. Like Montana State, Florida and Washington are among 108 universities considered Research Universities (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Choate’s connection to the West — he grew up in St. Maries, Idaho, played football at Montana Western and has spent time at Utah State, Boise State, Washington State and Washington — plus his apparent enthusiasm stuck out right away to the committee.
“You don’t have to talk to him for very long to know he has some passion,” Fields said. “You want to roll your sleeves up. Sometime during the interview, you felt like he was going to come around the table and show you how to block or show you how to do something. His connection to Montana, he was the right fit. I try not to use that word but it is what it is. He’s the person we needed here at this time.”
“He wants to coach in the Big Sky. When I talked to Coach (Chris) Peterson at Washington, he told me, ‘Peter, he doesn’t want to be a University of Washington coach. He wants to be a Big Sky coach.’ He wants to be the coach at Montana State.”
Fields and the staff made the hire 12 days from Ash’s firing. One of the key factors to Ash not being retained was an inability to beat the Grizzlies. MSU defeated Montana twice in Ash’s nine tries. On Monday, Choate addressed the rivalry head on during his opening statement.
“The one thing they will remember is they will always remember that game against the team over the hill,” Choate said. “We have to make sure we do everything in our power that THE Montana State University has it’s rightful place in this state. I promise you I understand that rivalry, respect it tremendously and am excited to be a part of it in the near future.
“We are not going to beat Montana one day a year. We are going to beat Montana every day.”
MSU head coach Jeff Choate
Choate is still assembling his staff, although all but three of Ash’s assistants will not return. Defensive coordinator Kane Ioane, recruiting coordinator Bo Beck and running backs coach Michael Pitre will be given a chance to interview for a spot on Choate’s staff. The Billings Gazette is reporting that Rocky Mountain College head coach Brian Armstrong will join Choate’s staff as the offensive line coach. Former Boise State football players Matt Miller and Byron Hout will also join in an unknown capacity, sources confirmed.
Choate met with the players on Sunday afternoon. On Monday, he talked of the importance of the roster he will inherit as MSU tries to return to the form that helped the Bobcats win six Big Sky titles between 2002 and 2012.
“The most important thing for me as the head football coach here are the players,” Choate said. “That was my message to them last night. Before we did any media, before we did anything else, I wanted the opportunity to stand in front of them so they know who was leading the program going forward. I think they got a very good impression of what type of head coach I’m going to be. The type of energy, the type of work ethic I’m going to bring to the table.”
MSU graduates 17 seniors from last season’s squad. The Bobcats will return five starters offensively, eight starters defensively plus kicker Luke Daly from last season’s 5-6 team. The group includes senior captains quarterback Dakota Prukop and running back Chad Newell.
MSU head coach Jeff Choate
“He’s an intense dude who brings a ton of enthusiasm to what he does,” Newell said. “Great first impression. I’m excited to get to know more about him. He talked about putting the focus on us players. As a player, that’s something you love to hear.
“From the top down, it will be a little more intense rather than the bottom up. We’ve always had intensity at the player level, guys like J.P. Flynn, Dakota Prukop, Gunnar Brekke, guys who are just intense, love working out, love being around the team, love bringing guys up. It will be a little different coming from the top down. It will be easier to meet in the middle with the intensity level. I think that will be good for the program.”
Choate said he has not watched a single second of Montana State film “intentionally.” He wants to meet each player face to face to get to know them on a personal level before evaluating their talents on the football field. He said his first evaluation will be each player’s performance on their respective fall semester finals this week. He said he hopes to have a staff finalized by the first of the year in 2016. Once the pieces are in place, he is excited to go to work.
“I’m sure people are going to as me what this is about. I think it’s about this: character, accountability and toughness. That’s what this program is going to be about. We are going to recruit high-character young men who will represent this university in a first-class fashion. We are going to make sure we understand what it means to be accountable to each other, this program and to themselves. And we are going to put a heck of a good, tough brand of football on the field.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
