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Sark after dark COACHING STAFF thread


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I have a random family connection to folks high up in Montana state athletics.
They would not be happy about him leaving and love him there if that does anything for you. 
I’ve asked if it’s final on their end and haven’t heard back. 
 
updated - this was the response: “He is the best!  Seriously. He would be best hire Sark could make ”
People in Montana right now.giphy.gif?cid=349c9dd72yzu0hudulj5z6f6ziyn2rrg024bk7kjevket9zq&rid=giphy.gif
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40 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:


A bunch of Washington fans wanted them to bring him back as DC after we stole PK.

UW fans must absolutely hate Sark right now. lol

32 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Apparently Choate was one of the finalists for the Boise St job as well.

That and him turning them around from a 4-7 team to an 11-4 team is damn impressive. I’m a little surprised he was willing to come here, but his salary was about 320,000 there, and I’d bet we’re about doubling it. He’s also got a good chance at getting a P5 coordinator gig if this goes well. 

19 minutes ago, ForTheCorner said:

This seems to be the hire that always would have made sense. Coach K comes in and brings one of the guys who knows his scheme.

The Stoops debacle didn't even make any sense even w/o BlOU baggage (why pick an LB coach who hasnt coached LBs in 3 decades). Ready to win and put that near-unforced error behind us.

I really, really like that he knows PK’s scheme and can teach it well. He’ll probably help with game planning too. And it’s awesome to have a former HC who knows how to run a program. That should help add a lot of stability for Sark. 

16 minutes ago, Texas Flood said:

Weird. Still on the Sark train, but this and the Stoops blunder are concerning

Huh? Are you taking about the Choate hire? This is a good hire. 

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37 minutes ago, Hornlover said:

I'm just going to assume that the fucksticks at USC or Alabama don't truly know what it means to have a rival that you abso-fucking-lutely hate to the core. You despise that rival with every bone, muscle, and fiber in your body. Nobody at Alabama would blink an eye if they hired colossal failure Chizik to be their DC. Noboody at USC would even notice if Rick Neuheisel was announced as QB coach. Because they don't really understand what a true rivalry is.

So, I'll just assume that Sark, never having actually been involved in an actual honest to goodness rivalry of hatred, was blissfully unaware of how much the fanbase , BMDs, and players would react to this fuckup. Perhaps he now understands the magnitude of his fuckup and what a real rivalry actually is.

Alabama certainly does, and, just as one example, Jay Norvell remains a respected and well-liked former employee at both OU and UT. The problem is that Mark Stoops is a shitty person.

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This is probably the best article you are going to get about this for the time being. Not a ton of people with contacts in Montana..

 

https://skylinesportsmt.com/sources-choate-to-texas-as-lb/

Spoiler

BOZEMAN, Montana — And just like that, the man who built a reputation as the greatest Griz slayer since Sonny Holland is on the way to the Lone Star State.

Less than a month after serving as a finalist for the head coaching opening at Boise State, Jeff Choate will be hired as the co defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas. Seven independent sources with direct knowledge of the hiring confirmed to Skyline Sports that Choate confirmed to his MSU coaching staff in a meeting that he will be joining Steve Sarkisian’s staff for the Longhorns.

Initial indications were that Choate would serve as the special teams coordinator at Texas. But Jeff Banks has been hired as Texas’ special teams coordinator, assistant head coach and tight ends coach after previously working at Alabama.

Instead, Bruce Feldman of the Athletic confirmed that Choate will be the co-defensive coordinator and coach Texas’s inside linebackers

Choate has worked alongside several of the newly hired Longhorn assistants, including under Pete Kwiatkowski during their time together at Washington during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Kwiatkowski, who was Montana State’s defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2005 under head coach Mike Kramer, coached alongside Choate at Boise State from 2006 until 2009. Kwiatkowski was Washington’s DC from 2010 through 2020 before recently joining Sarkisian’s staff in Austin as the defensive coordinator. At Boise State and Washington, Choate and Kwiatkowski worked for Chris Petersen.

Zach Barnett from Football Scoop originally reported that a deal for Choate’s move was in the works.

 

During his four seasons at Montana State, Choate took a once-proud program that won three straight Big Sky Conference championships to start the decade and repaired it after the disastrous 2015 season that ultimately left to the dismissal of Rob Ash. In his nine seasons at the helm at MSU, Ash won 70 games, more than any other Bobcat including Sonny Holland, the man widely revered as the greatest Bobcat of them all.

Ash won the Big Sky in 2010, 2011 and 2012, advancing to the FCS playoffs in each season along with in 2014. But a 2-7 record against rival Montana ultimately led to Ash’s demise, culminating in a 54-35 home loss to UM in 2015 to cap the first losing season in 14 at Montana State.

Choate entered with a fiery attitude, a passionate vision and the ability to profess both elements via his articulate, entertaining way of interacting with nearly every person he crossed paths with. Choate’s first season started with six consecutive Big Sky losses but ended on an uptick with wins over UC Davis and an unlikely win 24-17 win over a ranked Montana in Missoula that kept the Griz out of the playoffs.

In 2017, Montana State played the toughest schedule in the Big Sky and were a couple of two-point conversions (in a 16-14 loss to Kennesaw State and a 37-36 loss at Northern Arizona) from making the FCS playoffs. The Bobcats did post a 31-23 win over Montana in Bozeman, the first win by the Bobcats over the Griz on their home field in more than a decade. That helped MSU finish 5-6.

Jeff-Choate-yells-after-Cat-Griz-win.jpg Montana State head coach Jeff Choate/by Brooks Nuanez

In 2018, despite the academic issues of two-year starting quarterback Chris Murray (he did not play at MSU again), the Bobcats broke the playoff drought as linebacker turned quarterback Troy Andersen helped will MSU to a post-season bid and a first-round victory over No. 24 Incarnate Word. Of course, the Bobcats also captured a 29-25 victory over Montana in Missoula in one of the most unforgettable games in the more than century-old rivalry.

And last season, Montana State ascended to the ranks of the nationally elite. The Bobcats defeated four teams ranked in the Top 25 of the FCS, including a win over No. 12 Southeast Missouri State in their home opener and bookended by a a 48-14 decimation of the No. 3 Griz in Bozeman that helped the Bobcats sew up the No. 5 seed in the FCS playoffs and the first-round bye that came with it. MSU beat No. 25 Albany and No. 18 Austin Peay to earn a bid in the semifinals for the first time since 1984.

Choate is most famous (and infamous) around the Treasure State for becoming the first Bobcat coach since Holland to post four straight victories over the Grizzlies. Last year’s whipping was the largest margin of victory posted by MSU over Montana in the two teams’ Big Sky Conference era dating back to 1963.

Outside of the Griz wins, Choate is 24-25 as MSU’s head coach, including 14-14 in Big Sky Conference games. His teams finished tied for ninth, tied for sixth, tied for fourth and tied for third, respectively, over the last four seasons in the Big Sky standings, finishing with a No. 17 national ranking in 2018 and a No. 4 national ranking last season.

Choate is 7-13 all-time against ranked opponents, including 5-13 against ranked teams that aren’t the Grizzlies. Three of those wins came last year. The other two included the 2017 win at North Dakota and the 2018 win over Incarnate Word in the first round of the FCS Playoffs.

Choate leaves Montana State without ever beating North Dakota State (0-2), South Dakota State (0-2), Sacramento State (0-2), Weber State (0-3) or Eastern Washington (0-3).

Choate, a native of Saint Marie’s Idaho, played his college ball in the late 1980s at Montana Western spent most of the 1990s as a high school coach and administrator in Idaho.

Jeff-Choate-SDSU.jpg Montana State head coach Jeff Choate/ by Brooks Nuanez

In 2002, Choate joined Mick Dennehy’s staff as a graduate assistant at Utah State. He spent three seasons coaching for the former University of Montana head coach in Logan. Choate also played for Dennehy, then fellow former UM head coach Mick Delaney at Montana Western.

In 2005, Choate got his first FCS gig as the special teams coordinator at Eastern Illinois.

In 2006, he joined Petersen’s staff as the special teams coordinator and the running backs coach at Boise State. He served as BSU’s special teams coordinator for six seasons, moving to coach linebackers after his third season.

Choate made stops at Washington State and Florida before rejoining Petersen at the University of Washington for two seasons before taking over the MSU job in December of 2015.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

 

Edited by Laxtonto
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3 minutes ago, Brandon said:

And some people in here are bitching, I’m so fucking hyped I could punch a whiteboard damn it

Well; even 12 inch dicks can't please pussy's for too long.  We could win the NC and our fanbase would be bitching before spring practice starts.  

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18 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Thank you Mike for confirming that the administration made the right decision in kicking your ass to the curb. 

Um, I’m not sure Mike Stoops posts on OB under the handle a_hornsfan but I’m no insider.

To be fair though, I’m sure whatever Mike is doing right now it does confirm the right decision was made. 

Edited by UncleSonny
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20 minutes ago, FloridaHorn said:

No shit, at this point I expect our 8 remaining scholarships for 2021 to be spent on kickers, punters, and long snappers.

 

Any chance we can get the monkey to retrieve the tee after kickoffs?

fuck it, we need a return only specialist like Herb Washington and sign a 7' 7" Manute Bol

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Staff is complete.  It’s an excellent staff.  We have a top 5 DC and a top 5 play caller.  We have an OL coach who isn’t a stiff.  We have two of the best recruiters out there.  No excuse now not to win a bunch of fucking games over the next few years. 

Edited by ClubWhatever
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10 minutes ago, AugieBall said:

This is the funniest thing posted in a long time.  The old ATM-themed version was amazing, but this hits close to home.    Maybe i am just delirious with relief.  

you must have missed the DC hire/coaching search recap one...

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And some people in here are bitching, I’m so fucking hyped I could punch a whiteboard damn it

Dude was just a finalist for the Boise St job and former BSU defensive players were leading the call for him to get the job over Avalos. Everything I have heard here is he’s a good recruiter but better at developing players.

Going from Stoops to Choate in 24 hours is fucking awesome!
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15 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

This is probably the best article you are going to get about this for the time being. Not a ton of people with contacts in Montana..

 

https://skylinesportsmt.com/sources-choate-to-texas-as-lb/

Some good stuff in there. I’m actually even more impressed with his record now. He lost his QB the year he went 8-5 and had to convert a LB to QB. In the final year he went 11-4, they played Tech OOC and had 3 other top 10 teams in their conference and made it to the semifinals in the FCs Playoffs. 
 

“In 2017, Montana State played the toughest schedule in the Big Sky and were a couple of two-point conversions (in a 16-14 loss to Kennesaw State and a 37-36 loss at Northern Arizona) from making the FCS playoffs. The Bobcats did post a 31-23 win over Montana in Bozeman, the first win by the Bobcats over the Griz on their home field in more than a decade. That helped MSU finish 5-6.

 

In 2018, despite the academic issues of two-year starting quarterback Chris Murray (he did not play at MSU again), the Bobcats broke the playoff drought as linebacker turned quarterback Troy Andersen helped will MSU to a post-season bid and a first-round victory over No. 24 Incarnate Word. Of course, the Bobcats also captured a 29-25 victory over Montana in Missoula in one of the most unforgettable games in the more than century-old rivalry.

And last season, Montana State ascended to the ranks of the nationally elite. The Bobcats defeated four teams ranked in the Top 25 of the FCS, including a win over No. 12 Southeast Missouri State in their home opener and bookended by a a 48-14 decimation of the No. 3 Griz in Bozeman that helped the Bobcats sew up the No. 5 seed in the FCS playoffs and the first-round bye that came with it. MSU beat No. 25 Albany and No. 18 Austin Peay to earn a bid in the semifinals for the first time since 1984.”

 

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