Ranking each Mountain West defensive coordinator entering 2025 football season

The 2025 football season will mark the end of an era for the Mountain West as Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State all leave for the Pac-12 next summer.

Here are Boise State Broncos On SI’s Mountain West football defensive coordinator rankings entering the 2025 season.

12. Dennis Thurman, Hawaii

The 69-year-old Thurman took over as Hawaii’s defensive coordinator in 2024 after coaching with Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado. He is hoping to retool a Rainbow Warriors defense that struggled at times a season ago.

11. Aaron Bohl, Wyoming

On the other end of the spectrum is the 31-year-old Bohl, the son of former Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl. The younger Bohl’s defense played well down the stretch last season, limiting a pair of high-powered offenses in Boise State and Washington State to 13 and 14 points, respectively.

10. Rob Aurich, San Diego State

Aurich coached San Diego State’s edge rushers last season and helped turn Trey White into a first-team all-MWC defender. The first-year Aztecs DC previously coordinated high-end defenses at Idaho.

9. Kane Ioane, Nevada

Ioane, a former Boise State co-DC under head coach Andy Avalos, is entering his second season with the Wolf Pack. Nevada had a below-average defense last year that allowed 28.8 points per game, ranking 95th nationally and 10th in the MWC.

8. Nick Howell, Utah State

Howell has worked with head coach Bronco Mendenhall at BYU, Virginia, New Mexico and now Utah State. The 2025 season will be his 17th with Mendenhall. Howell’s defenses traditionally create turnovers and get to opposing quarterbacks.

7. Spence Nowinsky, New Mexico

Nowinsky is a seasoned DC who was most recently at Memphis (2024), Ohio (2022-23) and Miami Ohio (2018-21). He will be tasked with rebuilding a Lobos defense that surrendered 38 points per game a season ago (last in the MWC).

6. Paul Guenther, UNLV

Guenther was named interim defensive coordinator in April following the resignation of Zach Arnett, who is now an analyst at Florida State. Guenther is a longtime NFL coach with DC stints for the Cincinnati Bengals (2014-17) and Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2018-2020).

5. Tyson Summers, Colorado State

After running Western Kentucky’s defense for three years, Summers returns to Colorado State to coordinate head coach Jay Norvell’s defense. Summers, who spent the 2015 season as the Rams’ DC before becoming Georgia Southern’s head coach, received a Broyles Award (nation’s top assistant coach) nomination in 2022.

4. Brian Knorr, Air Force

Knorr’s defense kept the Falcons in games a season ago by limiting opponents to an average of 23.3 points, the third-best mark in the MWC. Knorr has been Air Force’s DC since 2022.

3. Derrick Odum, San Jose State

Odum, the fourth-longest-tenured DC in the county, is entering his ninth season as the orchestrator of San Jose State’s defense. The Spartans created 28 takeaways last year, leading the MWC and ranking fifth nationally.

2. Nick Benedetto, Fresno State

First-year head coach Matt Entz lured Benedetto away from Northern Illinois. The Huskies finished 14th nationally in scoring defense a season ago at 18.5 points surrendered per game. Northern Illinois didn’t allow more than 28 points in any game, including a 16-14 upset win over College Football Playoff participant Notre Dame.

1. Erik Chinander, Boise State

Chinander’s defense ranked second in the MWC in points allowed per game last season at 22.6. The Broncos led the country in sacks with 55.