Boise State Broncos: Chris Petersen Adds Another Talented Coach to His Arsenal

Chris Petersen is known for having an incredible eye for talent and potential.

Over the years, it has been remarkable watching the number of overlooked and under-recruited players who have made their way to Boise State, only to become standout superstars under Petersen's direction.

However, the keen eye of the coach is not limited to recognizing on-field talent only. Petersen is quickly becoming known for his discernment in choosing assistant coaches as well.

Just as he has done with young players, Petersen has also been able to find those diamonds in the rough for his coaching staff—gems that have been polished under his leadership.

However, there is a problem with developing good men into great coaches—others take notice

Since taking the reins for the Broncos in 2006, Petersen has had a number of his assistants become coordinators or assistants on the staffs of other major college programs. They were hired away because of the success they have enjoyed at Boise State.

Justin Wilcox, the once defensive coordinator under Petersen, was hired away in 2010 by the Tennessee Volunteers to lead their defense. He has since been hired by Washington to do the same thing there after the Huskies were dismantled by Robert Griffin III and the Baylor offense in the Alamo Bowl.

Wilcox was hired by coach Petersen in 2006 to lead the Broncos defense. At the time coach Wilcox was the linebackers coach at Cal, but Petersen had worked with him when he was the offensive coordinator of the Broncos and Wilcox was a graduate assistant.

Petersen obviously saw the potential in the young coach, and now others are benefiting from that recognition.

Bryan Harsin, who is currently the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Texas, had that same role under Petersen from 2006 to 2010. He was hired by Texas in 2011 after experiencing great success leading the Broncos offense.

Harsin was promoted to that position by Petersen when he took over in 2006 as head coach. Prior to that, Harsin was the tight ends coach for the Broncos from 2002 to 2005. Obviously, Petersen saw something much greater in him as well.

Now, coach Petersen is facing more of the same

Three more assistants are leaving the blue turf of Bronco Stadium for greener pastures. Or, at least, for more of the green stuff.

Offensive coordinator Brent Pease is now on his way to Florida to lead the Gators offensive attack—a position that will pay Pease much more than Boise State can afford.

Pease was originally hired by Petersen as the Broncos wide receivers coach in 2006. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2007, and finally offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011.

Jeff Choate is another Bronco who is galloping away in 2012. The special teams and nickels coach is now going to join the staff of newly hired head coach Mike Leach at Washington State.

Marcel Yates, who has been the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive secondary coach for the Broncos, is now headed to Texas A&M.

Yates is a Boise State alum and played for BSU from 1996 to 1999. He has been on the staff for a total of nine years in various roles, and is a key recruiter in the Los Angeles area. He will be missed, but that is the cost of training up effective coaches.

So where does Petersen go from here?

Are there more up-and-coming coaches on his radar? The answer seems to be yes.

Facing the task of replacing some key members of his coaching staff, Petersen seems to be coping just fine.

Just days after learning that Pease was leaving for Florida, Petersen promoted Robert Prince to the offensive coordinator position.

Prince had been a fellow assistant with Petersen from 2001 to 2003 at BSU. He then went on to work in the NFL for six years and later with former Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins at Colorado in 2010. He was hired in 2011 to become the wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator by Petersen.

With the offensive coordinator position open because of the departure of Pease, Prince has been selected to fill that gap.

In an Idaho Statesman article Petersen was quoted as having high praise for his new offensive leader.

"

We are looking forward to having Robert direct our offense. He has been working for many years to become an offensive coordinator and I know he’ll do an outstanding job for us. I’m looking forward to what type of spin he’ll put on the offense.

"

Prince is certainly ready for this role, and it will be interesting to see that "spin" Petersen is talking about.

While Prince has substantial experience coaching wide receivers, he does not have the experience as a quarterbacks coach. But Petersen took care of that dilemma this week as well.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Jonathan Smith has been hired to become the Boise State quarterbacks coach.

Smith has been the offensive coordinator at Montana for the last two seasons. Before that he spent time at Idaho as the quarterbacks coach. He was instrumental in helping Vandals quarterback Nathan Enderle develop into a prolific passer.

This was due in large part because Smith is the same guy who was once a great college quarterback himself. He led Oregon State to an 11-1 record in 2000 and a co-Pac-10 championship. He also broke seven school passing records while leading the Beavers.

Having someone like Smith will be a key for the Broncos in 2012. With the departure of Kellen Moore, the existing quarterbacks on the roster, and with freshman sensation Nick Patti joining the squad, an effective quarterbacks coach will be crucial.

In his time at Montana, Smith has been very effective leading that offense. This last season the Grizzlies went all the way to the semifinals before losing to Sam Houston State 31-28.

Overall, they were 11-3 on the year and finished with the No. 21-ranked offense. They averaged 420 yards per game and 33.9 points per contest.

Smith brings tremendous energy, talent and potential to the table. This seems to be another win-win for Petersen.

On one hand, he gets a great quarterbacks coach, but on the other hand, he gets the next offensive coordinator in training.

If Prince does the job everyone expects he will, it will probably mean his departure will come within a few short years. However, with Smith now with the Broncos, that departure should be the same kind of smooth transition we are getting used to from a Petersen staff.

It will be interesting in coming days to see who else will be added to the Broncos coaching carousel.

Knowing Petersen, it will be someone talented, exciting and with pounds of potential.