Having coached for almost 40 years, Brady Hoke enters the fourth season of his second stint as the San Diego State Aztecs head coach. He’s one of the most experienced coaches college football. Who makes up the rest of the San Diego Aztecs coaching staff for the 2023 campaign?
San Diego State Aztecs Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Brady Hoke
Having originally served as the Aztecs head coach for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Hoke returned to the San Diego State coaching staff for the 2019 college football campaign before assuming head coaching duties in 2020. After navigating the difficulties of the global pandemic in his first season back, Hoke led the Aztecs to their first-ever 12-win campaign in 2021.
His most recent stint with the Aztecs is Hoke’s fourth different head coaching role. His first appointment as a head coach was at his alma mater, Ball State, where he was a four-year defensive lineman and team captain as a senior. Hoke led the Cardinals for six seasons, with a 12-win campaign in 2008 earning him MAC Coach of the Year honors.
MORE: 100% FREE NFL Mock Draft Simulator
Hoke’s first stint as the leader of the San Diego State coaching staff followed, with 13 wins in two seasons and a Mountain West Head Coach of the Year Award springboarding him to the Big Ten with the Michigan Wolverines. He won the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year Award from the conference with an 11-2 season in the first of four years at the helm in Ann Arbor.
The San Diego State head coach began his college coaching career at Grand Valley State in 1983 and worked predominately with the defensive line during stops at Western Michigan, Toledo, Oregon State, and Tennessee, while working as the defensive line coach at Michigan several years before becoming the Wolverines head coach.
Offensive Coordinator, Ryan Lindley
Ryan Lindley was promoted to the Aztecs’ offensive coordinator role ahead of the 2023 college football season, after serving as the quarterbacks coach on the San Diego State coaching staff during the 2022 campaign. Lindley had originally spent part of the 2018 season with the program as a graduate assistant. He will continue to work with the Aztecs QBs in the 2023 season.
His promotion to the OC role for the Aztecs sees Lindley lead the offense for the first time since he was a standout player at San Diego State from 2008-2011. The sixth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2012 set program records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing completions, passing attempts, starts, and consecutive starts.
Prior to assuming the role of QBs coach in 2022, Lindley spent time on coaching staffs at both the college and NFL levels. His full coaching résumé can be found below.
- San Diego State (graduate assistant, 2018)
- Cleveland Browns (RBs coach, 2018; QBs coach, 2019)
- Utah (offensive analyst, 2020)
- Mississippi State (defensive analyst, 2021-2022)
- San Diego State (QBs coach, 2022; OC, 2023)
Defensive Coordinator, Kurt Mattix
Kurt Mattix heads into his fourth season on the San Diego State coaching staff as the defensive coordinator. In addition to his coordinator duties, Mattix is also responsible for coaching the team’s linebacker group.
Since arriving at the program in 2020, the Aztecs have consistently had one of the stingiest defenses in all of college football. Meanwhile, Mattix has coached multiple NFL draft selections and All-Mountain West honorees. His 2021 unit featured Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Thomas.
MORE: 2023 Mountain West Weekly Football Schedule
With his arrival on the San Diego State coaching staff in 2020, Mattix reignited a working relationship with head coach Hoke. The two worked together at Michigan, with Mattix holding the position of defensive quality control coach. His full college football coaching résumé can be found below.
- Trine University (assistant coach, 2000)
- Anderson University (assistant coach, 2021)
- Ball State (graduate assistant, 2002-2003; TEs coach, 2009-2010)
- Michigan (defensive quality control, 2011-2014)
- Valparaiso (special teams coordinator and LBs coach, 2015)
- Eastern Kentucky (DC, 2016-2019)
Special Teams Coordinator, Doug Deakin
Doug Deakin has Aztec blood in his veins, having transitioned from a standout special teams player at the program onto the San Diego State coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2011. The 2023 college football season will be his sixth as the Aztecs’ special teams coordinator. Meanwhile, he also coached the program’s tight ends during the 2018 season.
Tight Ends Coach, Savai’i Eselu
Savai’i Eselu has been a member of the San Diego State coaching staff since 2020, serving as the tight end coach. While this is his first college coaching position, Eselu was a successful high school head coach in Hawai’i. Furthermore, he worked with some of the nation’s top talent as the RBs coach for the 2020 Hula Bowl and a multi-year stint at the Polynesian Bowl.
Defensive Line Coach, Bojay Filimoeatu
A new addition to the San Diego State coaching staff for the 2023 college football campaign, Bojay Filimoeatu will be the defensive line coach for the Aztecs. After beginning his coaching career at Oregon State in 2016, the former Utah State linebacker has spent time at Weber State, San Jose State, and spent two seasons as a DL coach at his alma mater.
Offensive Line Coach, Mike Goff
A standout offensive lineman at Iowa who went on to start 154 games in the NFL, Mike Goff brings his expertise to the San Diego State coaching staff for the third season as the offensive line coach. Prior to his stint with the Aztecs, Goff was the offensive line coach for two seasons at Western Kentucky and also worked as an offensive assistant for the USC Trojans from 2015-2018.
Safeties Coach, Kyle Hoke
After playing for his uncle at Ball State in 2008, Brady and Kyle Hoke were reunited in 2020 when the younger joined the San Diego State coaching staff as the safeties coach.
MORE: Mountain West QB Rankings 2023
He also has coaching experience from stints at Western Michigan, Army, South Carolina, John Carroll, and Texas State. He arrived with the Aztecs after a successful year coaching at Indiana State.
Wide Receivers Coach, Jonathan Krause
Another new addition to the San Diego State coaching staff for the 2023 college football, Jonathan Krause will be the wide receivers coach after spending two years in the same role at UNLV. Prior to UNLV, he served time as an assistant working with the WRs at Oregon. An impressive pass catcher at Vanderbilt, Krause won a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots.
Cornerbacks Coach, Demetrius Sumler
Entering his eighth season as the cornerbacks coach on the San Diego State coaching staff, Demetrius Sumler has worked with some of the program’s most impressive defensive back talent. Despite his success in elevating players like Luq Barcoo and Darren Hall, Sumler’s origins are on the offensive side of the ball as a three-year letter-winner at running back for Colorado.
