Utah State interim head coach Frank Maile lifts the trophy after his team’s 52-13 victory over North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl NCAA college football game in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
LOGAN – Former Utah State University interim head football coach Frank Maile has found a new job. On Wednesday, new Boise State Broncos head coach Andy Avalos announced the addition of Maile to his defensive coaching staff. Maile will not only coach the defensive line for the Mountain West Conference rival Broncos, but will also serve as the assistant head coach to Avalos.
Maile had twice served as the interim head coach at USU, for the Aggies when they soundly defeated North Texas at the New Mexico Bowl in 2018 (after Matt Wells left USU to become the new head coach at Texas Tech) and for three games this past season after Gary Andersen was dismissed as USU’s head coach. Maile was 2-2 as an interim head coach.
“I am so pumped to be part of this family and Bronco Nation,” Maile said in a statement released by Boise State. “I am humble and grateful that Coach Avalos would allow me the privilege to influence these young men and this community, and feel blessed for such a big-time opportunity.”
In December, USU football players were concerned that Maile was not being given a fair opportunity to be the full-time head coach near the conclusion of the regular season. Their leadership committee asked for a meeting with university President Noelle Cockett because, reportedly, they did not trust what was happening within the athletic department. The players allege that Pres. Cockett asked questions about Maile that illustrated religious and cultural bias, and as a result the team voted to boycott their final game of the season. Maile released a statement calling for an independent investigation into the comments.
External investigations led by USU’s Board of Trustees and Utah’s Board of Higher Education are expected to release their findings into Cockett’s comments on Friday.
“Frank Maile is a high-character individual, and someone that cares deeply about everyone affiliated with our program – especially the young men we bring into it,” Avalos said in a statement released by Boise State. “He is someone that Bronco Nation will be drawn to because of his passion and enthusiasm, not only for our student-athletes, but also our community. On top of being an outstanding person, father and husband, he is also a phenomenal football coach.”
Maile played for the Aggies from 2004-2007. He joined the USU coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2009 and was elevated to the team’s defensive line coach in 2011. Maile spent two seasons at Vanderbilt from 2014-2015, before returning to Logan to be Matt Wells’ assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2016. When Gary Andersen became USU’s head coach for his second time, Andersen retained Maile on his staff.