Late June brought a familiar offseason argument to the surface: who really sits atop the Group of Six coaching mountain? A viral X post put Boise State’s Spencer Danielson at No. 2, one spot behind UNLV’s Dan Mullen, and the reaction from Bronco Nation was immediate. Boise State AD Jeremiah Dickey even weighed in, making it clear he’d take Danielson’s resume.
That debate is more than internet noise. It gets to the heart of what Danielson has already done in Boise, and whether that body of work is enough to call him the best Group of Six coach in the country.
On the résumé alone, Danielson makes a strong case. In just two seasons as Boise State’s full-time head coach, he has won three conference championships, sent three players to the draft, guided the Broncos to the CFP Quarterfinals in 2024, and signed the highest ranked recruiting class in program history in 2026.
Within the Group of Six, his accomplishments stand out even more. He is the only head coach to win three straight conference championships.
He is the only head coach to take a Group of Six program to the CFP. And he landed the highest ranked recruiting class in 2026 of any Group of Six school.
That kind of success is hard to argue with. On-field results, recruiting, and postseason achievement all point the same way. The only real hesitation comes from the place he’s doing it.
Boise State carries a built-in advantage that few Group of Six programs can match. The Broncos have a long history of winning, and no other school in the group can claim three NY6/BCS bowl wins in the 2000s. That kind of culture matters, and it raises the obvious question: would Danielson have the same success at UNLV, Memphis, or somewhere else without Boise State’s foundation?
There’s no way to answer that cleanly. What can be measured is the resource gap, and Boise State is not operating at the top of the Group of Six in that category.
Last year, Boise State’s NIL budget was reported to be somewhere between $5-$6M. By comparison, USF and Memphis were both reportedly working with rosters worth more than $10M, and there are likely several other programs with similar NIL resources.
Even so, one independent NIL valuation service pegged Boise State’s roster at $22M, though the Broncos are said to be at least one-third of that. Whether that number is exact or not, the bigger point is clear: Danielson has found a way to keep talent in Boise.
That may be his greatest strength. In the NIL era, retention is everything at a Group of Six program, and Danielson has shown he can build the kind of relationships that keep players from leaving for bigger paydays.
Boise State has taken some hits - Ty Benefield and Andrew Simpson are two notable losses - but the list of players who stayed is more telling. Ashton Jeanty, Kage Casey, Jayden Virgin-Morgan and others could have chased Power Four money, but chose to remain in the Treasure Valley and play for Danielson.
So even if you want to separate Danielson from Boise State’s history, his ability to hold onto top-end talent gives him a real edge over his peers.
The final answer can wait until the season ends. For now, though, the vote goes to Spencer Danielson.
In Other News...
Boise State Still Has One Troubling Question In The Passing Game
The biggest question hanging over Boise States passing game is not whether the Broncos have options at receiver, but which one will emerge as the clear focal point in 2026. With so much turnover in the room, the picture is still unsettled after a spring that featured returning names like Ben Ford and Matt Wagner, along with a growing buzz around freshman Rasean Jones and Cameron Bates.
That uncertainty matters because the Broncos lost a lot of production and leadership from a receiver group that has already been reshaped by graduations, transfers and coaching changes. Wagner looks like one of the most intriguing candidates after a strong spring, Bates has already shown he can make a jump, and Jones brings the kind of upside that can change the conversation quickly, but Boise State still has to sort out who will actually step into the WR1 role when the season arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Is Already Earning Serious Playoff Respect Again
As Boise State gets ready for its first season in the revived Pac-12, the early preseason respect is already rolling in. The Broncos are being viewed by sportsbooks and multiple polls as the top Group of 6 program, which matters more than ever now that the highest-ranked team from that tier can punch a College Football Playoff ticket. Across the national landscape, Boise State keeps showing up as the standard-bearer for that race, even as the exact placement varies from one preseason ranking to the next.
Josh Pate is the most bullish of the bunch, slotting Boise State inside his top 25, while other outlets have the Broncos a little lower but still clearly ahead of the rest of the Group of 6 pack. CBS Sports, Phil Steele and ESPN FPI all have Boise State leading that chase in their own way, with UNLV and others trying to close the gap. The bigger question now is whether the Broncos can turn that preseason belief into the kind of season that keeps them in the playoff conversation all fall. [Read more 🡒]