Change has been a constant aspect toward the back half of the Aztecs’ (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West), pleasantly surprising 2025 season.
Nine wins, a bowl game matchup and one of the best defensive units in the Football Bowl Subdivision have garnered attention from the major college football world. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, the modern era of college football means that other teams are looking to poach.
Teams that have snagged some of San Diego State’s most valuable coaches. Coaching swaps are simply a part of the game. Programs with deeper pockets seek out successful group of five coaching staffs on a regular basis, but nonetheless, the Aztecs must rebuild.
However, the Aztecs have recently played the role of repairman, filling the coaching units’ vacancies one at a time.
The man to fill the void at edge coach is newly appointed Colin Ferrell. Ferrell comes from Rutgers University, where he served as defensive line coach for the last two seasons, producing two All-Big Ten honorable-mention defensive linemen in 2024.
Prior to Rutgers, Ferrell crossed paths with SDSU head coach Sean Lewis at Kent State. Ferrell spent 11 seasons with the Golden Flashes, serving in multiple roles. Most notably, he was appointed as interim head coach in 2017 until he was eventually replaced by none other than Sean Lewis. Ferrell’s time at Kent State displayed his loyalty, as he stuck with the program through coaching transitions and brutal 10-loss seasons.
Ferrell replaces former edge coach Roy Manning, who departed alongside defensive coordinator Rob Aurich for Nebraska in the pre-bowl coaching shuffle.
Aurich’s departure shook up more than just the defensive coordinator position, however.
Aurich’s defensive success also included a role as the Aztecs’ primary linebacker coach, an impressive dual responsibility role. The double role resulted in twice as many vacancies for SDSU to manage.
Former UCLA coach Scott White comes to the Mesa as the Aztecs’ new linebacker coach.
White has served as UCLA’s defensive analyst, assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach over the last two years with the school. White also coached at the prestigious university from 2011-2017 as a quality control, linebackers and special teams coach.
In between his time at UCLA, White coached in the Mountain West. For four years, White served on the San Jose Spartans coaching staff. He initially joined the staff as an analyst in 2018; however, he worked his way up to linebacker coach in 2019, before finally adding the responsibility of special teams coordinator to his resume from 2020 to 2023.
Another former Sean Lewis adjacent Kent State coach was brought in to replace the gap at the offensive line coach position. Bill O’Boyle, a coach with 35 years of college experience was hired out of Northwestern, where he served as the university’s offensive line coach for two seasons. Prior to his time at Northwestern, he crossed paths with Sean Lewis in 2018-2022 as Kent State’s offensive line and run game coordinator. He then coached alongside Lewis for one season in 2023, serving as Colorado’s offensive line coach, helping the Buffaloes average 28.2 points per game.
O’Boyle comes in as a replacement to former offensive line coach Mike Schmidt. Schmidt aided the Aztecs to an incredible season on the ground, helping primary running back Lucky Sutton rush for over 1,200 yards behind Schmidt’s offensive line.
The Aztecs will look to their new hires to build upon this year’s momentum.
