Jeff Choate

One of the final hires Steve Sarkisian made to complete his first coaching staff at Texas was former Montana State head coach Jeff Choate. A long-time coaching veteran at various levels of football, Choate made his way to Austin, Texas to take the role as Sarkisian's co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach after spending four seasons leading the Montana State football program.

New Montana State head coach Brent Vigen will have a higher base salary than his predecessor, Jeff Choate. Last week, Vigen signed a four-year contract, which was obtained by the Chronicle on Thursday morning, that includes a $210,437 base salary, slightly more than what Choate was making on his contract at about $206,000 per year before he left to become a co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Texas. Both contracts, however, include tens of thousands in easily attainable incentives.

Jeff Choate, most recently the head coach at Montana State, was officially introduced on Thursday as the final member of the initial on-field coaching staff for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian charged with shepherding the Longhorns through the 2021 season. Choate will work alongside Pete Kwiatkowski as the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, which is familiar territory for Choate since he was on the Boise State defensive staff with Kwiatkowski for three seasons (2009-2011) before they reunited at Washington, where Choate spent two seasons (2014-2015) with the Huskies as an assistant on the staff of head coach Chris Petersen before taking his first collegiate head coaching job.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Montana State head coach Jeff Choate has moved to Texas to be the Longhorns' linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator under Steve Sarkisian. The move was expected but wasn't formally announced by Texas until Thursday. Choate has spent the past four seasons as head coach at Montana State, where he led the Bobcats to the FCS playoffs in 2018 and 2019. The Bobcats made the semifinals in 2019.

Jeff Choate, Steve Sarkisian, Austin, Frank Solich, Montana State Bobcats football, Pete Kwiatkowski, Texas Longhorns football, Jeff Jarrett, Texas, Jim Grobe. Austin, Texas – Texas Head Football Coach Steve Sarkisian has finalized the assistant coaching staff with the hiring of Montana State head coach Jeff Choate as the Longhorns' co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, he announced on Thursday. Sarkisian also announced his Chief of Staff, Jason Grooms, as well as four new assistant coaches for athletic performance.

Nearly four weeks after the Texas Longhorns hired Steve Sarkisian as the program’s 31st head coach, the school announced the addition of Sarkisian’s 10th and final on-field assistant, former Montana State head coach Jeff Choate. “Jeff is an awesome final piece to an assistant coaching staff that, as I’ve said...

Texas has not made anything official, but Montana State coach Jeff Choate held a Zoom call with reporters Saturday to say goodbye before leaving for Austin. Choate is expected to be named the Longhorns’ co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under UT’s Steve Sarkisian. An official announcement is likely to come Monday. It would also complete Sarkisian's new Texas staff.

It looks like at least the on-field coaching staff for newly hired Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian is rounding out early in this offseason. Texas made the move back on Jan. 2 to part ways with now former fourth-year head coach Tom Herman, thus being replaced by the former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator and reigning Broyles Award winner Sark.

Often focused and unwavering, Jeff Choate became visibly emotional as he reflected on what he was leaving behind. The Montana State head coach is on his way to Texas to become the Longhorns’ co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, just a couple weeks after he nearly became Boise State’s head coach.

BOZEMAN — Less than 24 hours after the news broke of his departure to the University of Texas, Jeff Choate, the Longhorns' new co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, spoke to the Montana media one last time. “I gave this place my best, I gave those boys my best," Choate said...