BOISE, Idaho — Spencer Danielson is the head coach of the Boise State Broncos, and there's no place he'd rather be. He landed what he calls his dream job in December of 2023, after being named interim coach and leading the Broncos to a Mountain West Conference Championship.
"It's 100 percent a dream come true, it's a dream job for me. These kids, this place, this university, this state, we love it," Danielson said.
Danielson is the 12th head coach to lead the Broncos, and so far, so good. His players love him. The Broncos are now ranked 15th in the AP Poll. Every home game has been a sell out so far this season. Danielson isn't taking any of it for granted.
"I love Bronco Nation and I love being in a community where the football team matters to them. If walk down the street they are not asking me how the game went, they are telling me how the game went. It's not hey coach, how's the team? It's hey coach you guys need to be better on third down," Danielson said. "So I love it, I love Bronco Nation and the community. I want this community to know this football coach, to know their football players, because this is their team."
For Danielson, football is a family affair. You'll often find his wife Raechel and two little girls visiting him at the football facility on the Boise State Campus.
"Me and my wife Raechel are going to be married ten years in April, we met in college," Danielson said.
"I chased him around, at least that's what he says," Raechel said. "He was very persistent."
"We have two beautiful little girls, three-and-a-half-year-old Eleanor, and two-year-old Rosalie," Danielson said.
The Danielsons graduated from Azusa Pacific University. Spencer played football; Raechel played volleyball. Danielson went on to join the coaching staff there for four seasons.
Danielson arrived at Boise State in 2017. That winter is hard to forget. Boise was hammered with snow for weeks. Boiseans usually only see a few inches of snow at a time. That winter, Idahoans were measuring feet of snow.
"We moved here in January of 2017, Snowmageddon! So, when I first came out, I said everybody lied to me that said it didn't snow a lot. I remember calling Rachel because she didn't move out with me right away and she's like how's the weather, and I'm like GREAT," he said.
Raechel moved out to Idaho despite the weather, and Spencer's career at Boise State began.
"I was a defensive graduate assistant, and by the grace of God Coach Bryan Harsin hired me as a full-time assistant after being here for a year. That was huge for us," Danielson said. "Over the years I was D-Line coach, then I was co-defensive coordinator as d-line coach, then I was defensive coordinator, and now head coach. This is home for us."
Danielson is not shy about expressing his love for Boise State, and his players, on and off the field.
"I adore these kids, and that's the reason I coach. We talk about love in our program a lot, and I teach them that love means action and sacrifice. It's not just rainbows and butterflies. It also means telling them the truth good or bad," he said. "I'm building them to be better husbands, better fathers, that matters to me. You can't do that if you don't build relationships with them. I know who our players are dating, what's going on in their personal life, academics, home life, because you need to. I need to be there to support them, that's what my day is focused on. We have 115 players on our team, and I really focus on getting to know them and making sure they know I am there for them."
Danielson said it's important to him to be a role model for his players.
"That's why I want my wife and our girls in the facility a ton, I want our coaches and their wives and kids around all the time because I want our players to see it, to watch it, because the reality is a lot of our players don't come from great families," he said. "Whenever I get off the phone with our players, I will not hang up without saying I love you, and there have been times when players will say coach, you're the first grown man that's ever told me that."
One of Danielson's proudest moments was officiating the wedding of player Braxton Fely and his wife a few months ago.
"Being able to be granted an opportunity to marry Braxton and his wife was just such an amazing experience, and I don't take that lightly one bit, being a part of these kids' lives, for now but even down the road, it's why I coach," Danielson said. "I'm going To be calling you 20 years from now and making sure you are on point and handling business."
Raechel said she loves connecting with the players too.
"Oh, I love it," Raechel said. "To see these boys all the way through their college years, and to see how much they grow and mature on and off the field, it's really fun to watch. My little girls love the players, too."
Balancing a high demand job and family is the top priority for this coach.
"It's everything, I've got great mentors in my life," he said. "Coach Pete is a huge mentor in my life, and I'm open about that. We talk through those things, like how to not let this job consume you, and so much of it is blending the two. It's not this is football, this is my home life, and they're separate, they can't be. So, I try to make sure anything that we do, we do it together."
The Danielsons have big news to share with Bronco Nation. They are expanding their home team. Another baby is on the way.
"We have one on the way in March," he said.
The Danielsons announced the pregnancy with a fun photo shoot on the blue turf.
"It was hard to keep it a secret for a little while," Raechel said. "The due date is March 8th."
The Danielsons have more family ties to Boise. Spencer's younger brother Ethan is a Boise firefighter.
"He's my little brother, but he's bigger than me," Danielson said. "I'm so proud of that guy."
Danielson said Boise is truly home for his family, and where his heart is.
"We have been here for eight years, this is where our girls were born, this is home, we love it here," he said. "If I was told 30 years down the road that I'm still the head coach at Boise State, that's a dream come true for me."