Bio

Chris Boden took over as FSU’s offensive coordinator in 2010 and will embark on his second season with the Bulldogs this fall after previously spending five seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Northern State (S.D.) located in Aberdeen, S.D.  He directed the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) member to an 18-37 record in five years at the helm, including a 6-5 overall mark and a third-place 5-2 league record in his initial season.  Boden ranks as the Wolves’ sixth-winningest coach in history.

In his five seasons at Northern State, Boden worked to produce 35 All-NSIC players with seven first-team selections and a pair of All-Northwest Region honorees.  Under his tutelage, the program also made significant improvements in the classroom with 29 Academic All-NSIC players and was active in the community.

“Chris is an established coach who’s invested his time and has head coaching experience at the Division II level,” said FSU head coach Jeff Pierce.  “We’re excited about what he brings to the table in terms of his offensive philosophy and along with his past experience, he has become a valuable asset to our staff.”

Boden arrived at NSU after one year as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Division II member Texas A&M-Commerce following eight seasons as an assistant at Division II powerhouse Valdosta State (Ga.).  At TAMU-Commerce, Boden helped improve the Lions from one win in 2003 to four wins in 2004 with help from an offense that ranked 11th in the nation in passing.  

While at Valdosta State, Boden helped the Blazers to four Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championships and four NCAA-II Playoff appearances along with the 2002 NCAA-II National Championship Game. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) member coached a pair of GSC Offensive Players of the Year while serving in several roles over his eight seasons on Valdosta State’s staff, including director of football operations, recruiting coordinator, offensive backfield coach and quarterbacks/recruiting coach.

During his time at Valdosta State, Boden worked on staff under longtime and well-known collegiate coach Hal Mumme, who has since served as the head coach at NCAA Division I programs such as Kentucky, Southeastern Louisiana, New Mexico State and currently at Division III McMurry (Texas).  Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was also a member of Mumme’s staff as the offensive coordinator in the 1990’s during Boden's tenure on staff at Valdosta State.

“With Chris’ knowledge and system, we’ll continue to utilize a spread-type offense, but with less option than we’ve had in the past,” said Pierce.  “It will be similar to what Mike Leach used at Texas Tech although we’ll be able to adapt the offensive schemes to the talent and personnel within our program.”

Prior to serving at Valdosta State, Boden was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Urbana (Ohio) in 1994 and 1995.  The 1990 Saginaw Valley State graduate began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant working with the defensive secondary and serving as video coordinator at Central Michigan, where he earned a Masters Degree in 1994.

He and his wife Jennifer, have three children, Lynn, Ty and Brett.