New Texas State coach Jake Spavital jokes he nearly had to involve his mom in his search for a defensive coordinator.

His brother Zac, the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator at Texas Tech last season, quickly emerged as one of the leading candidates.

“It was funny doing negotiations with him,” Jake said. “You’re battling him possibly going to other schools that are offering a lot more money. But I offered the defensive coordinator spot and said, ‘This is yours. You have full autonomy of it.’”

That proposition, and the possibility of working alongside his brother, were enough for Zac to become Texas State’s new defensive coordinator.

Jake said Zac was a fit because of his experience as a recruiting coordinator with Tech in 2016-17 and at Houston from 2011 to 2014. Jake has also leaned on Zac for advice, knowing Zac isn’t afraid to be blunt in his responses.

“I’ve had tons of people call on his behalf and say, ‘You better hire him,’” Jake said. “‘That’s the most valuable resource you’re going to get.’ It was a no-brainer for me.”

Zac said he was drawn to the position by the base of talent at Texas State. The Bobcats in recent seasons have run formations that Zac said mesh with his preferred style, which will be heavy on three-man fronts.

“Obviously, the opportunity to work with my brother is huge,” Zac said. “But also, it’s a business, and you have to do what’s best for your family. I just thought it was a promising opportunity to be able to build a good defense.”

The two worked together once before, when Zac was the defensive backs coach and Jake was a graduate assistant at Houston in 2009. Zac spent six years in Houston and four years at Texas Tech before landing in San Marcos. Jake made stops in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas A&M, California and West Virginia again before taking the Texas State job.

They met on opposite sidelines the past two seasons, with Jake’s offense at West Virginia clashing with Zac’s defense at Tech. The Mountaineers won 42-35 in 2018 and 46-35 in 2017.

“We’ve gone our different paths, and both have done some good things and been successful,” Zac said. “To be able to put it together and have our families together, that’s pretty unique and doesn’t happen very often.”

“I know mom and dad were really excited. They get to come to one place now to see all of their grandkids.”

On offense, Jake said coordinator Bob Stitt will be calling the plays. Jake will have input in the weekly game plan and coordinate with Stitt from drive to drive, otherwise staying clear.

“I understand how chaotic it gets on the sideline, and how hectic, and how you have to be comfortable to get into a rhythm and get into a groove of calling plays,” Jake said. “The (head coaches) who have been best with me have been the ones who stayed out of my way, but they offer advice and they offer help in any way that they can.”

Jake described Stitt as “a very innovative offensive mind,” adding that he’s implemented many of Stitt’s concepts throughout his career.

In 15 seasons as the head coach at Colorado School of Mines and three years at Montana, Stitt became known for his use of the fly sweep.

After West Virginia scored four touchdowns on the fly sweep in a 70-33 win against Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl, Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen credited Stitt for the play during his postgame interview on ESPN.

“I can’t imagine a guy on offense not wanting to play in this system,” Stitt said. “With coach Spav and I being here, it’s going to be pretty exciting. It’s going to be an offensive system that we can get the ball to a lot of people, and it should be explosive.”

Stitt said he’s wanted to work in San Marcos since he started recruiting the area while coaching at Austin College from 1994 to 1998.

“Ever since then, I was like, ‘I have to find a way to get here,’” Stitt said. “I applied for the head job like three times and never got a sniff. But, finally, I'm here.”

Stitt said he and Jake have very similar philosophies on offense. Developing ideas with Jake while running the offense with Stitt’s preferred terminology is an ideal setup, Stitt said.

“When I was a head coach, I always wanted to hire him, but I never had enough money,” Stitt said. “Finally, the situation was right, and he called me.”

Stitt said he’s relishing the opportunity to focus on offense without worrying about the extra responsibilities that come with being a head coach. Before working as an offensive analyst at Oklahoma State last season, Stitt had been a head coach since 1999.

He’s tried to use that experience to help Jake, a first-time head coach. Stitt said Jake has probably grown tried of Stitt following him around and pointing out things that might need to be addressed. Jake said he’s glad to have the input.

“In terms of traveling, and nutrition, and those things that I’ve been around and have a good idea, but he can put it from a different perspective of pros and cons that have happened to him,” Jake said. “He brings such value, such experience and such innovation to what we’re trying to do.”

greg.luca@express-news.net