Early coaching career After coaching the linebackers at
Corona High School, which was where he went to high school, he joined the
Colorado coaching staff as a graduate assistant under
Dan Hawkins in 2006. He mainly helped
Brian Cabral with the outside linebackers there. He was there until 2008. He left Colorado for
NCAA Division II school
Nebraska-Kearney to coach the
defensive line. While he was there, Nebraska-Kearney went 20–4 and made the
NCAA Division II playoffs both years he was there. He coached linebackers at
Sacramento State during the 2011 season.
Boise State Avalos was hired at his alma mater,
Boise State, in 2012 as their
defensive line coach. Boise State’s rush defense ranked 11th nationally in sacks in 2012 (2.92), and tied for 30th in tackles-for-loss (6.7) in 2013. He was also notable during this time for coaching future
NFL Pro-Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence was ranked tied for 18th in sacks per game (0.86) in 2012, and tied for 10th nationally in 2013 (0.88). Before 2014, he was moved to become Boise State’s
linebackers coach. Boise State forced 31 turnovers in both 2014, where they ranked ninth, and 2015, where they ranked fifth. Following his positional coaching jobs at Boise State, he was promoted to
defensive coordinator in 2016. His defenses were consistent, as they ranked 29th, 38th, and 30th from 2016–2018 in team defense. He coached 2017 Mountain West Player of the Year
Leighton Vander Esch, three–time first team All-Mountain West recipient
Curtis Weaver, and five different first team All-Mountain West players when he was the defensive coordinator.
Oregon On February 27, 2019, Avalos was hired to serve as
Oregon’s defensive coordinator, replacing
Jim Leavitt. Under Avalos, Oregon’s team defense went from 49th in 2018 to ninth in 2019. Also in 2019, the #2 recruit in the country according to 247Sports.com,
Kayvon Thibodeaux, committed to Oregon. He had nine sacks and one forced fumble in his first season as a Duck.
Return to Boise State On January 8, 2021,
Boise State hired Avalos as their new head football coach. With Avalos' hire, he joined a small but growing list of Latino head coaches in
Division I College Football. After a 2–2 start, Avalos led the Broncos to an undefeated (8–0) conference regular season to reach the
Mountain West Conference Championship Game, which the Broncos lost 28–16 to
Fresno State. He then led Boise State to their first ten-win season since
2019 with a 35–32 victory over
North Texas in the
Frisco Bowl. For his efforts, he was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. On November 12, with Boise State sitting 5–5 (4–2 in Mountain West play), Avalos was fired with two games remaining in the regular season. Defensive coordinator
Spencer Danielson was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season; the Broncos won their two remaining conference games to finish in a three-way Mountain West tie that saw Boise State reach and win the
2023 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. Avalos finished 22–14 (17–6 in conference play) in three years with the program.
TCU On December 11, 2023,
TCU hired Avalos as their
defensive coordinator replacing
Joe Gillespie. ==Personal life==