Football
Sep 13 (Sat)
7:45 pm MT
- Title:
- Off. Coordinator, Quarterbacks
- Phone:
- 719-333-3371
Mike Thiessen is in his 19th season as an assistant coach at the Academy. This season is his 12th as the solo offensive coordinator after four years of sharing the duties, and his ninth as the quarterback coach. Thiessen is the longest tenured offensive coordinator in the nation. He has been nationally recognized as a Broyles Award finalist as the top assistant coach in college football in 2021 and as the Graphite Award winner in 2023 as the Mountain West’s most efficient offensive play caller.
As offensive coordinator, Thiessen has led a unit over the last 10 years that has been in the top 10 of the nation in rushing each year, averaged 30-plus points per game, been in the top three nationally in passing yards per completion and among the top 10 in third-down percentage. This has been one of the most productive offensive eras in Academy history. The Falcons won three straight national rushing titles, becoming just the second program to win three titles and first since 2008. The Falcons have been the only team to average 300-plus nationally in three of the last four seasons. The Falcons led the nation in time of possession in 2021 with a 36:35 and again in 2022 with a 36:33 average. Thiessen received national recognition in 2021 as a Broyles Award candidate for assistant coach of the year.
He guided quarterback Zac Larrier to an outstanding 2023 campaign in his first year as a starter. Larrier was a Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Class of 2023 member, one of 35 nationally. He tied the program record for most wins to start a career with eight and finished the season with the second-best quarterback efficiency rating in program history (187.10).
He guided quarterback Haaziq Daniels to one of the most successful careers in program history. Daniels finished his career ranked fifth in quarterback winning percentage (71.0), second in wins (22), ninth in total offense (4,176), third in efficiency rating (152.80) third in average gain per completion (20.1) and third in interception avoidance (.033). Daniels was selected as the game’s most valuable player in the bowl wins over Louisville in the First Responder Bowl in 2021 and Baylor in the Armed Forces Bowl in 2022.
Thiessen also helped quarterbacks Karson Roberts and Arion Worthman to bowl most valuable player honors. Roberts finished his senior campaign leading the team to a Mountain West division championship while Worthman finished the 2017 season in the top 10 in the conference in four categories. As receivers coach, Thiessen was instrumental in the development of Jalen Robinette, who finished his career as the all-time leading receiver in school history with 120 catches for 2,697 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was also a key contributor in the development of All-American Chad Hall, the conference offensive player of the year in 2007. Hall caught 50 passes, the sixth most in school history, for 524 yards, while rushing for 1,478 yards, which ranks second all-time in school history. Hall played six seasons in the NFL and earned a Super Bowl appearance with the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-sport star during his collegiate career, Thiessen was an All-American baseball player as a centerfielder in the spring of 2000 and was the Mountain West Conference football offensive player of the year in the fall of 2000. A two-year starter at quarterback, Thiessen led the team in rushing and was among the conference leaders in rushing yards and touchdowns in 2000.
He capped off his career by earning offensive most valuable player honors while leading Air Force to a 37-34 win over Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Classic. Thiessen finished the game with 99 yards rushing and 204 yards passing.
Thiessen was a team captain as a senior, while rushing for 713 yards and 10 touchdowns and passing for 1,687 yards and 13 scores in 2000. On the diamond, he set 10 Academy records (six career and four single-season), including a 33-game hitting streak which stood for 17 years. He was inducted into the Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, as part of the school’s sixth class, and served on the selection committee for the class of 2019.
After graduation in 2001, Thiessen was a 42nd round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. He played in 27 games with the Yakima Bears “A” team and led the squad with a .308 batting average. His first military assignment was at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., working in the 62nd Fighter Squadron.
He entered the World Class Athlete Program and played with the Lancaster Jethawks, an advanced A affiliate of the Diamondbacks in 2003. He hit .278 with five homers and 42 runs scored in 85 games. Following that season, he returned to Luke and worked in personnel.
After three years at Luke AFB, Thiessen returned to the Academy to teach and coach at the USAFA Prep School. He served as an instructor in algebra, calculus and chemistry and was the offensive coordinator for the football team for three seasons before joining the Academy staff in 2007.
Thiessen and his wife, the former Kristen McClellan of Jefferson City, Mo., have a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Brooke.
