Mike Bethea begins his second season as Nevada's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2023.
Bethea's first season with the Wolf Pack defense featured it ranking in the FBS top half nationally in multiple statistical categories, among them red-zone defense (47th) and tackles-for-loss (43rd, 6.3 per game). The Wolf Pack also made its mark in 2023 in the takeaway category, with 11 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries, the latter ranking second among all Mountain West teams. Takeaways played a major role in the Wolf Pack's first two contests of the season, as Nevada made five in the season-opening win at New Mexico State, and four more in the following week's 38-14 victory over Texas State.
Four members of Bethea's defense earned All-Mountain West honors following the season (safety Bentlee Sanders, defensive tackle Dom Peterson, linebacker Drue Watts, nickel Tyson Williams), with one of Bethea's linebackers, redshirt freshman Drue Watts, being named Honorable Mention. Watts had a standout debut season in 2022, appearing in all 12 games, making nine starts, and finishing fourth on the team with 57 tackles (39 solo). He also registered 9.0 tackles-for-loss on the year (second on the team), had a streak of eight games with at least one TFL during the season, accounted for 3.0 sacks and made an interception. Following the season, Watts earned national recognition by being named to College Football Network's (CFN) Freshman All-America Third Team.
Safety Bentlee Sanders also earned national shine during the season, claiming a spot on the Associated Press Midseason All-America Team, and went on to finish the season with five interceptions, tops in the Mountain West and 11th-best in the country.
Bethea joined the Nevada football coaching staff ahead of the 2022 season from Ottawa University Arizona (OUAZ), where he served as defensive coordinator since 2017.
Before coming to OUAZ, Bethea was part of the defensive coaching staff at TCU. Under Bethea’s leadership, the Spirit defense was ninth in the NAIA in pass efficiency defense and 13th in 3rd-down conversion defense. He crafted a defense that finished 30th in the NAIA in scoring defense during the 2019 season.
He has coached one AFCA-NAIA First Team All-American – Kenneth Steele Jr. – and had five players be named all-conference by the Sooner in the program’s first two seasons of competition.
A former starting linebacker at the University of Nevada, Bethea played in eight games in an injury-shortened junior season, recording 28 tackles with 4.5 for a loss. As a senior playing for Coach Ken Wilson, Bethea was second on the team in tackles with 64, including 5.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks with one interception and a fumble recovery. As a player, Bethea came to Nevada in 2008 as a transfer from Palomar College in Southern California, where he was a second-team juco Grid-Wire All-American.
Bethea began his coaching career as a graduate assistant (2011-12) on the defensive staff at Nevada for two seasons and served in that same role at Washington State from 2013-15, with both of those tenures overlapping with Wilson's time with the programs. Bethea also was a graduate assistant at TCU in 2016.
The Carlsbad, Calif., native earned his bachelor's degree from Nevada in 2010. Bethea resides in Reno with his wife Alyssa, their two sons Mason and Weston, and their daughter Coralie.
THE BETHEA FILE
OAUZ - Defensive coordinator/linebackers (2017-2021)
TCU - Graduate assistant (2016)
Washington State - Graduate assistant (2013-15)
Nevada - Graduate Assistant (2011-12)
