Kevin McGiven finished his seventh season in 2024 after he joined the San José State University football coaching staff in February 2018.
In 2024, he was the Spartans' passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach after previously being the offensive coordinator. The Spartans won 38 games and went to four bowl games over the past five seasons under his guidance,.
In 2024, McGiven helped lead wide receiver Nick Nash to become the first unanimous First Team All-American in SJSU history and the first Biletnikoff Award Finalist in SJSU history. Nash was only the fourth player in FBS history to earn the regular season triple crown by leading the country in catches (104), yards (1,382), and touchdowns (16). Nash broke the SJSU single-season touchdown and catch records, and he and Justin Lockhart (983 yards) were the best one-two receiving punch in the country.
The Spartans finished the 2024 season with 4,183 passing yards, which was good for first in the Mountain West Conference and fifth in the nation, averaging 321.8 yards per game. The 4,183 passing yards are good for third in San José State's single-season history
In 2023, as the offensive coordinator, the Spartans ran for 150 yards or more in nine games and surpassed 100 yards in 11 games. The Spartans tallied 313 yards on the ground against No. 25 Fresno State which were the most since Sept. 10, 2016 when they rushed for 409 yards against Portland State. The Spartans also rushed for 259 yards at UNM (10/14) and 251 yards against Utah State (10/21) and that was the first time since 2006 the Spartans had back-to-back 250 plus rushing yard games. The 2,393 rushing yards the Spartans finished the season with are the most for the Spartans this century and only 85 yards behind the SJSU single-season record.
Senior running back Kairee Robinson led the charge for the Spartans finishing with all single-season career-highs in touchdowns (18, SJSU record), yards (1,127), and average per game (102.5). Robinson scored a rushing touchdown in 11 of 12 games played this season. Both Robinson and senior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro made All-Mountain West First Team. Cordeiro's four interceptions were good for seventh in the country and threw the fewest interceptions in the Mountain West. Cordeiro a passer rating of 142.0 which was good for third in the Mountain West. Cordeiro's 140.7 passer rating at SJSU is good for second all-time at SJSU only behind David Fales who had a 161.7 rating.
In 2022, SJSU led the country with only six turnovers during the regular season and +12 overall in the regular season which led the Mountain West Conference. Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro led the Mountain West with 3,251 yards passing and 23 throwing touchdowns. He also led the Mountain West with 31 total touchdowns. The 23 passing touchdowns were the most under Brennan in a season and the nine quarterback rushing touchdowns are a SJSU modern day record. Wide receiver Elijah Cooks ended the campaign with 10 touchdowns which is the most under Brennan and had 1,076 yards on the season. It was the second time under McGiven that a quarterback threw for over 3,000 yards and a wide receiver had over 1,000 yards receiving.
In 2021, the Spartans had 28 touchdowns and 4081 yards and in 2020, he helped lead Nick Starkel and the Spartans to a Mountain West Championship with 2174 yards passing and 17 touchdowns in only eight games. The Spartans ended the 2020 season ranked 24 in the AP poll.
He has nurtured the college careers of quarterbacks Josh Love, the 2019 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, and Starkel, the 2020 Mountain West football championship game Most Valuable Offensive Player and a second-team all-conference selection. In the national rankings, San Jose State was fourth in passing offense in 2019 and 19th in the same category in its 2020 championship season.
McGiven has 16 seasons of experience coaching quarterbacks and coordinating NCAA Division I offenses.
Throughout his career, he coached three of the top six passing yardage signal callers at Utah State (Chuckie Keeton, Kent Myers, Diondre Borel), and the career passing yardage leaders at Montana State (Denarius McGhee) and Weber State (Cameron Higgins).
McGiven began his coaching career in 1998 at Louisiana Tech as a student assistant coach after being a wide receiver on the 1996 and 1997 Bulldog teams. He accepted an assistant coaching position in 2001 at Mountain View High in Orem, Utah, and returned to the college ranks in 2002 as a graduate assistant on the Brigham Young University staff.
AWARDS
- 2014 FootballScoop.com national Quarterbacks Coach of the Year (Utah State)
- Offensive coordinator at Oregon State (2016-17)
- Oregon State quarterbacks coach (2015)
- Offensive coordinator at Utah State (2013-14)
- Offensive coordinator at Montana State (2012)
- Offensive coordinator at Weber State (2007-08)
- Offensive coordinator at Southern Utah (2005)
- McGiven is a 2001 graduate of Utah Valley University. He earned a master's degree in physical education from Brigham Young University in 2005.
- He and his wife, Lindsay, have three sons, Peyton, K.J., and Beau: and a daughter, Ireland.
| Kevin McGiven facts |
| Born March 19, 1977 in Orem, Utah |
| 2024 - San Jose State University passing game coordinator/wide receiver coach |
| 2021 - San Jose State University offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach |
| 2018-20 - San José State University offensive coordinator |
| 2017 - Oregon State University offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach |
| 2016 - Oregon State University co-offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach |
| 2015 - Oregon State University quarterbacks coach |
| 2013-14 - Utah State University offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach |
| 2012 - Montana State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach |
| 2010-11 - Memphis assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach/ recruiting coordinator |
| 2009 - Utah State assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach |
| 2006-08 - Weber state offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach |
| 2005 - Southern Utah offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks & wide receivers coach |
| 2002-04 - BYU graduate assistant |
| 2001 - Mountain View High School (Orem, Utah) wide receivers & tight ends coach |
| 1998 Louisiana Tech student assistant |