Chris Boden is in his seventh season as the Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Wildcats in 2025. The former Villanova standout is the program’s all-time career passing leader and returned to his alma mater starting with the 2019 season.Â
Boden recruits the state of Florida along with northern New Jersey, including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren Counties. His local recruiting territory consists of Abington, Archbishop Wood, Bensalem, Bishop McDevitt, Bristol, Cheltenham, Conwell-Egan, Council Rock North, Council Rock South, Harry S. Truman, Jenkintown, Lower Moreland, Morrisville, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, Upper Moreland and William Tennent high schools.Â
In Boden’s first six seasons as the Wildcats offensive coordinator, the team has earned a total of 31 CAA Football All-Conference awards on offense. Four of those honors came at the end of the 2024 season when running back David Avit was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and offensive lineman Jake Picard was selected to the CAA Football First Team Offense. Last year also marked the second straight season that quarterback Connor Watkins garnered postseason recognition; he was a CAA Football Third Team Offense pick in 2023 and merited honorable mention accolades in his final collegiate season in 2024.Â
Boden helped Watkins develop into one of the top passers in the country over the last three seasons as the team’s starter under center. He is one of just five quarterbacks in school history to throw for over 7,000 career yards and he finished his collegiate career with 7,029 yards and 50 passing touchdowns. Watkins holds the Villanova career and single season records for yards per completion with marks of 15.0 for his career (470-of-862; 7,029 yards) and 17.6 yards per completion during the 2023 season (152-of-269; 2,682 yards). He wound up fifth in the Wildcats record book in career passing yards as well as sixth in total offense (8,294), seventh in total touchdowns with 77 (50 passing, 27 rushing) and eighth in passing efficiency (136.1). Â
Villanova has routinely been one of the top offensive teams in the FCS during Boden’s coaching tenure and has averaged better than 30 points per game in three of his six seasons on staff. In 2023, the Wildcats ranked in the top 20 nationally in total offense (15th, 424.9 yards per game); scoring offense (17th, 31.9 points per game); and first downs (19th, 253). Villanova previously averaged 37.3 points per contest in 2019 and 30.1 points per game in 2021.Â
Boden worked with Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith in his first three seasons on the Wildcats staff. Smith was one of the team’s top storylines in 2019 when he had one of the best passing seasons in Villanova history, throwing for 3,274 yards with 35 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. His passing yards and his 3,731 yards of total offense each ranked third in a single season in school history and Smith also led the team with 12 rushing touchdowns and 13 total touchdowns scored. He led the nation in points responsible for and was in the national conversation among the best FCS quarterbacks.  Â
Boden returned to his alma mater after serving as the head coach of ASA College Miami where he led his teams to a 15-10 record from the 2016-18 seasons. That record included a 7-2 mark in his first year with the program in 2016 when the Silver Storm finished the year leading the nation in total defense and ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense. ASA College tallied a .500 record in each of Boden’s next two seasons, including a 5-5 mark with a +15.3 scoring margin for the 2018 campaign.Â
In his first experience as a head coach at the collegiate level, Boden led ASA College New York for the 2015 season after serving as the school’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the previous six years. Boden led the Avengers to a 6-5 record in 2015, including a five-game win streak midway through the season. His team featured a strong offensive attack and averaged 25.1 points per game to go along with 353.2 yards per contest. Including his previous stint as the program’s offensive coordinator, Boden was a part of the ASA College New York coaching staff for a total of six years beginning with the program’s inception in 2009.Â
Boden returned to the collegiate ranks after holding several coaching roles in the Arena Football League. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Columbus Destroyers and previously held similar roles with the Colorado Crush and the Nashville Kats. Boden was a part of consecutive playoff appearances by the Crush during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He coached a pair of All-Arena players in 2007, with center Kyle Moore-Brown earning first team accolades and wide receiver Damian Harrell being named to the second team. Moore-Brown was also a second team All-Arena honoree in 2008.Â
Boden began his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach at Fordham for one season following a record-setting collegiate career.Â
A 2000 graduate of Villanova with a degree in Sociology, Boden was the Wildcats starting quarterback from the 1997-99 seasons. He compiled a 25-10 record as a starter under center and helped the 1997 squad to a perfect 11-0 regular season and an appearance in the FCS playoffs. Boden is the school record holder with 10,146 career passing yards and he also holds the career (99), single season (42) and single game (six) passing touchdown records. He was 868-of-1412 through the air in a Villanova uniform, completing 61.5 percent of his passes with the 99 touchdowns and just 31 interceptions.Â
Boden still holds four of the program’s 10 highest single game passing performances and is the Wildcats career and single game leader in passing attempts and completions. Each of his three seasons as the starting quarterback rank in the top five in school history for total passing yards, including a high of 3,707 yards in 1997 which ranks second all-time. Boden also ranks second in the Villanova record book in career total offense.Â
Boden is a native of San Clemente, Calif. and set 11 school records at San Clemente High School during a successful scholastic career before he came to Villanova. Â
Boden and his wife, Jaclyn, reside in Media, Pa. with their 13-year old son, Chase, and 10-year old daughter, Makayla.Â
