One opening on the 2016-17 coaching carousel has officially been filled.
In a simple tweet Thursday afternoon, and following up on reports that gained steam Wednesday, Fresno State athletic director Jim Bartko confirmed that Jeff Tedford has been named as the football program’s next head coach. Tedford replaces Tim DeRuyter, who was fired Oct. 23 in the midst of his fifth season with the Bulldogs.
The long-time West Coast coach will be introduced at a press conference Friday.The official @FresnoStateFB search is now complete. #Tedford Presser Friday #GoDogs
— Jim Bartko (@JimBartko1) November 10, 2016
A former Bulldogs quarterback, Tedford becomes the 17th full-time head football coach at his alma mater.
According to FOXSports.com‘s Bruce Feldman, Tedford’s salary is expected to be in the neighborhood of $1.6 million annually. DeRuyter was scheduled to make $1.548 million in 2016, which made him the highest-paid head coach in the Mountain West per the USA Today salary database.
Tedford has spent his entire collegiate coaching career west of the Rocky Mountains, most notably as the head coach at Cal from 2002-12 prior to his firing. Before to that, he was an assistant at Oregon (1998-2001) and his alma mater Fresno State (1992-97). His only coaching experience in another part of the country came as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014, but that short stint was marred by a health issue that actually kept him from performing his duties during that one season with the NFL club.
Earlier this year, Chris Petersen announced that Tedford had been added to his Washington football staff as a consultant. It’s unknown whether Tedford will continue on in at the role as the Huskies push toward a potential playoff appearance, although that should be cleared up at his press conference tomorrow.