Fresno State fires coach Tim DeRuyter after 1-7 start
Fresno State is making a coaching change.
The school announced Sunday that Tim DeRuyter had been fired as the team’s head coach. Fresno State is 1-7 in 2016 after falling 38-20 to Utah State on Saturday. The Bulldogs’ only win this season came against FCS opponent Sacramento State.
Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau will be the team’s interim coach.
“When you make a coaching change the evaluation process covers many aspects of the program,” Fresno State athletic director Jim Bartko said in a statement. “Through this process the decision was made to make a change at this time. There ware five remaining football games on the schedule and the focus will be to prepare and put this team in a place to create success and engage the fan base.”
It’s been a downhill spiral since now-Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr led the Bulldogs to an 11-2 record in 2013. Fresno State went 6-8 in 2014 and fell to 3-9 in 2015.
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The loss to the Aggies dropped DeRuyter’s career record with the school to 30-30. Before he joined Fresno State in 2012, DeRuyter spent time at Air Force and Texas A&M as a defensive coordinator. It wouldn’t be surprising if a major college football program moved to hire him as its DC for 2017.
A name to keep an eye on could be former Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who went to Fresno State.
I believe Jeff Tedford is Jim Bartko's first choice as HC. But no deal has been made, and Tedford will not be on the sideline this season.
— Marek Warszawski (@MarekTheBee) October 23, 2016
Tedford parted ways with Cal after the 2012 season when the Bears went 3-9. He had a career record of 82-57 and his teams were above .500 in nine of his 11 seasons with the team. Though Bartko said the school has not had any conversations with Tedford.
AD Jim Bartko says there have been "no discussions" with Jeff Tedford, who's been rumored to replace DeRuyter.
— Andrew Marden (@andrewmarden) October 23, 2016
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!