Bulldogs make official the hire of defensive coordinator William Inge among four assistant coaches

The Fresno State Bulldogs finally have freed themselves from a few miles of administrative red tape – coach Kalen DeBoer on Monday making official the hires of defensive coordinator William Inge, defensive line coach and special teams coordinator Eric Schmidt, safeties coach Chuck Morrell and running backs coach Lee Marks.

DeBoer also is retaining defensive backs coach J.D. Williams and on the offensive side of the ball coordinator Ryan Grubb, receivers coach Kirby Moore and line coach Roman Sapolu.

“I’m super-excited about the staff that we have,” said DeBoer, who still has two positions open. “It’s a combination of guys that are experts with the teaching part – that’s first and foremost what I believe we have to have: great teachers. And when it comes to the X’s and O’s, these guys are proven.

“They’re veteran coaches, whether it has been defensive coordinator positions, special teams coordinator positions. We have a great combination of guys that are going to come together to make sure our guys are put in positions to be successful on the football field and then also be on the same page with how we teach these schemes and the techniques that we want.”

Inge comes from Indiana staff

They go back together, some only a year, most more than a decade. DeBoer worked with Inge last season at Indiana, where he has coached for the past seven seasons, the past two as special teams coordinator.

“He’s a guy that I’m so fired up to have here,” DeBoer said. “He brings in a lot of experience from a lot of places. He has been coaching at all levels, most recently at the Power Five level for the past seven years.

“He brings a personal touch. I think what our players will see is a guy that cares about them first and foremost and in the end that’s how they buy into you as a coach, when they know you care about them. They’ll see what type of mind he has and the expert that he is as far as putting a defense together. I just know he’s going to make great adjustments – he has been recommended by so many people in that way.”

Others have deeper ties

The Fresno State head coach goes back further with Morrell and Schmidt – DeBoer and Morrell were teammates in college and coached together at NAIA Sioux Falls and DeBoer was the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois when Schmidt was coaching the line, then linebackers and special teams.

Marks, who comes to Fresno State from Mountain West rival Boise State, worked with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb at NAIA Sioux Falls, as well.

“I know, because I have worked with all of these guys at different places, what type of people they are,” DeBoer said. “They’re going to represent Fresno State, our Bulldog football program and our community extremely well.

“You know what you get when you’ve coached with guys, and that’s important to me. When I’m on the football field, I know their style of teaching, their style of coaching and that the players certainly will respect these guys and enjoy playing for them.”

The Bulldogs under Inge will run out of a 4-2-5 base defense, and there will be a wealth of experience in that staff room.

Morrell, who spent the past nine seasons as the head coach at NAIA Montana Tech, has run some of the best defenses at that level going back to his days with DeBoer at Sioux Falls.

After finishing his playing career in 1997, Morrell the following year was the Cougars’ defensive coordinator and from 2005 to ‘09 when Sioux Falls was 67-3 and won three NAIA national championships, it allowed more than 11 points or 211 yards per game only once.

In 2005, DeBoer’s first as Sioux Falls head coach, the Cougars allowed 18.0 points per game and then 7.3, 9.9, 5.9 and 10.5. The total yards allowed went from 291.0 to 188.3, 202.4, 109.4 to 210.5.

Schmidt has been the defensive coordinator at FCS North Dakota the past six seasons, making the playoffs twice and in 2016 had a defense that had 20 interceptions and allowed just 91.3 yards rushing per game, ranking second and sixth in the FCS.

Williams, the one holdover on that side of the ball, also has experience as a defensive coordinator at UNLV.

“This staff on defense is about guys that I know fit well together,” DeBoer said. “We all have egos. We all have a lot of pride in what we do, but these guys are all guys I know will check that ego at the door and put the team, put the other staff members first ahead of themselves.

“I want guys that are going to complement each other with their personalities. I don’t want the same guy at every spot. I want people who can come in and do it the right way and not bring conflict, but question and challenge each other to be better.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 4:05 PM.