Fresno State coaching search close to hitting next phase, and could move quickly from there

Fresno State is not using a search firm to assist in the identification or vetting of candidates as it hires its next football coach, after Kalen DeBoer bolted after two seasons for a Power Five conference opportunity at Washington. But athletics director Terry Tumey said on Wednesday night that the university is close to moving into a next phase of its search, which would include longer in-depth conversations or interviews.

“We hope to move forward with that very quickly,” Tumey said. “We’ve of course had conversations and we hope to continue to do that. We’re not in a position yet to give you landmarks or stages of the process, but the work we’ve done so far has been good and I feel very confident about it.”

The pool is expected to include and perhaps be headed by former Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford, who has signaled he is ready for a return to the sidelines after stepping away following the 2019 season due to heart-related health issues. Tumey, though, said the list of coaches to have expressed interest in the Fresno State job is deeper and of a higher profile than it was three years ago when DeBoer was hired to replace Tedford.

DeBoer was considered a layup, having served as the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator under Tedford for two years before taking the same position at Indiana for one season. He had knowledge of the Bulldogs’ roster and the program, had ties to recruiting the Valley, California and the West, and had a highly successful run as college head coach albeit at the NAIA level, winning three national championships in five years at Sioux Falls.

To Tumey, that experience is a key element for a program that has played for a Mountain West championship four times since 2013, when the conference went to divisional play. The Bulldogs last won in 2018, under Tedford.

But it is not a determining factor, he said. That could create space for a wild-card candidate like Trent Dilfer, the former Bulldogs quarterback, who is coaching at Lipscomb Academy in Tennessee.

Mountain West programs that have hired head coaches with experience at other schools have not always fared all that well – the most recent round of hiring included veterans Steve Addazio at Colorado State, who is 4-12 with the Rams, and Todd Graham at Hawaii, who is 11-11 with the Rainbow Warriors. Past success doesn’t always transfer, with different challenges to take on in a new program.

Fresno State ties would play well with a fan base stinging after losing DeBoer on Monday and quarterback Jake Haener into the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday, and likely to join DeBoer in Seattle.

The Bulldogs’ coach in 2022 will be their fifth in seven seasons including interim Eric Kiesau, who finished the 2016 season after Tim DeRuyter was dismissed eight games into that season. They were followed by Tedford and DeBoer, who received a five-year, $16.5 million contract from Washington, plus a package of performance bonuses.

Once the pool is pared down, the Bulldogs’ search will pick up speed. Jobs at this level in the California State University system typically require a posting of 14 days, but Fresno State received a waiver to make a quick hire with DeBoer in 2019, at a similar spot on the calendar.

“We have good things going on here,” Tumey said. “We have great momentum. Our job is to keep it moving.

“I feel we’re going to be in a very good place and we’re moving as rapidly as possible because we have some constraints in terms of there’s a dead period and recruiting weekends are coming up and we’re getting toward the end of that before the signing period, so we really have to move quickly.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 6:18 AM.