Fresno State replacing offensive coordinator, too. Who calls plays in New Mexico Bowl?
Fresno State interim coach Lee Marks said on Monday that Kirby Moore would call the offensive plays at the Dec. 18 New Mexico Bowl, a natural progression for the Bulldogs’ receivers coach, who is the son of one of the most decorated high school football coaches in Washington and the younger brother of Kellen Moore, the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.
“We’re extremely excited, and he’s definitely looking forward to it,” Marks said, in an afternoon bowl press conference. “I just got done meeting with Kirby. We’re game-planning as we speak.”
Ryan Grubb, the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator the past three seasons, told the team on Saturday that he would be following coach Kalen DeBoer to Washington, according to sources. The Huskies confirmed that move on Monday.
Marks, the Bulldogs’ assistant head coach and running backs coach before DeBoer bolted for a Power Five opportunity at Washington, said that he did not anticipate any additional staff moves before the Bulldogs play in their first bowl game since the 2018 season.
“Right now, our staff is still intact,” he said. “As far as anticipating any moves and those things, I mean, a lot of that stuff happens later on. It’s their business, really, to be honest.
“When things happen or when they hear things, those guys will definitely share that information not only with myself as well as (athletics director Terry Tumey) and our leadership and we’ll move on from there.”
Marks also said that he does not expect any of the Bulldogs’ players to opt out of the New Mexico Bowl matchup against Texas-El Paso due to injury issues or to prepare for the NFL Draft.
“Right now, again, we’re in constant communication with our guys,” he said. “Pretty much, the majority of our coaching staff is still here. We’re still seeing the guys. They’re going to the training room. They’re in the weight room. They’re going to class and right now we anticipate everyone playing.”
Marks doesn’t expect any players will opt out of bowl
With quarterback Jake Haener in the NCAA transfer portal, freshman Jaylen Henderson and redshirt freshman Logan Fife will compete in bowl practices for the start against the Miners, who went 7-5, finished fourth in the West Division of Conference USA and are seeking their first bowl victory since 1967.
Henderson, who would add a quarterback run game element to the Bulldogs’ offense, beat out Fife for the No. 2 spot early in the season. He played in three games, completing 5 of 8 passes for 49 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and rushed the ball 14 times for 68 yards.
Fife played in one game, an opening 45-0 rout of UConn when Haener went down in the third quarter with what he called a full body cramp on a blistering hot day at Bulldog Stadium. Fife hit 7 of 13 passes for 51 yards with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Raymond Pauwels Jr., but also threw a red zone interception with the Bulldogs at the UConn 12-yard line.
Moore, a former wideout at Boise State, was hired in 2017 by Jeff Tedford to coach the Bulldogs’ receivers and added the title passing game coordinator the past two seasons under DeBoer.
The Bulldogs this season rank second in the Mountain West Conference in passing offense, averaging 330.1 yards per game. Their wideouts have made steady progression the past two seasons under Moore, led by Josh Kelly, who had a 64.5 grade by Pro Football Focus in 2020, his first full year, and jumped to 76.0 this season.
This story was originally published December 6, 2021 at 3:07 PM.