Tedford, round 2 starts at Fresno State. ‘It’s just in my blood. I’m a football coach’

Fresno State landed the football coach that it wanted in Jeff Tedford, who had stepped away from the position two years ago due to heart-related health issues and is now back, ready to go and all in as he said — in the meeting room, on the practice field and in renovating Bulldog Stadium.

“As I departed, the exit was a very emotional one and it was for good reasons,” Tedford said Wednesday at his introductory press conference. “I had no idea what was going to happen with the procedure (a cardiac ablation). I heard different things and different experiences people had. Maybe it took once, twice, three times or whatever, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to put the program in a position. I felt the right thing to do for the program and the university at that time was to back out and make sure to take care of that.

“As that went along, it took great the first time, and then a couple of months to really heal and recover and then it kind of started. The mind started working about different things and missing it and really a lot of interaction with players over the last really year and a half. When that happened, having a lot of players reach out, kind of goes back to the purpose piece, of being able to have an impact on young people’s lives, really started having me reflect on what this role is and the impact that it has in so many people’s lives.

“The last year, I knew I was going to get back into football. because it’s just in my blood. It’s who I am. I’m a football coach. I like to think I’m a leader of young people. Really, I knew that I was going to reengage. I was energized and ready to reengage, and the Lord just happened to create this position again. I’m a firm believer everything happens for a reason and I’m just fortunate that this is it.”

Now it’s back to football for Tedford, 60, who takes over a program reeling a bit after the departure of coach Kalen DeBoer to Washington. But Tedford will be well ahead of where he was in 2002 when hired at Cal to try to rebuild the Golden Bears’ program and in 2017 when the former Fresno State quarterback returned to his alma mater to resuscitate a team and fan base that had fallen hard.

Tedford’s history of success

Both times Tedford had immediate success, which is one big reason he was the smart-money pick that athletics director Terry Tumey would broker a return to Fresno State. In 14 seasons as a head coach, Tedford is 108-71, a .603 winning percentage, a remarkable figure considering he inherited football programs that were coming off a 1-10 season at Cal and a 1-11 season at Fresno State.

Cal was 7-5 in its first season under Tedford and 10-2 and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 in just his third season. Fresno State went 10-4 in its first season under Tedford and 12-2 with the conference title in his second, becoming the first team in history to go from double-digit losses in one season to double-digit wins in the next two.

He is, he believes, a better coach now than he was then with the past three years behind him.

“Absolutely,” he said. ”I think when you do reflect, there’s self e

valuation of everything. There’s evaluation of everything, but part of that is self-evaluation and so I think one of the great things about this go-round is I understand the culture here as it pertains to the last few years. I understand our strengths. I understand our challenges. When you first come back to a place after being gone so long the first time, you have to kind of learn the landscape, Well, I feel really comfortable in understanding the landscape and how we can continue to improve what we need to accomplish.”

Family support

His family, he said, supported a return to a high-stress job after a second heart issue. In 2014 when the offensive coordinator of the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had a coronary angioplasty in which two stents were placed in an artery in his heart and after a brief return decided to take an indefinite leave of absence.

“They know what I’m about,” Tedford said. “My wife has always been very, very supportive of what is going on. If we were going to move away and go coach somewhere else, she was supportive of that, as well. Obviously, to be able to stay here and be a part of the community, be around our kids, we have a new grandchild and so we;re fired up about that. Of course, they want me to be happy and now that they know that I’m healthy, it makes us all happy. My kids are very involved and very supportive. It wasn’t a difficult conversation at all.”

The pace of the job will not change, and Tedford isn’t about to change his approach. But he said he will take time to maintain an exercise regimen, to eat better.

“As far as coaching is concerned, I know one way to do it, really,” he said. “That’s attention to detail. I can’t see that changing whatsoever. I’m not in this to be average or mediocre. We have a job to do. I do realize that there needs to be a balance as far as that’s concerned, so you may see me jogging around the building here every now and then and things like that just to make sure that everything is good that way. But I feel great.”

To-do list

In 2022, the Bulldogs will have some roster repair to be done after losing 17 seniors including record-setting running back Ronnie Rivers, first-team all-conference right tackle Alex Akingbulu, defensive tackle Kevin Atkins, defensive end Arron Mosby, tight end Juan Rodriguez, long snapper Jacob Westberry and wideout Keric Wheatfall.

But Fresno State could contend in the Mountain West again next season, and make a 4-8 season in 2019 more of an outlier in a run with Tedford and DeBoer, who Tedford had hired from Eastern Michigan to run the offense on his first staff. Tedford met with the Bulldogs on Wednesday morning, but first and second on the to-do list is hiring a staff and recruiting. With the early national letter of intent signing period starting Dec. 15.

After the press conference, he went right into a recruiting meeting.

Back to work, in his former office, empty for now.

“I couldn’t tell you what it means to our institution that we are moving forward with probably the most highly-acclaimed, most-recognized coach in our conference, and one of the most proficient offensive minds here on the West Coast,” athletics director Terry Tumey said.

“The fact that he has returned to the university in a way that is totally endearing of his partnership and thought as an alum to this place shows his commitment not only to this university but to the Valley and to the community. I feel honored to be able to work beside him to build his alma mater to where he also believes it should be. This institution should be recognized as one of the premier athletics departments and athletic entities here on the West Coast, because our Valley deserves that. To have a person of that magnitude to take the helm of one of our most community-engaging sports, football, does extremely well for the future of Fresno State.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 12:19 PM.