Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford hires nine assistant coaches; fills staff with familiar faces

Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford has finalized the hire of nine of his 10 on-field assistants, loading up his staff with former Bulldogs players and coaches who have extensive experience in college and in the NFL.

Jethro Franklin, Tim Skipper, Kevin Coyle and John Baxter are all returning to Fresno State, with Tedford going with much more experience and taking a different approach than in his first go-round at his alma mater when neither coordinator he hired had ties to the Valley, the Bulldogs program or even to its coach.

“It just kind of worked out that way,” Tedford said. “Over the years, when you’re hiring somewhere, they’re at big-time places, in the NFL or all these other places. It just never matched up, but now it’s matching up.

“It’s kind of cool. It’s a good crew.”

Coyle, a senior defensive analyst at LSU, will be the defensive coordinator, a role he had on former Fresno State coach Pat Hill’s staff in 1997 when Tedford was the offensive coordinator.

Franklin, who ranks second on the program’s single-season and career sacks list with 19.5 and 31.5, returns as defensive line coach. Skipper, a three-time all-conference selection who ranks second on the Bulldogs’ all-time tackles list, will coach the linebackers.

Baxter, a long-time assistant coach under Hill, will coordinate the Bulldogs’ special teams.

J.D. Williams, a first-round NFL Draft pick out of Fresno State in 1990 who was hired by Tedford for his first staff back in 2017, will return for a sixth season in 2022 to coach the Bulldogs’ defensive backs.

Kirby Moore, who called plays for the first time in the 31-24 victory over Texas-El Paso in the New Mexico Bowl, will be retained as offensive coordinator. Moore, a Boise State grad, was on Tedford’s first staff as receivers coach and also will be in his sixth season at Fresno State in 2022.

Bulldogs’ ties run deep in Tedford’s coaching staff

Roman Sapolu, who was hired by Tedford in 2019, will move to the tight ends’ room after coaching the offensive line the past two seasons.

James Montgomery, who has been at FCS Cal Poly the past two seasons, will coach the Bulldogs’ running backs. Montgomery was a Parade Magazine All-America running back at Cordova High in Rancho Cordova and recruited to Cal by Tedford in 2006, finishing his playing career at Washington State following a transfer.

Pat McCann, the receivers coach and coordinator of a high-scoring passing game at FCS Eastern Washington, will coach the Bulldogs’ wideouts.

The only position yet to be filled is the offensive line coach.

In his first stint at Fresno State Tedford hired a relatively young, up-and-coming staff. The Bulldogs went 26-14 (.650) in that run, advancing to two Mountain West Conference championship games in three seasons and winning the title in 2018, and when coaches from that staff moved on they usually moved up as well.

Tedford plucked offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer from Eastern Michigan, and after a stint at Indiana and two seasons as the Bulldogs’ coach he is now the head coach at Washington in the Pac-12. Defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer was hired away from Hamilton in the Canadian Football League and after returning to Canada is now the Tiger-Cats’ head coach, going 23-9 in two seasons.

Offensive line coach Ryan Grubb followed DeBoer from Eastern Michigan, was promoted to offensive coordinator and has followed DeBoer to Washington. Defensive line coach Jamar Cain had coached primarily in the FCS, but moved up to Arizona State, then Oklahoma and is now at USC with former Sooners’ coach Lincoln Riley.

Moore was a graduate assistant at Washington before he was hired to coach the Bulldogs’ wideouts, and is now offensive coordinator.

Bert Watts had spent four years at FCS UC Davis before he was hired to coach the Bulldogs’ linebackers. He is now the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Auburn.

This staff has far more coaching experience – a combined 193 years in college and 36 years in professional football. When Tedford hired DeBoer and Grubb in 2017, they had been at the FBS level for only three seasons and Steinauer was in his seventh season coaching in the CFL and had not coached at the FBS level in college.

Coyle spent 17 seasons in the NFL coaching defensive backs and as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator from 2012 to ‘15. “Real extensive résumé – NFL, college, big-time places,” Tedford said.

Here is a run down on the newcomers to the Fresno State staff:

Kevin Coyle

Coyle has spent the past three seasons as a senior defensive analyst at LSU, winning a national championship with the Tigers in 2019. He has not had an on-field position in the FBS since a four-year stint under Hill as the Bulldogs’ coordinator from 1997 to 2000, but had a successful run in the NFL that including four seasons as coordinator in Miami. The Dolphins were Top 10 in scoring defense in his first two seasons.

Jethro Franklin

The former Bulldogs defensive lineman started his coaching career under Jim Sweeney and was with the Bulldogs from 1991 to ‘98. Franklin has 30 years of experience, 17 in college and 13 in the NFL, coaching on teams that went to seven bowl games and to the playoffs seven times. With the Raiders in 2015 to ‘17, he helped develop Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin, two of the best young pass rushers in the game.

Tim Skipper

Skipper coached running backs and then linebackers for Hill from 2006 to ‘11, working with Ryan Mathews and Dwayne Wright as well as Ben Jacobs and Travis Brown. He has been at Central Michigan the past two seasons working under former Fresno State offensive coordinator Jim McElwain. The Chippewas this season led the MAC in rushing defense, were third in sacks per game and will play Boise State in the Dec. 31 Arizona Bowl.

John Baxter

Baxter was on Hill’s staff from 1997 to 2009 when the Bulldogs went to a bowl game 10 times in 11 seasons before moving to USC, Michigan and back to USC. In 13 seasons at Fresno State, the Bulldogs blocked 84 kicks and punts and scored 39 special teams touchdowns with three safeties. Baxter at USC was the special teams coordinator of the year in 2011 when the Trojans blocked seven kicks, tied for third in the nation.

James Montgomery

Montgomery has been at Cal Poly the past two seasons as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator and the six before that at Sacramento State. In 2019 the Hornets averaged 4.7 yards per rushing play and 464.1 yards per game, ranking third in the Big Sky in both categories, and advanced to postseason play for the first time since 1988. Montgomery will be the Bulldogs’ recruiting coordinator.

Pat McCann

McCann spent the past three seasons at Eastern Washington, coaching wideouts and in 2020 added the title of passing game coordinator. The Eagles this season rank first in the FCS in total offense and third in passing offense. His assigned recruiting area included the San Joaquin Valley from Sacramento to Bakersfield, as well as Northern California and Reno. The Eagles had the top ranked recruiting class in the Big Sky in 2019 and were No. 2 in the FCS.

This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 10:10 AM.