Fresno State football: Defensive coordinator Nick Toth to be reassigned

After the quick dismissal of offensive coordinator Dave Schramm, the Fresno State Bulldogs needed more time to deliberate the fate of defensive coordinator Nick Toth. Now, we know that Toth will be reassigned, according to a press release from the university:

Fresno State football coaching updates, and Nick Toth will be reassigned. pic.twitter.com/PE39QOrnMU

— Anthony Galaviz (@agalaviz_TheBee) December 22, 2015

Unlike the swift decline of the offense from 2013 to 2015, it was understandable that athletic director Jim Bartko and head coach Tim DeRuyter would need more time to process the development of the defense in the past three seasons. Always an aggressive bend-but-don't-break unit, the overall results have been somewhat erratic: On a per play defense, the Bulldogs defense was actually slightly better this year than it was in 2014, and only 0.3 yards or so off their ypp in 2013. The rate at which they generated turnovers this year is also way better than 2014 and only slightly down from 2013, as well.

There's little argument that Toth deserves some credit for having helped the defense's stars make the leap to the NFL, too: Derron Smith, Tyeler Davison and, most likely in the coming year, Ejiro Ederaine and Charles Washington. He and the rest of the staff, however, failed to fully develop replacements after their departures, which is likely a significant reason for his reassignment.

Anyone looking for a quick resolution to the ongoing coaching searches will be disappointed, though. According to the Fresno Bee's Marek Warszawski, a decision probably won't be reached until the new year begins.