Jeff Tedford Officially Stepping Down

After temporarily stepping away from the team before the 2023 New Mexico Bowl, Jeff Tedford returned to the helm in Fresno in February of 2024. All reports through Spring Practice and Media Days was that Tedford was at full strength and ready to go for at least one more season as the head coach. Monday afternoon, that is turned on its head, as Tedford and the University announced that he would be officially stepping down from his position again citing health concerns. Heart issues have hampered Tedford in the past, forcing him to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2014, and Fresno State both in 2019 and 2023. The 2019 departure paved the way for Kalen DeBoer to return to the Dogs, and then he returned when DeBoer got the job at Washington in 2021.

The 2023 stepping away coincided with a 3 game slide to end the season that took the Bulldogs from Top 25 ranking to out of conference championship contention. Associate Head Coach Tim Skipper took over coaching duties for the bowl game, and the Dogs looked revitalized as they trounced New Mexico St 37-10. There was rumors at the time that it would become permanent, but after undergoing a heart procedure around Christmas, Jeff Tedford announced that he would be returning to the team in January. He oversaw the signing of the 2024 recruiting class, all of whom are now on campus for summer workouts.

After acing his audition at the bowl game, Tim Skipper has now been named the Interim Head Coach for the 2024 season. The former Bulldog player is on his second stint back on the coaching staff, as he was an assistant under Pat Hill from 2006-2011. He would join former Fresno State OC Jim McElwain at Colorado St, Florida, and Central Michigan, before coming back to Fresno when Tedford was rehired in 2021. This is his first full-time head coaching job, but there is much excitement around the program and fanbase to have him take the job going forward.

With Tedford leaving, the 30 day window where players could enter the transfer portal has opened, but with how close we are to the beginning of the season and school year, it is tough to see many players taking the chance to leave, especially with the coaching continuity at the top. That doesn’t mean that P4 programs won’t try though, since tampering rules seem to be more of a suggestion than hard legislation.

Jeff Tedford leaves Fresno State after 5 seasons at the helm and a 45-22 record. He won more than 9 games 4 times and conference championships in 2018 and 2022. He completely rebuilt the program from a 1-11 season in 2016 to a 9-4 2017 and bowl win over Houston, one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA football history. He began his career as the QB for the Dogs in 1981 and 1982, becoming an instant legend after a miracle last-second victory over Bowling Green in the 1982 California Bowl. He would spend 6 years playing in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 1988. He coached for 3 years in the CFL before returning to the Valley as QB Coach with future 1st round draft pick Trent Dilfer. He would coach in Fresno until 1997, when he left for the same role at Oregon. Akili Smith and Joey Harrington would follow Dilfer as 1st round picks, and created a trend of Tedford tutoring successful college QBs into the NFL.

He was named head coach at Cal before the 2002 season, and instantly turned that program around to a 7-5 record in Year 1. By Year 3, Cal rose to a 10-1 regular season and was in the hunt for a BCS Bowl appearance before some late politicking put Texas in over them. He would win 10 games again in 2006, and his 2007 team rose all the way to No.2 in the country before Kevin Riley’s ill-timed scramble took away their shot at a national title.

After being let go at Cal in 2012, he had a short stint in Tampa Bay, a single season as head coach of the BC Lions in the CFL, and was offensive analyst for Washington as they completed an undefeated season and Playoff appearance, where Tedford’s tutelage was praised as part of their improvement that year. After Tim DeRuyter was fired as part of the abysmal 2016 campaign, Tedford was announced as head coach over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was a divisive hire at the time, but he proved everyone wrong with how quickly he turned the program around for the 2nd time. His 2017 Fresno State staff had multiple names that would go on to much bigger jobs, including OC Kalen DeBoer(Alabama), OL Coach Ryan Grubb(Seattle Seawhawks), and DC Orlondo Steinauer(Hamilton Tiger-Cats).

The man has done everything for Fresno State over the past 40 years, and there is hope that he remains around the program as an ambassador and QB tutor into the future. His health is the most important thing here, and he needs the time to focus on that and rest with his family. The fanbase passes on all of their well wishes to him for his continued good health, even if this is a permanent retirement. He has been outspoken in the past about the toll that the grind of college football takes on coaches, so no more 18 hour days will hopefully be for the best for him.

Skipper will have a big job ahead of him in 2024 with the expanded Playoff rules and the ongoing conference realignment drama. The Mountain West will now have 8 new head coaches in 2024, all jostling for superiority over the AAC and Sun Belt for the guaranteed G5 Playoff spot. The Bulldogs begin 2024 with a trip to Ann Arbor to play the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines. We will provide updated information and previews as the games draw closer. For all news and info, keep it glued here.