Yahoo Sports Official: Fresno State brings back Jeff Tedford as head coach
Jeff Tedford is set coach Fresno State again.
Fresno State officially announced Wednesday morning that Tedford would return to the school as the team's football coach. Tedford's second stint at Fresno State will come after Kalen DeBoer left for Washington after two seasons at the school. Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel reported Tuesday night that Tedford was finalizing a deal with Fresno State.
"I am incredibly excited to welcome Jeff Tedford back as the head coach of Fresno State Football," said Fresno State athletic director Terry Tumey said in a statement. "Jeff is a true Bulldog alumnus, an incredible coach and leader, and has continued to be a vital member of our Valley community. The Pride and Tradition of Bulldog Football is alive and well."
Tedford, 60, coached at Fresno State from 2017-19. The Bulldogs went 26-14 in his three years with the school and won 22 of those games in his first two seasons. Tedford resigned after a 4-8 season in 2019 for health reasons and DeBoer was hired to replace him. Tedford will officially take over after Fresno State plays UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 18. Lee Marks will be the team's interim coach for the bowl game.
Fresno State went 1-11 the year before Tedford was first hired in 2016. This time he’s taking over a team that went 9-3 in 2021, though QB Jake Haener is in the transfer portal and could potentially follow DeBoer to Washington and transfer back to the school where he started his college career.
Tedford was the head coach at Cal from 2002-12 and coached Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller. The Bears went 82-57 in his time at the school and had two 10-win seasons. He became the winningest coach in school history in 2011 and has seven more wins than Andy Smith in second place. Tedford was fired after a 3-9 season in 2012 and spent time in the NFL and CFL before returning to college football on Washington’s staff in 2016.
Tedford's hire will be the second of the week for a school in the Mountain West. Nevada coach Jay Norvell was hired at Colorado State to replace the fired Steve Addazio. Nevada has not yet announced a permanent replacement for Norvell and currently has the only open coaching position in the conference.