Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford steps down after 3 seasons

06 Dec

Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford steps down after 3 seasons

Jeff Tedford, via wikipedia user BrokenSphere

published on December 6, 2019 - 12:31 PM
Written by Associated Press, Jeff Dubrow

Fresno State football coach Jeff Tedford is stepping down from the job after three seasons at his alma mater.

The program tweeted a message from Tedford on Friday that read: “It is with a heavy heart that, today, I am announcing that I am stepping down as the head coach here at Fresno State.”

The Athletic first reported that Tedford was leaving, saying it was for health reasons.

The 58-year-old Tedford was hired by Fresno State following the 2016 season and he had a 26-14 record during his tenure. He took over a one-win team and quickly rebuilt the program.

The Bulldogs went 10-4 in his first season and played in the Mountain West title game. Fresno State then set a school record for wins the following year with a 12-2 mark that included a conference title game win over longtime nemesis Boise State and then a win over Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Fresno State finished that season ranked 18th in the nation.

The Bulldogs slumped to a 4-8 finish this year, losing their final four games.

Tedford began his head coaching career at California. He led the Golden Bears to an 82-57 record and eight bowl bids in 11 seasons at Cal.

He helped tutor future first-round quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller during his tenure and got Cal as high as No. 4 in the rankings in 2004 but never made the Rose Bowl.

After being fired from Cal following the 2012 season, Tedford took a job as offensive coordinator in the NFL with Tampa Bay in 2014. He stepped down from that job in the preseason with heart problems.

He coached in the CFL and then spent one season as a consultant at Washington before getting a second chance as a college head coach at Fresno State.