The Fresno State Bulldogs will officially turn to its New Mexico Bowl-winning coach, Tim Skipper, ahead of the 2024 season following the resignation of head coach Jeff Tedford on Monday.
Is Skipper a long-term replacement at the head of the Bulldogs, or will Fresno State look to hire a successor sooner rather than later?
5 Potential Replacements for Jeff Tedford at Fresno State
Tedford, 62, is stepping away from coaching for the third time since taking over the program in 2017.
In all three instances, Tedford’s heart played a role in his decision to resign. But in a news release via Fresno State, the two-time Mountain West Conference champion head coach revealed his most recent medical checkup encouraged him to hand the head coaching reins over to someone else.
“It is with sad emotions that following my recent medical check-up, it is clear that due to health concerns, my family and I have made the decision to step aside as Fresno State’s head coach and allow someone else to lead the football program,” Tedford wrote.
MORE: 2024 Fresno State Bulldogs Depth Chart
Just last week, Tedford appeared at the MWC Media Days held in Las Vegas. Now, with 17 days until they return to fall camp practices, Skipper will carry the interim head coach tag for the upcoming season.
But Tedford’s departure once again raises questions across the Mountain West on whether Fresno State will still conduct a national search.
Tedford’s news also comes in the wake of the university naming Garrett Klassy as athletic director. Klassy, who came over via the University of Houston, now has an abrupt football coaching change not even a month into his job. If he turns to a list of replacements, here are five names to monitor:
Tim Skipper
Coach “Skip” still has a strong chance of staying on with his alma mater moving forward.
In fact, sources close to Skipper and Fresno State indicated he was tabbed as the HC in waiting once Tedford brought him back to the Bulldogs in 2022.
Skipper isn’t just a coach who’s on his second stint with the Bulldogs, but he was a star linebacker from 1997-2000 when the Bulldogs played in the Western Athletic Conference.
Skipper is known for his infectious personality and fiery coaching. His chances of shedding the interim label will increase if he guides the Bulldogs to either a bowl game or Mountain West title.
Ryan Grubb
If the Bulldogs turn somewhere else, don’t rule out Ryan Grubb.
The offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks was one of Tedford’s original hires back in 2017. Grubb eventually rose to offensive coordinator under Tedford, then Kalen DeBoer in 2020.
Grubb’s Bulldog offense of 2021 represents his best work in the Central Valley of California — as that unit racked up 463.8 yards per game to lead the MWC. Grubb was also the offensive coordinator behind Jake Haener’s epic 4,096-yard, 33-touchdown season that catapulted his name into the NFL radar.
Hiring Grubb away from the Hawks would mimic a similar move Fresno State made the first time Tedford resigned in December 2019. The school swiftly brought back the then-Indiana offensive coordinator DeBoer to lead the Bulldogs into the 2020 season.
Brennan Marion
Poaching a Mountain West rival’s offensive coordinator might seem like outside-of-the-box thinking, but Brennan Marion is a man carving his name as a future head coach.
The UNLV offensive coordinator recently took a Rebels offense that was middle-of-pack in the MWC with a 352.4 yards per game average, then turned them into a top three offense in ’23. His coaching and aggressive game-calling also ignited UNLV’s first appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game.
Marion is also considered a wide receiver whisperer — having turned Jordan Addison into an All-American at Pitt while also coaching Xavier Worthy to a nine-touchdown campaign in ’22 for Texas.
Marion has expressed interest in coaching at Fresno State before, back in 2016, when the HC position opened before going to Tedford. Marion also has strong ties to California, having played junior college football at DeAnza and coaching for Harker High in San Jose.
Kirby Moore
While Moore continues the theme of current offensive coordinators, he returns us to the theme of past Tedford assistants.
Like Grubb, Moore came on board in ’17 as he was handed the WR coaching reigns. Right away, Moore became a stout recruiter by helping land future Dallas Cowboys WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper and turning KeeSean Johnson into a school record-breaker before he embarked on his NFL journey.
Moore then oversaw Jake Haener’s 72% completion percentage during the Bulldogs’ 2022 MWC title run. That Fresno State offense led the conference in both scoring offense and total yards.
Since then, he got Missouri to rank No. 29 in the nation, averaging 32.5 points per game — a significant jump from the Tigers’ No. 86 ranking in scoring offense in ’22.
Anthony Tucker
Tucker may be a coach who didn’t previously coach at Fresno State, a la Marion. However, he’s familiar with the university and Tedford.
The new assistant head coach and running backs coach for Mississippi State is a former Bulldogs wide receiver. He hauled in 44 career catches for 648 yards and scored five times in 1996 and 1997 for the Bulldogs. And his offensive coordinator during those seasons? None other than Tedford himself.
Tucker has never been a head coach. However, he’s had previous stops at UCF, including serving as RB coach during the Knights’ 12-1 campaign of 2018. He was also Utah State’s offensive coordinator during the Aggies’ run to the MWC title game in 2021. USU, averaging 448.6 YPG that season, ranked behind the Bulldogs.
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