Fresno State fans react to firing of coach Tim DeRuyter
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- News spread quickly Sunday that Fresno State football coach Tim DeRuyter had been relieved of his duties. On this day of social media, plenty of fans have made their voices heard over throughout the season.
"I think it's the right move," one fan said. "I think it's actually overdue."
Patience with the Bulldogs fan base has been wearing thin. Low attendance and a lack of success on the field has the Red Wave reacting to the firing of DeRuyter.
"My initial thoughts were that I kind of thought that Derek Carr just had a lot to do with the success here," fan Anthony Sassano said. " I haven't seen much progress since Derek Carr left."
"They've been losing to teams that are not on their level," Myles Landio added. "It's just disappointing to see them drop off so fast."
After posting a 20-6 overall record and 2 bowl appearances in DeRuyter's first two seasons. The 'Dogs have fallen on hard times posting a 10-24 record since the beginning of the 2014 season.
"Of course, I would have loved to have seen him succeed over that entire five-year period," university president Dr. Joseph Castro said. "That was our hope and we saw over the last few weeks that wasn't going to happen so we felt like we need to make this change happen today."
"Very disappointing," Landio said. "I feel they don't keep the local talent, get the local talent to stay in Fresno. There is a lot of local talent in the Valley and I feel they don't do whatever it takes to keep the local talent here."
"If we have a strong football team," Robert Torres said. "I think we could make it up there, get to the playoffs."
"What is your message to the Red Wave?" an Action News reporter asked athletic director Jim Bartko.
"Trust us, support our program win or lose," he said. "We will do what we know is right for this university. You deserve a winner, we want to have a winner. We had a winner with coach DeRuyter and now is just time for a chance to move in a different direction."
