Fresno State fires head coach Tim DeRuyter after 1-7 start

Mired in a 1-7 start to the season and on a six-game losing streak, Fresno State has fired football coach Tim DeRuyter.

Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau has been named interim head coach.

Fresno State won the Mountain West Conference title in DeRuyter's first two seasons after he took over in 2012. The Bulldogs made a bowl game in each of DeRuyter's first three years at the helm, but he finished 3-9 in 2015 and has only one win, over FCS Sacramento State, this season.

DeRuyter leaves the Bulldogs, his first head-coaching position, with a record of 30-30.

DeRuyter has two years left on a five-year contract that was worth $7.5 million.

Former Cal coach Jeff Tedford will be the leading candidate to replace DeRuyter, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

Tedford played quarterback at Fresno State and served as offensive coordinator from 1993 to 1997.

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is another possible candidate to replace DeRuyter, sources told ESPN's Mark Schlabach. Kiffin played quarterback for the Bulldogs and got his first assistant coaching opportunity with the school from 1997 to 1998.