Kalen DeBoer hired as the newest head football coach at Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kalen DeBoer has been hired as the newest head coach of the Fresno State football team, the team confirmed on Twitter.
A press conference will be held at 2 p.m. at the Save Mart Center.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Jeff Tedford stepped down following a 4-8 season to focus on his health. He is the 20th head coach in the history of Fresno State.
DeBoer was an offensive coordinator at Indiana for one year where the Hoosiers improved from a 5-7 record in 2018 to an 8-4 record in 2019. Last season IU had the #2 total offense in the Big Ten Conference behind only No. 2 Ohio State. His IU contract was reportedly a two year deal worth at least $800,000 a year making him the highest paid coordinator in program history.
Prior to IU he was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State for the first two seasons under Tedford starting in 2017. The Bulldogs went 22-6 during that time winning a Mountain West title to go along with wins in the Hawaii and Las Vegas Bowls.
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While this is his first Division-I head coaching job, it's not his first time being a head coach. From 2005-2009 he coached at the University of Sioux Falls, his alma mater, where he led the Cougars to 3 NAIA national championships. Through five seasons he compiled a record of 67-3 (.957) and was a three time National Coach of the Year.
After his time at Sioux Falls, he earned a reputation for turning offenses around as an OC at Southern Illinois and Eastern Michigan.
It's unclear whether DeBoer will keep the assistants Tedford had before stepping down. Ryan Grubb, the current offensive coordinator, has been serving as the interim head coach during the turnover. He was an assistant coach under DeBoer at Sioux Falls from 2007-09.
