Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford announced Monday that he has to step down because of health concerns.
Tedford, 62, missed the team’s bowl game at the end of the 2023 season for health reasons and said in his announcement Monday that he needed to step aside after a recent check-up.
“It is with sad emotions that following my recent medical check-uo, 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 said in a statement.
“I have a tremendous amount of pride and passion for Fresno State, and I understand the time and energy necessary to lead at a high level. The players, coaches and Bulldog supporters deserve the best. Unfortunately, I am not able to sustain the commitment needed to perform at the level needed to guide the program.”
The school said that assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper would be the team’s interim coach for the 2024 season. Skipper was the interim coach for the New Mexico Bowl in December.
“Coach Tedford is a living legend,” Skipper said in a statement. “He is definitely an innovator and trendsetter of the game. His impact on college football will be felt forever, and I feel very fortunate to be able to have coached on his staff these past two seasons.”
Tedford just completed the second year of his second stint as Fresno State’s head coach. The Bulldogs went 9-4 in 2023 after going 10-4 in 2022.
He was the team’s coach from 2017-2019 but resigned following the 2019 season due to health reasons. Overall, Fresno State had a 45-22 record during his tenure and went 27-13 in the Mountain West.
Before coaching at Fresno State, Tedford was the head coach at Cal from 2002-2012. Tedford coached first-round NFL Draft picks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller with the Bears and the team was 82-57 in his time in Berkeley.
Tedford was fired after a 3-9 season in 2012 and was hired by Lovie Smith to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator ahead of the 2014 season. However, Tedford had heart surgery just weeks before he regular season and never returned to his full-time position.
Tedford moved to the CFL for a season before returning to college as a consultant for Washington in 2016 ahead of his return to Fresno State
