Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford announced Monday that he must resign due to health issues.
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 checkup.
“It is with heavy hearts that following my recent medical examination, it is clear that due to health concerns, my family and I have made the decision to step down as head coach at Fresno State and allow someone else to lead the football program,” Tedford said in a statement.
“I have tremendous pride and passion for Fresno State, and I understand the time and energy required to lead at a high level. The Bulldogs players, coaches and fans deserve the best. Unfortunately, I am unable to maintain the commitment necessary to perform at the level required to guide the program.”
The school said assistant 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 in the game. His impact on college football will be felt forever and I feel very fortunate to have been able to coach his team for the 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 head coach from 2017-19 but resigned after the 2019 season due to health reasons. Overall, Fresno State had a 45-22 record during his tenure and a 27-13 record in Mountain West play.
Prior to coaching at Fresno State, Tedford was the head coach at Cal from 2002-12. Tedford coached first-round NFL Draft picks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller with the Bears and the team went 82-57 during his time at 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 prior to the 2014 season. However, Tedford underwent heart surgery just weeks before the regular season and never returned to his full-time position.
Tedford moved to the CFL for one season before returning to college as a consultant for Washington in 2016 prior to his return to Fresno State.