Kiesau named Fresno State interim football coach
Making a coaching change in the middle of a disappointing season, Fresno State University hired former Glendale High and Glendale Community College quarterback Eric Kiesau as its interim coach.
Kiesau, who served as an offensive consultant on the NCAA championship-winning Alabama program last season, succeeds Tim DeRuyter, who was fired Sunday on the heels of a 1-7 start. Kiesau had been Fresno State’s offensive coordinator after accepting the position in December.
It will be the first head-coaching position for Kiesau.
“It is a crazy business. It’s never a fun time when you lose a coach,” Kiesau told the Fresno Bee on Monday. “I’ve got a ton of respect for coach DeRuyter. He’s a great friend, great coach.
“But as we move forward, I’m very excited about this opportunity. The players and staff have done a great job, obviously, respecting coach DeRuyter’s departure, but also embracing the new future and kind of where we’re going.”
Fresno State (1-7, 0-4 Mountain West) will take on Air Force in a Mountain West Conference home game Friday.
“We’ve got a lot to do in a short amount of time,” Kiesau, a Portland State University graduate, told the Bee, “and turn a negative situation into a positive.”
Before joining Alabama, Kiesau was the offensive coordinator at Washington (2012-13). Kiesau was also an offensive coordinator at Colorado (2006-10) and was the wide receivers coach at California (2002-05). Kiesau also was the offensive coordinator at Kansas for the last four games of 2014.
Kiesau guided Glendale High to a league championship in 1990.
At Glendale college, Kiesau helped the Vaqueros finish 8-2 and earn a trip to the 1992 K-Swiss Classic Bowl. He was selected to the Junior College Gridwire All-American Team.
