BERKELEY – Cal head coach Justin Wilcox announced Monday that Tim DeRuyter has agreed to become the Golden Bears' defensive coordinator. DeRuyter becomes the second member of Cal's staff with previous head coaching experience along with offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin. DeRuyter was the head coach at Fresno State for the last four-plus campaigns and has been a collegiate coach for 27 seasons including 16 as a defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator."Tim DeRuyter is a proven and experienced defensive coordinator with an excellent track record of success in fielding some of the nation's best defenses especially in recent years," Wilcox said. "He has great expertise and knowledge in running a defense, and it's also a tremendous plus that he understands what it's like to be a head coach after his recent tenure at Fresno State. It puts us in a great position as a coaching staff that both Tim and our offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin have recently been head coaches. I'm looking forward to collaborating with each of them and benefitting from their experience."
"I'm thrilled to be joining the staff that Justin Wilcox is putting together at Cal," DeRuyter said. "Justin is a gifted young coach and someone I have enjoyed watching rise to the top of the coaching profession. I'm looking forward to doing everything I can to help all of us be successful at Cal. We have a tremendous opportunity to build one of the top programs in the Pac-12 and the nation in Berkeley."
DeRuyter's most recent tenure as the head coach at Fresno State got off to a strong start with the Bulldogs going 20-6 in his first two seasons while winning at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title and qualifying for bowl games in each of his first three campaigns. The conference titles were Fresno State's first since 1999 and first-back-to-back league championships since 1992 and 1993.
DeRuyter's best season in Fresno came in his second campaign when the 2013 Bulldogs matched a single-season school-record for victories by posting an 11-2 record and won the MWC's inaugural championship game before playing at the Las Vegas Bowl. Fresno State ranked as high as No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll at one point and finished No. 20 in the final BCS standings, the highest of any non-automatic qualifying BCS conference team that year.
DeRuyter sandwiched his record-setting 2013 campaign in the Valley with 2012 and 2014 seasons that also yielded conference titles.
The Bulldogs won a co-MWC crown and played in the Hawai'i Bowl before finishing with a 9-4 overall record for an impressive five-win turnaround in his first season at Fresno State in 2012. DeRuyter coached both the MWC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in 2012 in quarterback Derek Carr and unanimous All-American safety Phillip Thomas, who was also a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award after leading the nation in interceptions with eight. Davante Adams was also the MWC Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-conference choice.
The 2014 squad began the season with three consecutive losses to a trio of teams – USC, Utah and Nebraska – that were all ranked at one point in the season, but the Bulldogs rebounded to win a share of the MWC's West Division and a spot in a second straight MWC Championship game before wrapping up their season at the Hawai'i Bowl for the second time in three campaigns.
Prior to his head coaching position at Fresno State, DeRuyter was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for two seasons at Texas A&M (2010-11).
DeRuyter's final game at Texas A&M was in the role of interim head coach at the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl when the Aggies were a 33-22 winner over Northwestern. Texas A&M led the nation with 51 sacks (3.92 spg) and ranked third with an average of 8.00 tackles for loss per game in 2011 while fielding a defense that was 12th nationally against the rush (101.85 ypg).
In his first season at Texas A&M in 2010, DeRuyter was a nominee for the Broyles Award that honors the nation's top assistant coach and worked with one of the elite defensive players in the game in Butkus Award winner and two-time first-team All-American Von Miller. Miller would go on to become the second overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft by Denver and led the Broncos to a Super Bowl 50 title as the game's Most Valuable Player.
DeRuyter also coordinated one of the nation's most successful defenses at Air Force in 2009 when the Falcons were in the top 10 in both pass defense (5th, 154.31 ypg) and scoring defense (10th, 15.69 ppg) while ranking 11th in total defense (288.31 ypg). Air Force was a combined 25-14 and played in three Armed Forces Bowls during his second coaching stint at his alma mater from 2007-09. DeRuyter served as the defensive coordinator all three campaigns while adding associate head coach responsibilities in his final two. He was also the safeties coach in his first season in 2007.
DeRuyter had the opportunity to work as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for College Football Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault at Nevada for two seasons from 2005-06, with the Wolfpack winning a co-Western Athletic Conference title in his first campaign and going to bowls both seasons playing at the 2005 Hawai'i Bowl and 2006 MPC Computers Bowl.
DeRuyter also had two stints as the defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Ohio (1995-98; 2002-04) earlier in his career sandwiched around three seasons at Navy (1999-2001) as the defensive coordinator for the first two campaigns and defensive backs coach for the third.
DeRuyter got into coaching under another Hall of Fame coach in Fisher DeBerry at Air Force first as a graduate assistant on defense in 1985 and then for four seasons as an assistant position coach while completing his seven and a half years of active military duty following his graduation from the Academy. He earned a bachelor's degree in management from Air Force in 1985 and added an MBA in market strategy from Regis University in 1992. DeRuyter spent two years in private business before returning to coaching in 1994.
DeRuyter and his wife, Kara, have one son, Jake, and one daughter, Christina. Jake is a graduate from Air Force while Christina is scheduled to graduate from Texas A&M in the spring of 2017.
TIM DERUYTER FILE
Birthdate: January 3, 1963
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
High School: St. John Bosco HS
College: Air Force, 1985, Bachelor's in Management; Regis University, 1992, Master's in Market Strategy
Pronunciation: duh-ROOT-er
COACHING HISTORY
*Season: Team – Position (Champions, Postseason)
1985: Air Force – Graduate Assistant, Defense (Bluebonnet Bowl)
1989: Air Force – Inside Linebackers Assistant (Liberty Bowl)
1990: Air Force – Outside Linebackers Assistant (Liberty Bowl)
1991: Air Force – Secondary Assistant (Liberty Bowl)
1992: Air Force – Secondary Assistant (Liberty Bowl)
1995: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1996: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1997: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1998: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
1999: Navy – Defensive Coordinator
2000: Navy – Defensive Coordinator
2001: Navy – Defensive Backs
2002: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
2003: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
2004: Ohio – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
2005: Nevada – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties (WAC Co-Champions, Hawai'i Bowl)
2006: Nevada – Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties (MPC Computers Bowl)
2007: Air Force – Defensive Coordinator/Safeties (Armed Forces Bowl)
2008: Air Force – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator (Armed Forces Bowl)
2009: Air Force – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator (Armed Forces Bowl)
2010: Texas A&M – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator (Big 12 South Tri-Champions, Cotton Bowl)
^2011: Texas A&M – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Interim Head Coach (Meineke Car Care Bowl)
2012: Fresno State – Head Coach (MWC Co-Champions, Hawai'i Bowl)
2013: Fresno State – Head Coach (MWC Champions, Las Vegas Bowl)
2014: Fresno State – Head Coach (MWC West Division Champions, Hawai'i Bowl)
2015: Fresno State – Head Coach
+2016: Fresno State – Head Coach
*Season in which bowl game was played; ^Elevated to Interim Head Coach for Meineke Car Care Bowl; +Relieved of his duties as Head Coach after eight games
