Quick Facts
CapricornBiography
Timothy James DeRuyter (/dəˈruːtər/ də-ROO-tər; born January 3, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He is the associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the California Golden Bears, and prior to that he was the head football coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs, a position he held from 2012 to 2016.
Early years
A native of Long Beach, California, DeRuyter attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower and graduated in 1981. He played college football at Air Force from 1982 to 1984. He lettered at outside linebacker and was part of three bowl game victories. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1985. His family is of Dutch descent.
Coaching career
DeRuyter has a history of turning college football defenses around. Before his second arrival at Ohio in 2002, the Bobcats ranked 99th nationally; upon his departure to Nevada, the Bobcats ranked 22nd. At Nevada, the Wolfpack improved from 78th to 48th under his tutelage.
As the defensive coordinator at Air Force from 2007 to 2009, DeRuyter replaced a bend-but-don't-break scheme with an aggressive 3–4 defense. In 2006, prior to his arrival, the Falcons ranked 78th in scoring defense and 78th in total defense. In 2009, the Falcons finished 10th in scoring defense and 11th in total defense. In the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl 47-20 win against Houston, the Falcons limited the nation's second-ranked passing offense to a season-low of 222 passing yards. They also recorded six interceptions.
DeRuyter became Texas A&M's defensive coordinator in 2010. The Aggies ranked 104th in scoring defense in 2009, under a 4–3 defense. In 2010, under his 3–4 defense, they improved to 21st in scoring defense.
He was interviewed for the head coaching position at California State University, Fresno, and was selected to be the new head coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs for the 2012 season. He was fired by Fresno State on October 23, 2016, after starting the season 1–7 and 4–16 since playing in the Mountain West championship game in 2014.
On January 23, 2017, DeRuyter was hired to be defensive coordinator at Cal.
Alongside fellow staff member Peter Sirmon, DeRuyter was named FootballScoop's Linebacker Coach of the Year in 2019.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 Conference) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Texas A&M | 1–0 | W Meineke Car Care | ||||||
| Texas A&M: | 1–0 | ||||||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs (Mountain West Conference) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Fresno State | 9–4 | 7–1 | T–1st | L Hawaii | ||||
| 2013 | Fresno State | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1st | L Las Vegas | ||||
| 2014 | Fresno State | 6–8 | 5–3 | T–1st | L Hawaii | ||||
| 2015 | Fresno State | 3–9 | 2–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 2016 | Fresno State | 1–7 | 0–4 | ||||||
| Fresno State: | 30–30 | 21–15 | |||||||
| Total: | 31–30 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
