DeBoer Completes UW Staff, Which Includes New Strength Coach
As soon as the New Mexico Bowl ended, and Fresno State beat UTEP 31-24, the Bulldogs lost four assistant coaches and their weight-room leader, all Seattle-bound.
Almost immediately, new coach University of Washington coach Kalen DeBoer on Saturday announced the hiring of William Inge and Chuck Morrell as co-defensive coordinators, Lee Marks as running-backs coach, Eric Schmidt as special-teams coordinator and defensive-ends coach, and Ron McKeefery as strength and conditioning coach.
DeBoer now has a full staff in place for winter conditioning and the second recruiting signing period.
Inge and Morrell will share the top defensive job much like Pete Kwiatkowski and Jimmy Lake did at the UW for Chris Petersen's staff. Inge previously served as defensive coordinator at Indiana when DeBoer was offensive coordinator, and Morrell was the head coach for NAIA Montana Tech and the defensive coordinator when he and DeBoer were at NAIA Sioux Falls.
"Coach Inge is a dynamic coach and person who has great knowledge and understanding of what it takes to build a great defense," DeBoer said in a statement. "His ability to connect with players and reach their hearts and minds is special."
This past season, Fresno State ranked among the top 25 in the nation in scoring defense, tackles for loss, takeaways, fumble recoveries and fourth-down conversion defense.
Morrell's 2008 Sioux Falls defense was one of the most dominant in NAIA history as the Cougars allowed just 5.9 points, 14.7 rushing yards and 94.7 passing yards per game while going 14-0.
"Having coached with Coach Morrell for 12 years, I have seen first-hand the ability he has to build attacking and dominant defenses," DeBoer said. "He is also an experienced and highly successful former head coach who will bring expertise and perspective to our program beyond just leading the defense."
Schmidt was a member of DeBoer's staff at Fresno State the past two years, serving as defensive line coach and special-teams coordinator. He and DeBoer first worked together at Southern Illinois, when DeBoer was offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.
"Coach Schmidt brings over 10 years of experience and success as a special-teams and defensive coordinator," DeBoer said. "I've always been impressed with his attention to detail and passion for developing specialists."
Marks, a former second-team All-WAC running back at Boise State, began his coaching career as a strength and conditioning coach at Colorado and also worked in that capacity at Arkansas State and at Boise State.
After DeBoer was named head coach at Fresno State for the 2020 season, Marks joined him as the Bulldogs' assistant head coach, run-game coordinator and running-backs coach. Marks coached Ronnie Rivers, a first-team All-MWC running back who finished his career this season as Fresno State's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns.
Marks served as interim coach for Fresno State at the New Mexico Bowl.
McKeefery, at Fresno State the past two years, twice received national honors as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach of the year. A former defensive back at Ottawa University in Kansas, he held previous conditional positions with the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals, and at South Florida, Tennessee and Eastern Michigan. He is considered a prolific public speaker.
"Coach Mac is among the best in business when it comes to strength and conditioning, and player development," DeBoer said. "He is an outside-the-box thinker who excels in balancing foundational principles with new, cutting-edge ideas."
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