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Reports Say UW's Schmidt Will Become San Diego State Defensive Coordinator

The edge-rusher coach has worked with Kalen DeBoer at Southern Illinois, Fresno State and in Montlake.
Dan Raley|
Reports Say UW's Schmidt Will Become San Diego State Defensive Coordinator
Reports Say UW's Schmidt Will Become San Diego State Defensive Coordinator

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Washington Huskies

With the University of Washington enjoying unprecedented football success, Eric Schmidt has become the first domino on the Husky coaching staff to fall in a different direction.

On Thursday, multiple media outlets beginning with 247sports reported the UW edge-rushers coach will become defensive coordinator for Sean Lewis' new San Diego State staff.

Still with the Huskies, Schmidt declined interview requests following the team's morning practice. 

It's been a given all along that members of Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff — which has been together for two seasons, won 24 of 26 games and put the Huskies in the College Football Playoff — would be rewarded with a flurry of job promotions.

For that matter, UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was pursued by Alabama and LSU at the end of the 2022 season, to the point Grubb met with Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.

"There's a lot of guys on our staff who have had opportunities," Grubb said on Thursday. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Eric, so I don't really want to comment on that. But I think the burden always lies on Kalen — he's got to continue to keep the right people here. 

"That's what we did a good job of when we got this thing rolling, is having the right butts in the seats. Certainly Eric has been that for our program and done a great job."

In two seasons, Schmidt's players have performed as well as any position group for the Huskies. A year ago, edge rushers Bralen Trice and Jeremiah Martin were first-team All-Pac-12 selections, and Zion Tupuola-Fetui earned honorable mention recognition. This past season, Trice repeated as a first-teamer and ZTF as an honorable-mention choice.

A native of Mandan, North Dakota, Schmidt was an All-America linebacker for North Dakota, which won the 2001 NCAA Division II national championship. He later had two coaching stints at his alma mater.

DeBoer and Schmidt coached together at Southern Illinois in 2010-13, with DeBoer serving as offensive coordinator and wide-receivers coach and Schmidt heading up the linebackers and special teams. 

Moving to Fresno State, DeBoer hired Schmidt away from North Dakota to join his Mountain West staff for two seasons and then brought him to Washington for these past two seasons. 

"You want to work and work where you get to a place where the machinery is in place and they have the resources to be able to win and you have some advantages," Schmidt said during 2022 UW spring football practice.

A native of Mandan, North Dakota, Schmidt was an All-America linebacker for North Dakota, which won the 2001 NCAA Division II national championship. He later had two coaching stints at his alma mater.

DeBoer and Schmidt first coached together at Southern Illinois in 2010-13, with DeBoer serving as offensive coordinator and wide-receivers coach and Schmidt heading up the linebackers and special teams.

Schmidt joined DeBoer in Fresno State for two seasons and then came to Washington with him for these past two.

People at North Dakota have thought all along when long-time Fighting Hawks coach Bubba Schweigert retires, Schmidt would be a popular choice to replace him.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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