Timothy James DeRuyter ( ; born January 3, 1963) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player who is currently the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. He previously served in the same capacity at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in 2021 and prior to that he was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

from 2017 to 2020 and head coach at

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

from 2012 to 2016.Robert Kuwada
Tim DeRuyter fired as Fresno State football coach
''Fresno Bee'', October 23, 2016.

Early years

A native of

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, DeRuyter attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower and graduated in 1981. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

from 1982 to 1984. He lettered at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and was part of three

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

victories. He graduated from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

in 1985. His family is of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

descent.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

DeRuyter has a history of turning college football defenses around. Before his second arrival at

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 2002, the Bobcats ranked 99th nationally; upon his departure to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, the Bobcats ranked 22nd. At Nevada, the Wolfpack improved from 78th to 48th under his tutelage. He also spent time at Navy.

Air Force

As the

at Air Force from 2007 to 2009, DeRuyter replaced a bend-but-don't-break scheme with an aggressive

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). ...

. 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 Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, the Falcons limited the nation's second-ranked passing offense to a season-low of 222 passing yards. They also recorded six interceptions.

Texas A&M

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 American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

. In 2010, under his 3–4 defense, they improved to 21st in scoring defense. After Texas A&M fired head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

in 2011, DeRuyter became the interim head coach for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, leading the Aggies to a 33–22 victory over Northwestern.

Fresno State

DeRuyter became the head coach of the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

beginning the 2012 season. During the 2012 season, the Bulldogs team included standouts

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and wa ...

Phillip Thomas Phillip Thomas (born March 1, 1989) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Fresno State, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years Thomas was born in Bakers ...

, and

Davante Adams Davante Lavell Adams (born December 24, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the s ...

. The Bulldogs were

Mountain West The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

conference champions after recording 7–1 conference records during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. During the 2014 season, they were conference division champions after posting a 5–3 conference record. His 2015 and 2016 teams did not see the same success, as both teams posted losing records. 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. During his tenure, the Bulldogs were invited to three bowl games, but lost all three by at least 20 points each.

Cal

On January 23, 2017, DeRuyter was hired to be defensive coordinator at Cal. Prior to his arrival, Cal's defense ranked 127th in scoring defense and 125th in total defense in 2016. The defense improved over his tenure; over the 2017–2020 seasons, Cal's scoring defense ranked 79th, 22nd, 33rd, and 48th, respectively. The total defense ranked 95th, 15th, 65th, and 38th. The 2019 Cal defense featured All-American

Evan Weaver Evan Weaver (born August 11, 1998) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at California and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Early years Weaver was born a ...

, who led the nation in tackles. During his tenure at Cal, DeRuyter was the primary defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2019, but shared the responsibility with

Peter Sirmon Peter Sirmon (born February 18, 1977) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans and played for them for his entire career from 2000 to 2006. Sirm ...

in 2020. For their coaching during the 2019 season, DeRuyter and Sirmon were named Linebackers Coaches of the Year by FootballScoop.

Oregon

On January 22, 2021, DeRuyter was hired to be the defensive coordinator at Oregon.

Texas Tech

On December 8, 2021, DeRuyter was hired to be the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at

under head coach

Joey McGuire Joey McGuire (born August 6, 1971) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position he had held since the 2022 season. McGuire previously served as the associate head coach and outside linebackers c ...

Head coaching record

Notes

References

External links

Oregon profile

California profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deruyter, Tim 1963 births Living people American football linebackers Air Force Falcons football players Air Force Falcons football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Fresno State Bulldogs football coaches Navy Midshipmen football coaches Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches Ohio Bobcats football coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Sportspeople from Long Beach, California Coaches of American football from California Players of American football from Long Beach, California American people of Dutch descent Military personnel from California