After nine highly-successful seasons as Eastern Washington University's head coach, Beau Baldwin announced at a media conference on Monday (Jan. 16) that he has accepted the offensive coordinator position at the University of California at Berkeley.
 
In his place, EWU athletic director Bill Chaves announced that long-time Eastern assistant coaches Aaron Best and Jeff Schmedding will serve as co-interim head coaches until Baldwin's replacement is announced. Chaves said he will expedite the hiring process to replace Baldwin, who was 85-32 overall and 58-14 in the Big Sky Conference as Eastern's head coach.
 
"I want to give a lot of thank yous for my amazing time at Eastern," said Baldwin. "I would never hit everyone – there is no chance of that – because I haven't prepared for this. It's going to be missed, it's going to be missed.
 
"But given this situation, it was right," he continued. "There are have been other opportunities, but the reason they haven't been right is that this place and the people here have been special. I knew strongly if I had any reservations I would stay and continue to fight like heck as an Eagle. These things happen really fast. As hard as it is to leave – and I want it to be hard because if it's hard it means something – this one is right. It's an incredible opportunity for my family and our career.

"Eastern is much bigger than any one person – it always has been and always will be," Baldwin added. "I know this program will continue to roll, and that excites me. And we're proud of that. I'm excited for the opportunity ahead, but I will miss an amazing place."
Baldwin has been a collegiate coach for 23 seasons, including nine as Eastern's head coach and four as an EWU assistant. He spent 10 years at his alma mater, Central Washington, including one as head coach in 2007 and nine more as an assistant. He received his bachelor's degree in education from Central in 1996 and graduated from Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., in 1990.
 
Baldwin had a 58-14 Big Sky record for a winning percentage of .806 to rank as the fifth-best in league history. His .733 winning percentage overall (85-31) is seventh all-time in the 53-year history of the Big Sky. He was just four wins shy of the school record of 89 victories by Dick Zornes from 1979-93 during EWU's transition from NAIA to NCAA Division I and the Big Sky.
 
The 2016 season was the sixth time Baldwin has taken the Eagles to the playoffs as head coach (2009-10-12-13-14-16), plus two more as offensive coordinator (2004-05). Eastern finished his final season 12-2 overall after a perfect 8-0 league campaign, winning the school's seventh title with Baldwin as a coach (2004-05-10-12-13-14-16). He coached in a total of 29 postseason playoff games (12 appearances) with a record of 18-10-1, including eight appearances in the FCS Playoffs and two at both the NCAA Division II and NAIA levels when he was at Central Washington.

In his nine years as Eastern's head coach, the Eagles ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense eight times and total offense six seasons. Eastern led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense in 2016 (401.0 yards per game), 2015 (353.3) and 2011 (368.5), and scoring in 2014 (44.1 points per game). In EWU's last 13 seasons (2004-2016), including 12 with Baldwin on the coaching staff, EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 11 times, total offense on nine occasions and scoring five times.
 
Included in Baldwin's victories as head coach were a pair of wins over Pac-12 Conference opponents – Oregon State 49-46 in 2013 and Washington State 45-42 to open EWU's 2016 campaign. In 2009, in his second year as head coach, the Eagles fell at Cal 59-7.
 
Baldwin will serve at Cal under Justin Wilcox, who was named the new head coach of the Bears on Jan. 14. Wilcox was previously an assistant coach at Cal, USC and Boise State, and most recently at Wisconsin. He graduated from Oregon in 1999.
 
Best recently concluded his 20th year as an Eagle, including four years at Eastern (1996-99) as an All-America center and 16 season as an assistant coach (2000-2006, 2008-2014) in the 2016-17 school year. An academic honor student as an undergraduate at Eastern, Best is the team's offensive line coach, its running game coordinator and also handles the team's academic coordinator duties.
 
He helped coordinate an offense in 2016 which set seven Big Sky Conference records and two additional EWU marks for a total of nine school records. Eastern finished the year ranked second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game and was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game). Eastern was also third in scoring offense (42.4).
 
Eastern's offense excelled after Best helped develop an offensive line that lost all five starters from EWU's 2015 squad plus two other seniors. In the last eight games of the 2016 season, the starting lineup consisted of two redshirt freshmen and a trio of sophomores.
 
In the last 13 seasons (2004-16) – 12 with Best on the coaching staff -- EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 11 times and in total offense on nine occasions and scoring five times. In the last 23 years (1993-2016), the Eagles have had 22 different offensive linemen earn All-America accolades while winning 26 first team All-Big Sky Conference honors (1993-2015). In 2016, center Spencer Blackburn was a second team All-Big Sky selection and went on to earn sophomore All-America accolades.
 
Among the All-Americans Best has coached was Michael Roos, who became the highest NFL draft choice in school history when he was chosen in the second round – 41st overall – by the Tennessee Titans in 2005. A season-ending knee injury in 2014 led to his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons. He credited Best in his retirement statement on Instagram on Feb. 26, 2015.
 
"I was very lucky to have the best offensive line coach possible in Aaron Best," praised Roos in response to having his jersey retired at EWU on Oct. 24, 2009. "He taught all of us the meaning of hard work and perseverance."
 
Best started 22-straight games at center for Eastern in 1998 and 1999, earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a junior and first team honors as a senior. He also earned honorable mention All-America honors his final season.
 
An outstanding student with a 3.3 grade point average, as a senior he was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII team and was selected to the FCS Athletic Directors Academic All-Star Team. Twice he was selected to the Big Sky All-Academic team. He received his bachelor's degree in social science from EWU in 2001.
 
He was Eastern's long-snapper for four seasons and was a backup lineman in 1997 when Eastern led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in total offense (505.6 yards per game). That team finished 12-2 and advanced to the FCS "Final Four." The Eagles were 31-16 in the four seasons Best played for EWU, and Eastern had a 1,000-yard rusher each year. In all, the Eagles have had a 1,000-yard rusher in 11 of the 19 seasons Best has been at EWU.
 
Best graduated in 1996 from Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., where he had a 3.75 grade point average. He was co-captain his senior season as Curtis won the State AAA championship.
 
Schmedding took over as Eastern's defensive coordinator in 2015 after a highly-successful seven-year stint coordinating special teams. The 2016-17 school year was his 13th year on the coaching staff, and coached safeties for the seventh year.
 
In their last seven victories of the season, the Eagles won by an average of 22.4 points per game, led by a defense which allowed just 113 points (16.1 per game) in those seven victories. That seven-game stretch was Eastern's best since the 1997 team allowed only 105 in its first seven games of the season. The best stretch for EWU's 2010 National Championship team was 131.
 
Eastern's defense in 2016 allowed only 24.4 points per game (195 total, second-best in the league) during its 8-0 Big Sky Conference season after allowing 40.7 against three challenging non-conference opponents. Eastern out-scored opponents by an average of 21.0 points per game in eight league games (45.4 to 24.4, total of 363-195).
 
In a 38-0 victory over Richmond in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, Eastern's defense recorded its first shutout in 102 games since a 16-0 victory over Northern Colorado on Sept. 19, 2009. The 205 yards Richmond had were the fewest EWU has surrendered in its last 28 games since allowing 168 in a 54-3 win over North Dakota on Nov. 1, 2014.
 
Eastern allowed just 14 points in its first two games in the FCS Playoffs, featuring seven scoreless quarters with a shutout versus Richmond. Aside from a 14-point second quarter for Central Arkansas on Dec. 3, Eastern allowed only 383 total yards in those seven goose eggs for an average of 54.7 per quarter. The total yards allowed by EWU in those two games was 449 (56.1 per quarter). Eastern hadn't had better back-to-back defensive performances since 2004 when Weber State had 147 and Sacramento State had 201 for a total of 348.
 
Schmedding graduated in 2002 from Eastern with his bachelor's degree in health education and a minor in physical education/coaching. He was a health and fitness teacher at University High School in Spokane Valley for two years, and coached football.
 
While he was an EWU undergraduate, he also did his student teaching at U-Hi in 2001 and coached football. Schmedding graduated in 1996 from University High School.
 
 

More on Beau Baldwin's & His Coaching Career

EWU Coach: Beau Baldwin (Central Washington '96)
School Record: 85-32/58-14 Big Sky Conference (Nine Seasons)
Career Record: 95-35 (11 Seasons -- was 10-3 at CWU in 2007)
2016: 12-2/8-0 Big Sky Co-Champions with North Dakota
NCAA Division I Championships: 1 (20120)
Big Sky Conference Championships: 5 (2010-12-13-14-16, plus two as assistant 2004-05)
NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff Berths: 6 (2009-10-12-13-14-16, plus two as assistant 2004-05)
College: Central Washington '96, bachelor's degree in education
 

Year - School - Coaching Assignment - Head Coach - Record/League
2016 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - x12-2/8-0
2015 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - 6-5/5-3
2014 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - >11-3/7-1
2013 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - =12-3/8-0
2012 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - $11-3/7-1
2011 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - 6-5/5-3
2010 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - +13-2/7-1
2009 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - *8-4/6-2
2008 - Eastern Washington - Head Coach - 6-5/5-3
Totals as EWU Head Coach (9 seasons) - 85-32 (.726)/58-14 (.806)
 
2007 - Central Washington - Head Coach - #10-3/6-2
Totals as Head Coach (10 seasons) - 95-35 (.731)/64-16 (.800)
 
2006 - Eastern Washington - Offensive Coord./QB - Paul Wulff - 3-8/3-5
2005 - Eastern Washington - Offensive Coord./QB - Paul Wulff - &7-5/5-2
2004 - Eastern Washington - Offensive Coord./QB - Paul Wulff - ~9-4/6-1
2003 - Eastern Washington - Offensive Coord./QB - Paul Wulff - 6-5/3-4
Totals as Coach at Eastern (13 seasons) - 110-55 (.667)/75-26 (.743)
 
2002 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - !11-1/3-0
2001 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - 4-7/1-2
2000 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - ^5-5/3-1
1999 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - 4-5/2-2
1998 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - @7-4/4-1
1997 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - John Zamberlin - 5-4/3-2
1996 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - Jeff Zenisek - 5-5/3-2
1995 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - Jeff Zenisek - %10-3-1/4-1
1994 - Central Washington - Quarterbacks - Jeff Zenisek - 5-4/2-3
Totals as Collegiate Coach (23 seasons) - 176-95-1 (.649)/106-42 (.716)
 
x NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Defeated Central Arkansas 31-14, defeated Richmond 38-0; lost to Youngstown State 40-38); Big Sky Conference Champions.
> NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Defeated Montana 37-20, lost to Illinois State 59-46); Big Sky Conference Champions.
= NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Defeated South Dakota State 41-17, defeated Jacksonville State 35-24, lost to Towson 35-31); Big Sky Conference Champions.
$ NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Defeated Wagner 29-19, defeated Illinois State 51-35, lost to Sam Houston State 45-52); Big Sky Conference Champions.
+NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Champion (Defeated Southeast Missourl State 37-17, defeated North Dakota State 38-31 in overtime, defeated Villanova 41-31, defeated Delaware 20-19); Big Sky Conference Champions.
*NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Lost to Stephen F. Austin 44-33).
#NCAA Division II Playoffs (Defeated Ashland 40-24, Defeated Nebraska-Omaha 20-17, lost to Grand Valley State 41-21).
&Big Sky Conference Champions; NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Lost to Northern Iowa 41-38).
~ Big Sky Conference Champions; NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (Defeated Southern Illinois 35-31, lost to Sam Houston State 35-34).
!Great Northwest Athletic Conference Champions; NCAA Division II Playoffs (Lost to UC Davis 24-6).
^Columbia Football Association Champions.
@ Columbia Football Association Champions; NAIA Playoffs (Defeated Rocky Mountain 41-38 and Lost to Azusa Pacific 35-28).
%NAIA National Champions (Defeated Western Washington 28-21, Defeated Hardin-Simmons 40-20, Defeated Mary, N.D. 48-7, Tied Findlay 21-21).
 
Baldwin Versus the Big Sky
Includes non-conference & playoffs, including 2007 loss to North Dakota when he was head coach at CWU
Cal Poly - 5-0
Idaho State - 8-0
Montana - 6-4
Montana State - 7-2
North Dakota - 3-1
Northern Arizona - 5-2
Northern Colorado - 7-0
Portland State - 6-3
Sacramento State - 5-1
Southern Utah - 4-1
UC Davis - 3-0
Weber State - 6-1
Totals - 65-14 (.823)
 
Playing Career at Central Wash.
1990-93 - Quarterback - 121-of-197 passes for school-record .614 completion percentage, 1,655 yards and eight touchdowns.
 
Education
Bachelor's degree in education, Central Washington University, 1996
Graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash., 1990
 
 
• In his nine years as Eastern's head coach, the Eagles have ranked in the top 10 in FCS in passing offense eight times and total offense six seasons (including 2016). Eastern led the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in passing offense in 2016 (401.0 per game), 2015 (353.3) and 2011 (368.5), and scoring in 2014 (44.1 points per game). In EWU's last 13 seasons (2004-2016), including 12 with Baldwin on the coaching staff, EWU has ranked in the top 10 in passing 11 times, total offense on nine occasions and scoring five times.
 
• Baldwin has coached seven national players of the year at the FCS level – all since 2005. Most recently, quarterback Gage Gubrud was the 2016 FCS Player of the Year as selected by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Also in 2016, Cooper Kupp repeated as the FCS Player of the Year as awarded by the FCS Athletic Director's Association, and in 2015 won a trio of honors. He was the FCS Player of the Year as selected by STATS and the FCS Athletic Director's Association. He also became just the second wide receiver in history to win the Walter Payton Award, presented independently in 2015 by Mickey Charles LLC. Vernon Adams Jr. was selected by College Football Performance Awards as its FCS Performer of the Year in 2013. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell won the 2011 Walter Payton Award, presented by The Sports Network to the top offensive player. Erik Meyer won the same award in 2005. Defensive end Greg Peach (2008) and J.C. Sherritt (2010) won the Buck Buchanan Award given to the top defensive player. In addition, Kupp was presented the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in FCS in 2013, and in 2012 Adams was picked by the College Sporting News as its FCS Freshman of the Year.

• Four of his quarterbacks and a wide receiver at Eastern have earned a total of nine Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year accolades – the award was won by Gage Gubrud/Cooper Kupp (shared) in 2016, Cooper Kupp in 2015, Vernon Adams Jr. in 2013 and 2014, Bo Levi Mitchell in 2011, Matt Nichols in 2009 (also in 2007 when Baldwin was at CWU) and Erik Meyer in 2004 and 2005. All have earned All-America honors, and Kupp (2015), Mitchell (2011) and Meyer (2005) won the Walter Payton Award given to the top player in FCS. Adams was the runner-up in 2013 and 2014, and Nichols finished fourth in 2009.
 
• After guiding Eastern to the 2010 NCAA Division I Championship, Baldwin was honored nationally as the College Sporting News Coach of the Year and the American Football Monthly Coach of the Year. He was also honored regionally by the Inland Northwest Sportswriters and Broadcasters (SWABS) as Coach of the Year. Two years later, he was the 2012 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award and a repeat SWABS winner following EWU's march to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. He repeated as Big Sky and SWABS coach of the year in 2013, and in 2014 was AFCA Region 5 FCS Coach of the Year.
 
• His 23 seasons as a collegiate coach have included 10 at Central Washington University and 13 at Eastern Washington University. He also played quarterback for four seasons at CWU.
 
• Has coached on teams that have won two national titles (NCAA Division I in 2010; NAIA in 1995) and 10 conference championships (Big Sky Conference in 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016; Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2002; Columbia Football Association in 2000 and 1998).
 
• Has coached in 29 postseason playoff games (record of 18-10-1), including eight appearances in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (record of 12-7), two appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs (record of 2-2) and two appearances in the NAIA Playoffs (record of 4-1-1).
 
• Received bachelor's degree from Central Washington University in 1996.
 
• He is formerly from Tacoma, Wash., and graduated from Curtis High School in 1990. His wife Nicole is from Spokane, Wash., and is a 2001 graduate of Eastern. They have two daughters – Mia Jenae (12) and Macie Patricia (10).