CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington football has a long tradition of Eagle alumni on its coaching staff and now it has alumni at both coordinator positions. Head coach
Aaron Best announced the promotion of
Zach Bruce to defensive coordinator after coaching the Eagle safeties the past six seasons. He joins offensive coordinator
Marc Anderson who was promoted to the position last offseason.
Since joining the Eastern coaching staff prior to the 2020-21 season, Bruce has coached four All-Big Sky selections, including two first team elections. Jaylon Jenkins earned first team honors this past season and Anthany Smith earned the first team honor for the 2020-21 season.
With Bruce's guidance, EWU intercepted 15 passes in 2025, ranking third in the Big Sky and seventh in the FCS. Jenkins had five interceptions during the season, slating him in a fourth-place tie in the nation.
Bruce added special teams coordinator to his job title last season and previously coached the unit in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Eagles led the Big Sky in blocked kicks with six, also ranking fifth in the nation. Isaiah Perez broke the Eastern single-season record with four blocked kicks in '25.
Covering multiple roles, Bruce was the team's recruiting coordinator during the 2024 season and worked as the defensive pass game coordinator as well.
Bruce played at Eastern from 2012 to 2016, earning first team All-Big Sky honors in 2016. During the '16 season, Bruce recorded 115 total tackles, the 13th most for a single season in program history. He earned All-Big Sky honorable mentions during the 2014 and 2015 seasons as well. At safety, Bruce recorded 227 total tackles, ranking 27th all time. He has 50 games played, tied for the 42nd most in EWU history. During Bruce's tenure on the Eagles, EWU won three Big Sky Championships (2013, 2014, 2016) and had a 41-13 overall record ,going 28-4 in the Big Sky. Bruce excelled in the classroom as an Eagle, earning two Big Sky all-academic awards.
Prior to coaching at EWU, Bruce coached at Mead High School (2017-18) and Helsinki, Finland (2018-20).
Bruce graduated from Eastern in 2018, earning his bachelor's degree in history, with a minor in coaching and a secondary minor in social studies education.
In the 2025 season, EWU finished 4-4 in the Big Sky and 5-7 overall.
The 2026 season begins on Aug. 29 for Eastern Washington as they travel to play Northern Arizona. Eastern opens its home schedule against Northern Iowa on Sep. 5. The Eagles will play six home games this season, including defending FCS National Champions Montana State on Oct. 17. EWU also travels to play Washington in Seattle on Sep. 19.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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