Eastern Washington set to name Baldwin head football coach

Published 12:24 pm Friday, January 4, 2008

CHENEY — Beau Baldwin is heading back to Eastern Washington University to become the Eagles’ new head football coach.

Baldwin, the head coach at Central Washington, told Central’s players at a team meeting Friday morning that he was taking the post at Eastern, where he spent four seasons as an assistant.

Baldwin told the players he met with Eastern officials Thursday and accepted the job. He replaces Paul Wulff, who left to take the head-coaching job at Washington State.

“He said he hadn’t been contacted for a couple of weeks until yesterday morning,” Central tight end Jared Bronson told The Associated Press on Friday. “It happened fast for him.”

EWU athletic officials scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference Friday to formally announce Baldwin’s hiring, sports information director Dave Cook said. CWU spokeswoman Becky Watson also confirmed Baldwin had taken the Eastern job.

Baldwin’s selection came on the day that Fresno State offensive coordinator Jim McElwain turned down an offer from Eastern.

Baldwin, a native of Santa Barbara, Calif., and former Central Washington quarterback, was an assistant coach of the Wildcats for six seasons, followed by four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Eagles under Wulff. He took over the Wildcats’ program in Ellensburg last fall, after John Zamberlin left to become the head coach at Idaho State.

In his lone season as Central’s head coach, the Wildcats finished 10-3 and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history.