It was inevitable that UND defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt was going to leave UND at some point to move up the coaching ladder. Well, that time came Monday when we broke the news that Schmidt was hired by Fresno State as their new defensive line/special teams coordinator.
Breaking: We have been told that UND DC Eric Schmidt has accepted the DL/Special Teams job at Fresno State. @BarkBoard
— UNDFootball360 (@UNDFootball360) January 6, 2020
The Mandan native coached with new FSU head coach Kalen Deboer at Southern Illinois from 2010-2013 when Deboer was the OC and Schmidt was a linebackers coach. Schmidt coached special teams at Southern Illinois, as well, meaning the hire does make sense in all ways. Not to mention it will come with a significant pay increase – the MWC actually pays their football coaches quite well.
Schmidt’s UND defenses from 2014-2019 were always a tough-minded, competitive unit that liked to bring pressure from all angles. They typically ranked high in TFL’s and sacks while being good vs. run. The unit peaked in 2016 when UND gave up 91.5 rushing yards per game and only six rushing TD’s, while also snaring 20 INT’s.
Schmidt was also regarded as the Hawks best recruiter so bringing in somebody who wants to be a dog on the recruiting trail will be of importance.
We are told that the Bulldogs will employ a 4-2-5 scheme, which will be a deviation from the 3-4 that Schmidt played in & coached his entire career. Fresno has named William Inge as their new defensive coordinator – Inge was on the Indiana staff alongside Deboer this past season.
This is definitely a loss for the UND program as Schmidt was a former All-American linebacker for the Fighting Sioux and loves the university and the Grand Forks community deeply.
Looking Ahead
So which route does UND take with their defensive coordinator search? In house, Bubba Schweigert has newly hired linebacker coach Brett Holinka, safeties coach Joel Schwenzfeier and cornerbacks coach Travis Stepps still on the defensive staff. The only one who has coordinator experience is Holinka with one year at U of Mary.
The new coach would certainly need defensive line experience and if not, would need linebacker experience for sure.
It will be interesting to see if UND continues to recruit Colorado, as that was Schmidt’s territory and one that he opened up upon his arrival in 2014. Schmidt also recruited North Dakota and western/northern Minnesota meaning Schweigert will need to strategically fill that role with somebody who knows the lay of the land, so to speak.
We see Schweigert opening it up and seeing what comes in but while also having several names in the back of his mind. We will expand on that more in the near future.
Tom Dosch?
He would be on the list but not sure he would move back to Grand Forks at this point. Schweigert has two years left on his contract, meaning they would need to give him an extension in the next 9 months. That would greatly help any hires in the future because it presents stability.
If UND paid more would Coach Schmidt have stayed? I have a friend, who played for UND, who says the Hawks are notoriously low on the pay scale. Is that a problem? He claims the funds aren’t there and that they are having trouble finishing stage 2 of the high performance center. How big a problem is this regarding coaches salaries, the high performance center etc?
Pay is definitely an issue when it comes to UND. They are low compared to all the Dakota’s and probably the entire MVFC.
I don’t think Schmidt would have stayed as he will more than double his salary out there and be moving up the ladder to FBS. He needed to take that next step so this makes sense.
The HPC 2 is a major issue, as well. The coaches office and locker rooms are as old as they could possibly be – like almost 100 years old. Not sure why that’s OK as every other team on campus has better facilities than them. Its getting to be a serious deal.