TEMPE – Sun Devil Football head coach Kenny Dillingham continued to build his talented staff as he has brought in one prominent and experienced offensive minds on the West Coast over the past several decades, naming Beau Baldwin as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Baldwin brings a championship pedigree to the program, having won the 2010 National Championship as the head coach at Eastern Washington in the Football Championship Subdivision. He spent nine seasons at the helm of the EWU program – compiling an exceptional 85-32 record with three trips to the FCS semifinals in addition to his national title.
Baldwin began his head coaching career at Central Washington in 2007 and most recently spent the last three seasons leading Cal Poly. He also brings experience as a Power Five coordinator, having served as the offensive coordinator for the Cal Golden Bears from 2017-19.
“When you get an opportunity to bring in a coach that knows how to build a championship-caliber program who also knows what it takes to be a coordinator in this conference, it’s a no-brainer,” Dillingham said. “Coach Baldwin has consistently produced and developed exceptional offensive talent for nearly three decades and his ties to the West Coast will be key for us in the recruiting landscape. We are excited to welcome Coach Baldwin to Tempe.”
Among the standout players that have thrived under Baldwin’s tutelage are 15-year NFL veteran Jon Kitna, 2005 Walter Payton Award Winner Erik Meyer, 11-year CFL veteran Mike Reilly, 2011 Walter Payton Award Winner Bo Levi Mitchell, CFL All-Star and former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams and NFL All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Baldwin coached National Player of the Year picks in eight different seasons at the FCS level, including five presented by The Sports Network. Most recently, quarterback Gage Gubrud and Kupp earned a host of honors in 2016 highlighted by Gubrud’s selection as the FCS Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. He was also third in voting for the Walter Payton Award that is presented by The Sports Network to the top offensive player of the year at the FCS level, while Kupp was second in the voting as well as the FCS ADA Offensive Player of the Year and Wide Receiver of the Year.
Baldwin spent the past three seasons as the head coach at Cal Poly. His teams were among the least penalized in the FCS, ranking in the Top-20 in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards per game this past season.
His passing offense ranked fifth in the FCS in 2022, averaging 313.4 yards per game and showing the gradual improvement over an offense that averaged just 218.8 passing yards per game in 2021 and 183.7 yards per game in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Prior to Baldwin’s arrival, the Cal Poly passing offense ranked 117th in the FCS in 2019 with just 121.8 passing yards per game and 121st in 2018 at a paltry 90.8 passing yards per game.
Prior to his return to the head coaching ranks, Baldwin was the offensive coordinator for three seasons (2017-19) for the Cal Golden Bears. His tenure was highlighted by the play of Patrick Laird, who finished his Golden Bear career with 2153 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Laird also caught more passes in his Cal career than any running back in school history with 99 receptions for 608 yards with five touchdowns. Laird’s 51 receptions as a 2018 senior campaign were also a single-season school record for a running back and all but a handful of Laird’s statistics were recorded during his senior and 2017 junior campaigns with Baldwin after he was used seldomly prior to his arrival.
Laird racked up the honors as a senior when he ran for 961 yards to finish just 39 from becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1000-yard rushing seasons and joining Marshawn Lynch and Russell White in the elite group. Laird did become the first Cal player since Lynch to rush for over 100 yards twice in the Big Game in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018 while capturing a multitude of honors for his accomplishments on and off the field. Laird’s honors were highlighted by his second-team Senior All-American pick by the Senior CLASS Award, his spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, and his selections as one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy and a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy.
Cal was 7-5 during the 2019 regular season, finishing with wins over Stanford and UCLA to earn a berth in the Redbox Bowl (formerly the Emerald Bowl). Quarterback Chase Garber, who missed four midseason games due to injury, completed 130 of 215 passes for 1,772 yards and 15 touchdowns while Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for 914 yards and eight scores in 13 games. Cal beat Illinois 35-20 in the Redbox Bowl to finish the year 8-5.
Baldwin rose to prominence after spending the previous 10 seasons prior to his arrival at Cal as a collegiate head coach including the last nine campaigns at Eastern Washington (2008-16) following his first head coaching job at Central Washington in 2007. Those teams compiled an overall record of 95-35 (.731) and a 64-16 (.800) mark in conference play.
Baldwin led his Eastern Washington squad to a national FCS title and was named College Sporting News Coach of the Year in 2010. He won 11 or more games five times and captured five league championships over his final seven seasons as the school’s head coach and on a total of seven occasions including a pair as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Eastern Washington annually had one of the top offenses in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision during Baldwin’s tenure as head coach with the Eagles ranking among both the top 10 in passing and total offense eight times.
Baldwin’s last team as the head coach at Eastern Washington in 2016 compiled a 12-2 overall record with one of the victories against Pac-12 opponent Washington State. The Eagles reached the semifinals of the NCAA FCS playoffs and were a perfect 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference to win their third outright league title in the last four years.
Eastern Washington was also the Big Sky champion in 2014, finishing 7-1 in league play and 11-3 overall en route to a quarterfinal appearance in the FCS playoffs. Baldwin was named the 2014 American Football Coaches Association Region 5 Coach of the Year in the FCS.
Baldwin’s 2013 squad advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs after going a perfect 8-0 in the Big Sky for the first time in school history to capture a league crown. The Eagles finished 12-3 overall after starting the campaign with a season-opening 49-46 win at No. 25 Oregon State, which was only the fourth time a FCS team has ever defeated a ranked NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team.
In 2012, the Eagles finished 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky to share the league title with two other schools.
Baldwin took a perennial playoff participant and honed it into a national champion in 2010. The 13-2 season had a storybook ending with a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over Delaware in the title game on Jan. 7, 2011 in Frisco, Texas.
Baldwin was also 6-5 in 2011, 8-4 in 2009 and 6-5 in his debut season as the Eastern Washington head coach in 2008.
Baldwin’s team was 10-3 in his single season as head coach at Central Washington in 2007.
Before becoming a head coach, Baldwin spent 13 seasons as an assistant beginning with nine seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Central Washington (1994-2002) before four campaigns as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Washington (2003-06).
Baldwin has been a part of playoff runs at three collegiate levels – NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II and NAIA. His 24-season collegiate coaching résumé includes two national championships, 10 conference championships, 13 postseason appearances and most recently a pair of bowl games in his final two seasons at Cal.
Seven of his 10 seasons as head coach – and two more at Eastern as an assistant – ended with playoff berths. He had three more playoff appearances as an assistant at Central Washington, including the 1995 NAIA title.
Baldwin played collegiately as a quarterback at Central Washington from 1990-93 and earned his bachelor’s degree from the school in 1996. He also spent one season in Sweden playing semi-pro football in 1993.
Baldwin, 49, and his wife, Nicole, are the parents of two daughters, Mia and Macie.
Baldwin brings a championship pedigree to the program, having won the 2010 National Championship as the head coach at Eastern Washington in the Football Championship Subdivision. He spent nine seasons at the helm of the EWU program – compiling an exceptional 85-32 record with three trips to the FCS semifinals in addition to his national title.
Baldwin began his head coaching career at Central Washington in 2007 and most recently spent the last three seasons leading Cal Poly. He also brings experience as a Power Five coordinator, having served as the offensive coordinator for the Cal Golden Bears from 2017-19.
“When you get an opportunity to bring in a coach that knows how to build a championship-caliber program who also knows what it takes to be a coordinator in this conference, it’s a no-brainer,” Dillingham said. “Coach Baldwin has consistently produced and developed exceptional offensive talent for nearly three decades and his ties to the West Coast will be key for us in the recruiting landscape. We are excited to welcome Coach Baldwin to Tempe.”
Among the standout players that have thrived under Baldwin’s tutelage are 15-year NFL veteran Jon Kitna, 2005 Walter Payton Award Winner Erik Meyer, 11-year CFL veteran Mike Reilly, 2011 Walter Payton Award Winner Bo Levi Mitchell, CFL All-Star and former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams and NFL All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Baldwin coached National Player of the Year picks in eight different seasons at the FCS level, including five presented by The Sports Network. Most recently, quarterback Gage Gubrud and Kupp earned a host of honors in 2016 highlighted by Gubrud’s selection as the FCS Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. He was also third in voting for the Walter Payton Award that is presented by The Sports Network to the top offensive player of the year at the FCS level, while Kupp was second in the voting as well as the FCS ADA Offensive Player of the Year and Wide Receiver of the Year.
Baldwin spent the past three seasons as the head coach at Cal Poly. His teams were among the least penalized in the FCS, ranking in the Top-20 in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards per game this past season.
His passing offense ranked fifth in the FCS in 2022, averaging 313.4 yards per game and showing the gradual improvement over an offense that averaged just 218.8 passing yards per game in 2021 and 183.7 yards per game in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Prior to Baldwin’s arrival, the Cal Poly passing offense ranked 117th in the FCS in 2019 with just 121.8 passing yards per game and 121st in 2018 at a paltry 90.8 passing yards per game.
Prior to his return to the head coaching ranks, Baldwin was the offensive coordinator for three seasons (2017-19) for the Cal Golden Bears. His tenure was highlighted by the play of Patrick Laird, who finished his Golden Bear career with 2153 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Laird also caught more passes in his Cal career than any running back in school history with 99 receptions for 608 yards with five touchdowns. Laird’s 51 receptions as a 2018 senior campaign were also a single-season school record for a running back and all but a handful of Laird’s statistics were recorded during his senior and 2017 junior campaigns with Baldwin after he was used seldomly prior to his arrival.
Laird racked up the honors as a senior when he ran for 961 yards to finish just 39 from becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1000-yard rushing seasons and joining Marshawn Lynch and Russell White in the elite group. Laird did become the first Cal player since Lynch to rush for over 100 yards twice in the Big Game in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018 while capturing a multitude of honors for his accomplishments on and off the field. Laird’s honors were highlighted by his second-team Senior All-American pick by the Senior CLASS Award, his spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, and his selections as one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy and a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy.
Cal was 7-5 during the 2019 regular season, finishing with wins over Stanford and UCLA to earn a berth in the Redbox Bowl (formerly the Emerald Bowl). Quarterback Chase Garber, who missed four midseason games due to injury, completed 130 of 215 passes for 1,772 yards and 15 touchdowns while Christopher Brown Jr. rushed for 914 yards and eight scores in 13 games. Cal beat Illinois 35-20 in the Redbox Bowl to finish the year 8-5.
Baldwin rose to prominence after spending the previous 10 seasons prior to his arrival at Cal as a collegiate head coach including the last nine campaigns at Eastern Washington (2008-16) following his first head coaching job at Central Washington in 2007. Those teams compiled an overall record of 95-35 (.731) and a 64-16 (.800) mark in conference play.
Baldwin led his Eastern Washington squad to a national FCS title and was named College Sporting News Coach of the Year in 2010. He won 11 or more games five times and captured five league championships over his final seven seasons as the school’s head coach and on a total of seven occasions including a pair as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Eastern Washington annually had one of the top offenses in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision during Baldwin’s tenure as head coach with the Eagles ranking among both the top 10 in passing and total offense eight times.
Baldwin’s last team as the head coach at Eastern Washington in 2016 compiled a 12-2 overall record with one of the victories against Pac-12 opponent Washington State. The Eagles reached the semifinals of the NCAA FCS playoffs and were a perfect 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference to win their third outright league title in the last four years.
Eastern Washington was also the Big Sky champion in 2014, finishing 7-1 in league play and 11-3 overall en route to a quarterfinal appearance in the FCS playoffs. Baldwin was named the 2014 American Football Coaches Association Region 5 Coach of the Year in the FCS.
Baldwin’s 2013 squad advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs after going a perfect 8-0 in the Big Sky for the first time in school history to capture a league crown. The Eagles finished 12-3 overall after starting the campaign with a season-opening 49-46 win at No. 25 Oregon State, which was only the fourth time a FCS team has ever defeated a ranked NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team.
In 2012, the Eagles finished 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky to share the league title with two other schools.
Baldwin took a perennial playoff participant and honed it into a national champion in 2010. The 13-2 season had a storybook ending with a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over Delaware in the title game on Jan. 7, 2011 in Frisco, Texas.
Baldwin was also 6-5 in 2011, 8-4 in 2009 and 6-5 in his debut season as the Eastern Washington head coach in 2008.
Baldwin’s team was 10-3 in his single season as head coach at Central Washington in 2007.
Before becoming a head coach, Baldwin spent 13 seasons as an assistant beginning with nine seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Central Washington (1994-2002) before four campaigns as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Washington (2003-06).
Baldwin has been a part of playoff runs at three collegiate levels – NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II and NAIA. His 24-season collegiate coaching résumé includes two national championships, 10 conference championships, 13 postseason appearances and most recently a pair of bowl games in his final two seasons at Cal.
Seven of his 10 seasons as head coach – and two more at Eastern as an assistant – ended with playoff berths. He had three more playoff appearances as an assistant at Central Washington, including the 1995 NAIA title.
Baldwin played collegiately as a quarterback at Central Washington from 1990-93 and earned his bachelor’s degree from the school in 1996. He also spent one season in Sweden playing semi-pro football in 1993.
Baldwin, 49, and his wife, Nicole, are the parents of two daughters, Mia and Macie.
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