Washington State fires defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding

Change is in the air in Pullman, as Washington State has fired defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding has been fired, the school announced on Monday.

Washington State head football coach Jake Dickert released a statement on the matter, as well. He thanked Schmedding for all of the work he helped put in to the Cougars program, but the team decided to go in a different direction for 2025 and beyond.

“I appreciate all the hard work that Jeff has had for our program during his two years here in Pullman,” Dickert said in a statement, via ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura. “After evaluating our program, we have not met the standard defensively, and I felt a change was needed for the best interest of the program.

“I informed Jeff this morning that he will no longer be the defensive coordinator and wish him well in his future.”

Things were looking up for Washington State before the final month of the season. The Cougars started 8-1, but the wheels fell off when they lost three straight games to teams with losing records.

The defensive statistics didn’t bode well for Schmedding. Washington State ended the 2024 campaign at No. 90 in scoring defense, No. 116 in yards allowed per game (429.0) and No. 120 in yards allowed per rush (5.2).

Many thought a return to the West Coast would bode well for Schmedding. He joined Washington State prior to the 2023 season. Previously, he’d held the rank of defensive coordinator for Auburn under Bryan Harsin.

He followed Hardin from Boise State to the Tigers, but Schmedding began his coaching career at Eastern Washington. He coached with the Eagles, his alma mater, from 2004 to 2018.

It remains to be seen what his next move is, but Jeff Schmedding will be looking to fare better wherever he ends up than he did with Washington State in 2024.