 On December 5, 2011, after finishing the year 4–9, Fresno State announced that Pat Hill had been fired as the head coach of the football program.On December 14, 2011, Tim DeRuyter, defensive coordinator and interim head coach of Texas A&M was introduced as the new head coach.He led the Bulldogs to back-to-back conference championships in his first two years with Derek Carr playing as quarterback.