#9 Eastern Wash. Eagles 1-1 (0-0 BSC) @ Weber State Wildcats 0-3 (0-0 BSC)
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 • 5:05 p.m. Pacific
Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium (17,500) • Ogden, Utah
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Offensive mastermind Beau Baldwin and defensive guru Jody Sears matched wits against one another on the football field for four seasons from 2003-06.
The only difference is that they were on the same team back then.
The two coordinators from a pair of Eastern Washington University championship football teams will square off this week as head coaches of their respective schools when the Eagles open Big Sky Conference play at Weber State in Ogden, Utah. Kickoff this Saturday (Sept. 22) at Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium is 5:05 p.m. Pacific time.
The Eagles, coached by Baldwin and ranked ninth in this week’s Sports Network NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll, are 1-1 after a split of two games versus NCAA Football Bowl Division foes. The Wildcats, in their first season under Sears, are 0-3, including a pair of losses to FBS teams and last week’s 35-21 loss to No. 19 McNeese State.
Baldwin and Sears spent four seasons together at EWU working as coordinators under former Eastern head coach Paul Wulff. The Eagles were a collective 25-22 in those four seasons, including Big Sky titles and FCS Playoff berths in 2004 and 2005.
“We’ve had plenty of scrimmages and two-minute sessions against each other,” said Baldwin. “It will be fun. He’s such a great guy and I’m excited for him – just not the week we play.”
The quarterback from those title teams, Erik Meyer, is currently on Eastern’s staff, and a former Eagle defensive end, Jason Belford, is now a Weber State coach. Current EWU offensive coordinator/line coach Aaron Best and safeties coach Jeff Schmedding were also at Eastern back when Baldwin and Sears were coordinators.
Sears, a 1991 graduate of Washington State, didn’t intentionally get the Wildcats’ head coaching job. He was on Wulff’s staff at Washington State which was let go after the 2011 season, then Sears was hired by new Weber State head coach John L. Smith. But Smith bolted for Arkansas before even coaching a game in Ogden, and Sears was hired to fill the role as interim head coach.
Sears also serves as defensive coordinator at Weber State, so Baldwin sees his influence in the Wildcat defense. Likewise, the EWU head coach is still involved with play-calling for EWU’s offense, so Baldwin knows there is a familiarity that goes both ways.
“You definitely see the traces on the defensive side,” Baldwin said of watching Weber State video compared to Sears’ defenses at EWU. “He’s made some changes so I wouldn’t say it’s exact, much in the same way I’m sure he sees the changes we’ve made on offense compared to exactly what we did from 2003-06. We’re in similar boats that way. He spent four years with me and I spent four years with him, so you see some similar things, there’s no question.”
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