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&amp;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. DeRuyter was then given a five-year contract extension and Carr was drafted by the Oakland Raiders at 36th overall in 2014. With Carr gone, the Bulldogs would rotate through several quarterbacks and would finish with losing records the next two seasons. After opening the 2016 season with a 1–7 record, DeRuyter was fired.