Beau Baldwin is in his third season as the offensive coordinator at Cal in 2019 and his first campaign also working with the team's quarterbacks, returning to the position group he coached during his first 13 seasons of coaching before becoming Eastern Washington’s head coach.
Baldwin's offenses during his first two campaigns at Cal were 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.
Baldwin's first offense at Cal in 2017 was led by nearly all first-year starters including Laird, quarterback Ross Bowers, receivers Vic Wharton III and Kanawai Noa. The offensive line was almost entirely new as well with only two members having significant experience as starters.
Laird had a breakthrough season in 2017 under Baldwin's tutelage with career highs of 1127 yards rushing and eight scores on the ground while adding 45 receptions for 322 yards and one touchdown to total a team-high and career-high 1,449 all-purpose yards. He was also one of 10 national semifinalsts for the Burlsworth Trophy, earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors and was a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic pick in addition to finding a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 squad. Wharton III (67-871, 5 TD) and Noa (56-788, 4 TD) combined for 123 catches and 1659 yards receiving with Wharton's 67 receptions ninth in school history. Bowers threw for a total 3039 yards to rank fourth in the conference in passing yards per game and fifth in total passing yards, while his total was also sixth on Cal's all-time single-season list. As a team.
Baldwin spent 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. The teams he has served as head coach for 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 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 wide receiver Cooper 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. Kupp is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams after being selected by the team in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
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, 12 postseason appearances and most recently a bowl game with Cal's appearance in the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl.
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 and his wife, Nicole, are the parents of two daughters, Mia and Macie.
Beau Baldwin File
Birthdate: May 21, 1972
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
High School: Curtis HS (Tacoma, WA)
College: Central Washington, 1996, Bachelor’s in Education
Family: Wife, Nicole; Daughters, Mia and Macie
Coaching History
Season: Team – Position (Conference Champions, Bowl/Postseason)
1994: Central Washington – Quarterbacks
1995: Central Washington – Quarterbacks (NAIA National Champions)
1996: Central Washington – Quarterbacks
1997: Central Washington – Quarterbacks
1998: Central Washington – Quarterbacks (Columbia Football Association Champions, NAIA Playoffs)
1999: Central Washington – Quarterbacks
2000: Central Washington – Quarterbacks (Columbia Football Association Champions)
2001: Central Washington – Quarterbacks
2002: Central Washington – Quarterbacks (Great Northwest Athletic Champions, NCAA Division II Playoffs)
2003: Eastern Washington – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2004: Eastern Washington – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2005: Eastern Washington – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2006: Eastern Washington – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Big Sky Champions)
2007: Central Washington – Head Coach (NCAA Division II Playoffs)
2008: Eastern Washington – Head Coach
2009: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2010: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS National Champions)
2011: Eastern Washington – Head Coach
2012: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2013: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2014: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2015: Eastern Washington – Head Coach
2016: Eastern Washington – Head Coach (Big Sky Champions, FCS Playoffs)
2017: Cal – Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs/Assistant Head Coach
2018: Cal – Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach (Cheez-It Bowl)
2019: Cal – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
*Season in which postseason games were played
Last Updated
January 23, 2019
