Fossil Ridge hires Thompson Valley's Chris Tedford as new head football coach

Fossil Ridge High School didn't have to look too far to find its new head football coach.

Athletic director David Walck confirmed this week that Chris Tedford, who spent the past five seasons at Thompson Valley in Loveland, has been hired as the seventh head coach in SaberCats program history.

It's a homecoming of sorts for Tedford, who was Fossil's offensive coordinator and offensive line assistant in 2014-16, even briefly serving as interim head coach in spring 2016.

"I’m coming home, in a way," Tedford said. "I got a taste of it there, and we had a good run. The place has been near and dear to my heart."

The Oklahoma native already lives in Fort Collins despite coaching in Loveland — close enough to Fossil Ridge that he "could bike to work and my kids will go to school there."

Tedford's time at Class 4A Thompson Valley was more impressive than his 17-30 record might suggest at first glance.

The Eagles were 1-19 in two seasons before he took over, and they made the playoffs last year for just the second time since 2005.

The longtime coach and former Missouri Southern State offensive lineman takes over a SaberCats squad coming off a 9-3 season that included the program's first-ever 5A playoff win.

The school parted ways with coach Jeff Fulton after four years and a 19-20 record, citing a desire for a football coach who is "in the building" as a teacher at the school. Fulton taught at Northridge in Greeley while coaching at Fossil.

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In addition to coaching football, Tedford will also teach physical education at Fossil Ridge.

"For us, that was paramount," Walck said. "Chris cares deeply about kids and his work as a teacher, and that goes beyond sports."

"From a football perspective, we want to continue our winning culture. Chris is organized and has a high football and leadership IQ. He checked all the boxes."

Tedford also served as Rock Canyon's offensive coordinator in 2017 between his previous Fossil Ridge stint and time at Thompson Valley.

Though he has an offensive pedigree dating to his playing days, Tedford called defensive plays for nearly two full seasons at Thompson Valley.

He said that background plus the head coaching experience will only help as he moves up to the 5A level in Colorado football.

"I'm an offensive line guy by trade, and that’s where I’m most comfortable," Tedford said. "But I've actually learned more offensive football by talking to defensive guys and then just overall how to run a full program from my time as head coach."

"That experience will carry over to Fossil for me."

Tedford is a gregarious, mile-a-minute talker who has been a popular presence going back to his time coaching at alma mater Jenks High School in Oklahoma.

He's especially excited about Fossil Ridge's potential, with a ready-made roster that includes standouts like recent Tennessee offensive line commit Gage Ginther and versatile workhorse Colton Pawlak in the backfield.

"It feels good to come to a program that doesn’t exactly need fixing. At my last several stops, Fossil was 1-9, Rock Canyon was (3-7) and Thompson Valley was 0-10 the year before I got there," he said.

"I’m excited to come to a place with the football infrastructure in place where the talent and expectations are there already. We have a huge opportunity here, and we’re going to try and take Fossil to that next level consistently."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fossil Ridge hires Thompson Valley's Chris Tedford as new head coach