Diedrick hears call home

Bill Diedrick’s career as a football coach has taken him across most of North America.

The Spokane native and Eastern Washington University graduate has served as a college assistant at Montana State, Idaho, Washington State, Washington, Stanford and Notre Dame. He has coached professionally for three Canadian Football League teams, including Toronto, where he currently works with the Argonauts’ quarterbacks and wide receivers.

But now, at the age of 61, Diedrick feels “it’s time to come home,” which is why he would like to get involved in his alma mater’s search for a new head coach to replace Paul Wulff.

“Actually, I’d be very interested in the job,” Diedrick said Thursday afternoon. “I just feel like it’s time to come home, I guess. That’s probably the best way I can put it.”

Diedrick graduated from EWU after lettering four years in football and baseball and earned NAIA All-America honors after leading the Eagles to the finals of the 1967 NAIA playoffs. As a college coach, he worked with such big-name quarterbacks as Idaho’s John Friesz, WSU’s Drew Bledsoe, UW’s Marques Tuiasosopo, Stanford’s Todd Husak and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn.

Along with coaching quarterbacks, he also served as the offensive coordinator at UW, Stanford and Notre Dame, and held that same position with Edmonton of the CFL for two seasons, helping the Eskimos win a Western Division championship in 1991.

Prior to landing in Toronto, he spent two years coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers for the Calgary Stampeders.

Throughout his career, however, Diedrick has maintained many friendships in the Pacific Northwest and remains well-connected with EWU and many of its boosters, which he feels would serve him well as the Eagles’ next head coach.

Diedrick is at least the fifth person with regional ties to express interest in the Eastern vacancy that was created when Wulff left earlier this week for Washington State – although none is known to have been contacted by EWU athletic director Bill Chaves.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that former WSU offensive line coach George Yarno has also stated he would be interested in the job.