Eastern Washington offensive coordinator Fred Salanoa abruptly resigns

Without coaching a single game, Fred Salanoa has resigned as Eastern Washington’s offensive coordinator after three months, head coach Aaron Best said Wednesday afternoon.

“After much consideration it is my main priority to be close to and take care of my family,” said Salanoa, a former EWU quarterback. He will return to Hawaii to be with his family.

Best said that coordinator duties will be handled on an interim basis by quarterbacks coach Bodie Reeder, a former Oklahoma State assistant who was serving as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“In the short period of time Fred was here you could see how devoted he was to his players, fellow coaches and alma mater,” Best said of Salanoa, who also coached EWU tight ends during his brief stint in Cheney.

“Although the time here was not long, we do appreciate and respect Fred and the work he accomplished,” said Best, who played with Salanoa at Eastern in the late 1990s.

Salanoa, who was on Best’s staff since March 3, expressed a desire to return to Hawaii to be near his family, including seven daughters.

Reeder spent the 2014-16 seasons working with quarterbacks at OSU and working in offensive quality control.

The former player and 2010 graduate of Eastern Illinois University previously was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin-Stout from 2011-14. He previously spent two seasons as an assistant at his alma mater.

The 2016 OSU team was 10-3 and second in the Big 12 with a 7-2 record. The Cowboys were ninth in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in passing offense (323.9 per game) and 17th in scoring (38.6 per game).

Most recently, Reeder helped coach OSU quarterback Mason Rudolph, who was ranked seventh nationally in passing as a junior in 2016 with an average of 314.7 yards per game. He completed 63 percent of his passes for a total of 4,091 yards, 28 touchdowns and just four interceptions.