‘It’s new and challenging’: Former EWU coach Beau Baldwin embraces role as Arizona State offensive coordinator

Since he departed Eastern Washington University in 2016, the college coaching carousel has more resembled a teeter-totter on a roller-coaster for Beau Baldwin.

He rode what must have seemed like a kiddie ride for 13 seasons as an EWU assistant coach and head coach, compared to Baldwin’s recent journey with three stops in the last seven years. He departed a national power in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision to coach for three seasons in the Pac-12 Conference at Cal, followed by three more years back in the Big Sky Conference as head coach of Cal Poly.

He departed the coastal town of San Luis Obispo, California, last December, and it’s been a wild ride ever since. His latest endeavor is as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach back in the Pac-12 – for now – at Arizona State University.

But for Baldwin, it’s all about the challenge.

“It’s new and challenging,” he said on a recent drive to work in Tempe, Arizona. “I work for and I’m around good people, so I’m having fun.”

Since December when he joined the new staff of 32-year-old Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham, he’s seen the incredible impact a NIL (name, image and likeness) court ruling has had on college recruiting in the procurement of quarterback Jaden Rashada. That was followed by ASU’s announced departure from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 Conference.

Just last week, he and Dillingham announced that Rashada would be their starter on Aug. 31 versus Southern Utah, thus beginning preparations for a season-starting stretch of four-straight home games.

And that’s not to mention Baldwin trying to learn and analyze returning players, recruit new ones and settle his family into a new home. To top it off, he and his wife, Nicole, sent their firstborn off to college to New York University on Aug. 23.

Oh, and that doesn’t even include having to endure the record-breaking summer heat in the Phoenix area.

“It is different, but it’s all positive,” Baldwin said of the changes in his life. “I’m definitely enjoying it and I don’t second-guess any of it. They’ve all been great life experiences to coach and live in some different spots.”

A month after Baldwin first arrived at ASU, the Sun Devils became a frontrunner for the services of Rashada, who is from Pittsburg, California. He had originally committed to play at Miami, but switched to Florida. The Gator Collective reportedly offered him a $13.85 million NIL partnership, but that fell through, and Florida released him from the earlier commitment he had made to play for the Gators.

“It’s unique, that’s for sure,” Baldwin said of coaching and recruiting within the influence of NIL. “But it’s part of it now and we’re all figuring it out. Free enterprise for young people is a very positive thing. As we go through the early stages of this, we just have to find things along the way that we can tweak and adjust.”

That opened the door for ASU, where Rashada’s father, Harlen, had played defensive back in 1992-94. On Feb. 1, 2023, he signed with the Sun Devils.

“When I was able to finally meet Jaden we connected well,” Baldwin said. In the spring, he found himself coaching a talented, 4-star quarterback few expected would wind up in Tempe.

“It’s a combination of things,” Baldwin explained of Rashada’s attributes, sounding much like he did when describing his starting quarterbacks at EWU. “He can really utilize the whole field – both width and length. It just opens you up and softens up a defense. So that excites me.”

The other bombshell came out just as pre-season practices were beginning. The rumors of the continued break-up of the Pac-12 came true, and next season Baldwin will find himself coaching in a league other than the Pac-12 or Big Sky – the Big 12.

“I can’t say I wasn’t thinking about it,” he said of the possibilities when he joined the staff in December. “But within a few months you started realizing it could really happen.”

The Sun Devils play at Washington on Oct. 21, then host Washington State the week after where two former EWU assistant coaches under Baldwin now coach – Jeff Schmedding (defensive coordinator) and Nick Edwards (wide receivers).

The Sun Devils don’t play Stanford, whose new head coach is Baldwin’s former offensive coordinator Troy Taylor. After spending the 2016 season at Eastern – including an upset victory together at Washington State – Taylor became head coach at Sacramento State where he turned that Big Sky program into a perennial FCS playoff participant.

Baldwin says his time at EWU with Taylor was a growing experience, and that he’s always looked at himself as an unfinished product. Baldwin says he always wants to learn and improve to keep him competitive in the world of coaching dominated by those younger than him.

“Just being around different minds and coaching in different places, I feel the growth I’ve been able to make,” he said. “There is no way I would have experienced that without venturing. If I’m not growing, it’s hard for me.”

Meanwhile, Paul Wulff – EWU’s head coach from 2000 to 2007 before taking over as head coach for four seasons at Washington State – will have his own homecoming on Nov. 4. That’s when the Eagles host the Cal Poly Mustangs at Roos Field.

“Paul was part of the reason I felt comfortable taking the ASU job,” Baldwin explained. “With both head coaching jobs I left, I felt comfortable that they would hire from within. The administration and others felt positive about the staff we had, so that makes you feel better about leaving. Ultimately, a lot of other people get opportunities and a chance to elevate their careers. Obviously, Paul is the most obvious, but it will be cool to see how they progress.”

Baldwin has always been a master of seeing things in a positive light – weather included.

“It’s starting to cool down,” he explained from Tempe. “I say cool down, but we’re still practicing when its 100. We were practicing for awhile at 115 degrees, and even at 9:30 or 10 in the morning it would be near that. So when it got to be 100, it feels good.”

“For six years I never knew what weather was,” he laughed. “It was always the same all the time – both at Cal and San Luis Obispo.”