Jeff Copp, the defensive coordinator for Eastern Wa

shington, was fired after two seasons on the job.

The Eagles will enter the 2024 season coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in their 27-year history.

The news is made at a busy time in the recruiting cycle, as college football teams and recruits will begin their three-day early signing period on December 20.

Ten players are listed as “hard commits” to the Eagles’ 2024 class on the recruiting website 247sports.com.

The Eagles signed 19 players in December of last year, including high school safety Derek Ganter Jr., who started three games for the team the previous year, and transfer quarterbacks Michael Wortham and Jared Taylor.

Jeff Copp will not be taking on the same role that he did for the previous two seasons, head coach Aaron Best announced in a news release on Friday. Before the 2022 campaign, Copp, who had initially joined Eastern’s staff in 2020 as a defensive line coach, was elevated to coordinator.

However, the Eagles finished with sub-.500 records (7-15 overall) and were among the FCS’s worst teams at stopping the run during his two seasons as the defense’s head coach. The Eagles allowed 232.2 rushing yards per game last season, which placed them 118th out of 122 teams; the previous year, they gave up an FCS-high 289 rushing yards per game.

Copp replaced Eti Ena as Eastern Washington’s defensive coordinator after the 2021 season. His 20-year coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Arizona State and included stops at Idaho State, Utah State, UC Davis, Northern Arizona, and Florida International in various capacities. The news release states that a search will be launched immediately to replace Copp. Eastern Washington is 48-32 with three playoff appearances in seven seasons under Best as head coach, including a loss in the FCS championship game at the end of the 2018 season and a 10-3 record in 2021.