Josh Brown leaves Sacramento State for Fresno City head coaching job

Josh Brown’s move from Sacramento State to Fresno City College was more than a routine coaching switch. It was another sign of how quickly strong FCS staffs can be raided for jobs deeper in the college game, where California recruiting ties, defensive experience and résumé breadth still carry real weight.

Brown announced on May 20 that he had taken over as Fresno City’s head coach after serving as Sacramento State’s safeties coach and pass game coordinator. For Fresno City, the hire brought in a coach who had spent significant time in California at both the high school and college levels, a background that should matter immediately in the Central Valley and across the state’s junior college and FCS recruiting network.

His path has been wide-ranging. Brown previously worked at Sacramento State and also spent time at Cal Poly, Arizona State, Nevada and UTEP. His résumé also includes stops at Gavilan College and Foothill College, which gives him familiarity with nearly every rung of the West Coast football ladder. That range makes him a natural fit for a program that is trying to win now while still developing the kind of pipeline relationships junior college football depends on.

The timing also says plenty about Sacramento State. Brown had only recently shifted roles on the Hornets staff after Alonzo Carter became head coach, a reminder that the turnover beneath the FBS level can be constant and that even well-regarded assistants can move quickly when a head coaching opportunity opens elsewhere. In Brown’s case, the jump was not upward into a Power Four job, but laterally into a different slice of the college game, where the head coach title comes with the chance to build a program directly.

At Fresno City, Brown replaces longtime coach Tony Caviglia, whose 26-year run produced a 202-83 record and made him the winningest coach in school history. The Rams were 7-5 in 2025, went 4-1 in league play, then finished with a five-game winning streak before postseason losses to San Francisco and San Mateo. That gives Brown a program with a winning base, but also a clear challenge: turn that momentum into a bigger foothold in a crowded California junior college landscape.