Fitch, 56, was born in Ohio and played college football at Ohio Weselyan. Fitch and Day know each other very well. They worked together at Boston College in 2013 and 2014, when Day was offensive coordinator and Fitch was game coordinator / wide receivers coach.
Fitch was most recently the offensive coordinator and defender coach at Vanderbilt, where he was for a season (2020). Prior to that, Fitch was Louisiana Tech’s offensive coordinator for four seasons (2016-19).
Todd Fitch, a 35-year-old college football veteran, came to the West End after a successful spell with coach Skip Holtz at Louisiana Tech, where he helped the Bulldogs to four consecutive postseason wins. The 2020 season is his first with Vanderbilt.
Fitch helped 16 teams make post-season appearances in their college career.
In 2019, the Louisiana Tech attack played a critical role in the Bulldogs’ 10-3 campaign, culminating in a shutout victory over Miami (Florida) at the Independence Bowl. The unit was ranked 36th nationally in offensive scoring (32.5 points / game), 37th in total attack (436.8 yards / game) and 32nd in attack pass (268.5 yards / game).
Fitch helped make J’mar Smith one of the most productive defenders in Louisiana Tech history. As a senior in 2019, Smith was named Offensive Player of the Year by Conference USA and the first conference team after completing 64.3% of his shots (236 of 367) for 2,977 yards, 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Smith ended his Bulldog career with 9,323 passing yards and 51 touchdowns.
In 2017, despite losing three of the nation’s top offensive stars to NFL graduation and draft, Fitch’s attack helped Louisiana Tech reach the Frisco Bowl, where the Bulldogs culminated in a convincing 51-10 victory over the 25th placed SMU.
In the 2016 season, Tech ended with a 9-5 record, with three Bulldogs winning top individual C-USA awards, including Most Valuable Player (Ryan Higgins), Offensive Player of the Year (Carlos Henderson) and Team Player Specials of the Year (Henderson). The Bulldog attack led C-USA in percentage of completion (66.7), first casualties (358) and passing attack (363.4 ypg), while receivers Trent Taylor and Henderson ranked first (and fifth nationally with 1,803 and 1,535 receiving yards, respectively Taylor and Henderson are currently with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, respectively.
Vanderbilt’s role is Fitch’s fifth stint as an offensive coordinator, after holding similar positions at Louisiana Tech, Boston College, East Carolina and South Florida. He coached several notable NFL players, including Tennessee Titan’s running back, Chris Johnson (East Carolina), All Conference USA honoree Davon Drew (East Carolina) and Troy Williamson (South Carolina).
Prior to joining Louisiana Tech, Fitch spent three years at Boston College, first as a wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator (2013-14) and then as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach (2015). At Boston College, Fitch was instrumental in a program that reached consecutive seasons of seven wins in 2013 and 2014 and advanced to the Independence Bowl in 2013 and the Pinstripe Bowl in 2014 after inheriting a program that went from 2 to 10 in 2012. The five – winning improvement from 2012 to 2013 is tied for fourth best on FBS.
In his first season at Boston College, he led an Eagle pass attack highlighted by career receptions and welcoming record holder Alex Amidon and quarterback Chase Rettig, who ended the season with an efficiency rating of 140.6 and the lowest number of interceptions at the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013. He also mentored All-ACC honoree Alex Amidon, who completed his university career by recording a school record of 191 receptions for a school record of 2,800 yards.
Fitch also served as an offensive coordinator alongside Holtz in South Florida (2010-12) and East Carolina (2007-09).
At the USF, Fitch coached quarterback BJ Daniels, who ended his career in second place in school history and third in Big East history in total attack (10,501), despite losing the last three games of his senior season because of an injury. In his first season at the USF, Fitch led an attack that helped the USF its fifth consecutive season of eight victories, becoming one of only 15 national programs to accomplish the feat. He mentored Mo Plancher (793) and Demetris Murray (542) for race yard career records.
USF crime improved significantly in Fitch’s second year, as the unit improved its national ranking by 75 points of total attack from 2010 to 2011, the biggest leap for any school in the country. The most dramatic improvement came in the passing game, where the Bulls improved 85 yards per game. In addition, the USF attack increased its running output by 38 yards per game.
Fitch was an offensive coordinator and coach of defenders for three years in East Carolina. In his first season at the ECU, the attack broke two school records for a single season with more points (403) and scored touchdowns (52). Using two first-year holders as a defender, the 2007 ECU attack reached its second highest scoring average since 1991 and scored 35 or more points in six of C-USA’s eight competitions before closing the year with a performance of 41 points against No 24 Boise State at the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl.
Fitch and the attack helped the ECU to win consecutive C-USA titles in 2008 and 2009, becoming the first program in the league’s history to win consecutive championships.
Fitch also worked with legendary coaches Don Nehlen, Earle Bruce and Lou Holtz during his career, which began in 1986 and included stops in Iowa State, South Carolina, Connecticut, Colorado State, West Virginia, Bowling Green and his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan.
From 2004 to 2006, Fitch was the coach of defenders in the state of Iowa, where he taught classes to the American performer, Bret Meyer, who became the most prolific caller in the state of Iowa with 7,348 yards and 41 touchdown passes.
Fitch coached South Carolina defenders in 2003, after a year as a running back coach and three seasons as a wide receivers coach – all under coach Lou Holtz and offensive coordinator Skip Holtz – where he helped lead the team. Gamecocks to consecutive wins in the Outback Bowl in 2001 and 2002.
Fitch came from Connecticut to South Carolina, where he worked with Skip Holtz from 1994 to 1998. He coordinated the Huskies’ attack for the past three years, playing a key role in UConn’s powerful and prolific offensive attack in 1998, which resulted in a school – record a season of 10 victories and a participation in the quarterfinals in the playoffs of the NCAA Division I-AA.
Born in Ohio, Fitch graduated in 1986 from Ohio Wesleyan, where he started for three years in defense and played in all leagues in 1985. After his playing career, Fitch became an assistant coach at Ohio Wesleyan, a graduate assistant in Bowling Green (1988) and a volunteer coaching post in West Virginia (1989). He returned to Bowling Green as a wide receivers coach (1990-1991) before heading to Colorado State to serve as special team coordinator and running back coach in 1992.
Fitch and his wife Julie are the parents of two children, Curtis and Peyton.
Fitch file
2020 – Vanderbilt – Offensive Coordinator
19 2018 – Louisiana Tech – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
2016-17 – Louisiana Tech – Offensive Coordinator / Receivers
2015 – Boston College – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
2013-14 – Boston College – Wide Receivers / Passing Game Coordinator
2012 – South Florida – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
2010-11 – South Florida – Offensive Coordinator / Running Backs
07/07/2007 – East Carolina – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
2004-06 – Iowa State – Quarterbacks
2002 – South Carolina – Running Backs
1999-2001 – South Carolina – Wide Receivers
1996-98 – Connecticut – Offensive Coordinator
1994-95 – Connecticut – Quarterbacks
1992-93 – Colorado – Running Backs / Special Times
1990-91 – Bowling Green – Wide Receivers
1989 – West Virginia – Volunteer Assistant
1988 – Bowling Green – Graduation Assistant
1986-87 – Ohio Wesleyan – Assistant