With lots of ties regionally, Josh Fetter enters his first season as coach of Eastern’s linebackers. He takes over a position that loses Buck Buchanan Award winner J.C. Sherritt, but returns second-team All-Big Sky Conference selection Zach Johnson.

Previous coaching stops for Fetter, a former University of Idaho team captain and 1996 graduate, have included Central Washington, Idaho State and Portland State. While at Central, he coached alongside several current Eagle coaches, including Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin. At ISU, he coached with former Eastern assistants John Zamberlin and Brian Strandley.

“Josh brings us a wealth of experience at the collegiate level, with lots of experience recruiting in the Northwest,” said Baldwin. “I was fortunate enough to coach with Josh for five years at Central, and that’s where I got to know him and was able to see the incredible talent he has as a coach.”

Besides Baldwin, defensive coordinator/assistant head coach John Graham also coached with Fetter at Central from 1996-2000, as well as Strandley from 1997-2000. Current Eagle coaches Ryan Sawyer and Zak Hill were players at the time. Graham coached Eastern linebackers last season.

“He has familiarity with the Northwest, the Big Sky Conference and our staff, so there were so many things that made Josh an incredibly great fit,” Baldwin added. “We’re going to be better with him on our staff, there’s no question about it.”

Fetter spent the 2010 season at Idaho State under Zamberlin, a former Eastern assistant coach and head coach at Central Washington. He and Strandley, who was Fetter’s teammate at Idaho, were defensive line coaches for the Bengals.

Before getting the job at ISU, Fetter was going to be defensive coordinator in the 2010 season at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. Prior to that, he spent four seasons as defensive line coach at PSU.

In the 2009 season, two of his Viking linemen earned honorable-mention All-Big Sky honors, and in 2007, all three of his regular starters were all-league. In 2006, PSU led the Big Sky in turnover margin, passing efficiency defense, sacks per game, tackles for loss, third-down defense, fourth-down defense and red-zone defense.

Fetter also coached five seasons at Western State in Gunnison, Colo., where he was defensive coordinator, strength and conditioning coach and held the title of assistant head coach.

From 1996-2000 he was at Central, including the final four seasons under Zamberlin as defensive ends coach. He coached defensive tackles in 1996, his first season coaching after graduating from the University of Idaho with a degree in general studies.

While at Idaho, Fetter was a two-year starter and lettered four seasons for the Vandals. As a senior he was voted as a team captain and won Idaho’s most inspirational player award.

Fetter was born Dec. 6, 1972, in Tacoma, Wash., he and his wife, Jahnna, have a son, Michael (5), and a daughter, Delani (3). They had a second daughter, Laci, born on the first day of preseason practices on Aug. 10, 2011.