BearGoggles said:
calumnus said:
BearGoggles said:
AZ Bear said:
Shocky, I like Rolo and I really hope he returns to Cal next year in some capacity.
I know you are advocating for Lupoi as the next HC, but it that doesn't happen, your next choice was Rolo.
Honest question though: why do you think Cal would be so much better off next year with Rolo as head coach and Wilcox and Harsin gone? Is it recruiting? In-game head coaching decisions?
Rolo as HC with Anae, Saffell and a bunch of the defensive coaches returning seems very similar to this year's set-up. Is having a more outwardly emotional leader (in Rolo) as the HC vs. Wilcox's demeanor a big factor, in your opinion?
We have already been recruiting successfully in the poly community, so I don't don't see that as a major source of improvement. Rolo is good with JKS, but if anything, Rolo would have less time to mentor JKS during games than he does now .
Yes, Wilcox has made some in-game tactical errors this year, but is that really why we're losing games? And is Rolo going to eliminate those errors -- is he known as a great in-game coach?
Again, I like Rolo and Anae, Soto, Brown, Saffell, etc. But just cutting Wilcox (and paying his buyout) and then saddling up again with most of the existing leadership does not seem transformational. Are we so close that we don't need transformational and we just need the guy at the top gone?
Not Shocky by I'll chime in. I think Rolo would be an upgrade to Wilcox simply because he has 100 times more people skills/charisma, enjoys recruiting, and seems to bond/motivate players. Rolo is on social media and has a pretty good record as a head coach and before that as a coordinator.
I'm not saying Rolo is or should be the first choice or even the second choice. I don't know the other options. But I do believe he'd be an upgrade to Wilcox, which is a pretty low bar to be honest.
Rolo's record as a recruiter (Class Rank)
2016 Hawaii #108
2017 Hawaii #86
2018 Hawaii #95
2019 Hawaii #114
2020 WSU #55
2021 WSU #61
As a head coach, Rolo has never landed a single 4 or 5 star recruit.
His team records are poor except for 2019 when his Hawaii team went 10-5, boosted by playing 15 games, but lost to all the good teams they played, except maybe 7-6 BYU in the Hawaii Bowl and finished ranked #81 in Sagarin. That was the peak. It did get him the WSU job when Leach left for Mississippi State on January 9, 2020 forcing WSU to hire late in the cycle and try to find a coach that might succeed with his Air Raid roster. He went 5-6 at WSU before getting fired (a win over FCS Portland State, a wins over 2-5 OSU, and 7-6 OSU, a win over 5-7 Wilcox and a win over 3-9 Stanford. I won't go into the issues surrounding his mid season firing, but anyone who thinks Cal and Berkeley would be better suited for him than WSU was is delusional.
Hawaii is my second favorite team. I had family friends on June Jones' staff when Rolo was QB. We would drive Jones to the games and the after party after his DUI. I like Rolo, he is far more personable than Wilcox. I do think he would be an upgrade over Wilcox, but not enough to move the needle, we need a better recruiter for Cal and we do not need his baggage.
Since you're from Hawaii, can you point me to the time when Hawaii has ever had a highly ranked recruiting class and landed for or 5 stars? For Hawaii and WSU, those are decent recruiting ratings. And, perhaps more importantly, I think Rolo did a good job coaching the talent he had.
And just to be clear, the question was why Rolo would be an upgrade to Wilcox. I wasn't suggesting Rolo was the best choice - can't make that claim because I don't know who the realistic choices are. I do find it interesting that you're referring to Rolo's "baggage" (which is not considered baggage by a whole lot of people). I guarantee you that many (if not most) football coaches share Rolo's views surrounding his firing . . . including coaches on the current and recent Cal staff.
In my view, Rolo has a lot less baggage than Tosh.
I'm really not interested in looking up historical recruiting data to bolster calumnus' point and honestly I think his recruiting record at Hawaii is largely irrelevant as it a very unique place to recruit to, presenting unique challenges and advantages. That said, pro-Rolo people are claiming he is a great recruiter with less evidence than calumnus provides to the contrary. Would like to see the actual evidence of this because at a high level it doesn't appear that teams he coached for had a particular recruiting surge.
That said, in terms of actual, overall performance, June Jones wasn't that long before Rolo and he had much more success in terms of wins and losses, so the idea that Rolo achieved something that is difficult to achieve at Hawaii is not true. He also took over at WSU for a very successful Mike Leach and did significantly worse. Again a program people seem to be assuming was dismal.
Regarding baggage, I don't care and wouldn't bring it up. However, I think some are almost supportive of him, subconsciously or not, because of that baggage, when they wouldn't support a coach of his record without it.
As for being an upgrade to Wilcox, maybe barely. Maybe not. His record is pretty Wilcoxian, though I acknowledge better at a lower level. I would point out that Walt Harris on paper was a clear upgrade over Buddy Teevans. His record at Pitt was better than Rolo's record. I thought that was a bad hire and I think Rolo would be.
Coaches with near .500 records should not be considered. I keep seeing people saying that is not disqualifying because because because, but that misses the point. Even if it is isn't disqualifying, there is nothing QUALIFYING. There is no positive data supporting anything. There is only subjective assumptions mostly from people who have barely seen him who assume they know something about his personality. I've been asking people all year why they were so excited by him and gotten squat in response. So statistically speaking his teams have been meh, and his offenses have been meh and all I've heard is excuses about why they are meh and no argument why he is good other than the assertion that they think JKS likes him, which to my knowledge JKS has not spoken publicly about.