It's time to stop being so optimistic. We have no run game, the teams have figured out Fernando's weakness, our defense can't tackle, rain is coming. That is a recipe of failure.

Johnfox said:

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It's time to stop being so optimistic. We have no run game, the teams have figured out Fernando's weakness, our defense can't tackle, rain is coming. That is a recipe of failure.

---

Are you taking furd +14 or the money line?

Johnfox said:

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I'm not liking our chances at all tbh. Lot of unmotivated players in the Cal locker room. Stanford is coming in with nothing to lose. Wilcox will be fired today

---

check out what mora is doing at uconn.

Imagine the D without #1 tackler Buchanan.

Yeah this is a pathetic game currently

It started off very ugly, but the Golden Bears flipped the script and finished strong.

I pity those hoping for a Bears loss today. It was a magnificent win in a full CMS with the 2004 team savoring the victory as they did 20 years ago!

oski003 said:

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Johnfox said:

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It's time to stop being so optimistic. We have no run game, the teams have figured out Fernando's weakness, our defense can't tackle, rain is coming. That is a recipe of failure.

---

Are you taking furd +14 or the money line?

---

Free money thanks to Wilcox

philly1121 said:

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southseasbear said:

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philly1121 said:

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Hiring Ron Rivera as HC because he would work below market rate is not a reason to hire him. His record is mid. 3 winning seasons in 13. That's not someone I'm willing to give the keys to. Even if he's an alum.

---

What was Pete Carrol's record in the NFL before USC hired him?

Let me help:

Jets 1994 6-10
Pats 1997 10-6
Pats 1998 9-7
Pats 1999 8-8
----------------------
Total 33-31

---

Well, let's look at this for a moment. Carrol was 6-10 as Jets coach. He was 27-21 with the Patriots. Didn't have a losing season with them. Then he goes to the USC. So - a small margin yes, but he had a winning record. And, he was at the Jets in 94. I repeat, the New York Jets. They suck. They sucked back then. They always will suck.

Carrol's body of work in the NFL before he went to college I think speaks for itself. And he's the only coach I know (recent memory) that was good in the pros, great in college, and great in the pros again. Rivera had 13 years in the pros and made it work 3 times. Maybe he would be good in college. But is that a risk we want to take with the way things are now? We dial in two more 6 win seasons, we will be in serious trouble. And if we get another coach and lose again - we will be on life support.

---

You honestly believe Carroll was more successful as HC at the Jets and Pats than Rivera was in Carolina and Washington? You make a good argument that the Jets "sucked back then. They will always suck," but this could apply to Carolina and Washington as well. The fact is that Rivera is the most successful coach in the Panther's 30-year history with a .541 winning percentage. He is two-time NFL Coach of the Year. He coached Carolina to 4 division championships. The SC fans (particularly alumni) did not think Carroll was a good hire and widely criticized the Athletic Director at the time. (In fact, Carroll was the school's 4th choice, after they were turned down by Dennis Erickson, Mike Belotti, and Mike Riley, all of whom had college experience).

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

philly1121 said:

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Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

The point is that Carroll did not have a large body of NFL work at the time he was appointed HC at SC (after three others turned them down).

Sure if Rivera had 3 losing seasons out 18, he had 15 winning seasons. Winning in the NFL is difficult due to parity (the draft and scheduling).

72CalBear said:

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I pity those hoping for a Bears loss today. It was a magnificent win in a full CMS with the 2004 team savoring the victory as they did 20 years ago!

---

The win is kind of like meth; feels great in the immediate term, but in the long term not so much.

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

I'm pretty sure current college and high school kids know he coached in the NFL. He's only been out of coaching for about a year now.

Also, I think Calumnus has a point that Cal will likely need a HC who is willing to defer payment or accept minimal payment after firing Wilcox and that Rivera is likely the only one who will do that. As such. it makes sense for Cal to offer Ron the position.

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

Okay, how about trying it this way: a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring, an NFL position coach with 3 straight trips to the NFC Championship game, an NFL Coordinator at several successful stops, including the Super Bowl and heading up a league leading defense, and actually reached the level of NFL Coach of the year, and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Again, let's be clear the Super Bowl-it's hard to get to, even with a very good team...that okay to state?
Happy to listen to any and all coaching candidates with those credentials, because the NFL is the Ivy League/Cal-Furd level. Don't professors at Cal come from the top schools of their selected fields?
There is a better chance that Ron isn't going to be the HC at Cal, so this discussion probably doesn't matter; he is at an age that he could easily not want the headaches (and fine, you want to call him out on age, have at it) but hopefully he is a key component of the hiring of the next coach. But let's stop the over analysis when the next Cal coach is at best going to have been a HC at a lower P4, or a coordinator who last was a HC at the HS level.
Right, let's play it safe Cal fans, make sure we hire someone who hasn't been fired from a NFL job....phew...yeah, dodged a bullet.
Note: nothing in my post talks about him as alum who was a stellar student athlete back in the day.

mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

Okay, how about trying it this way: a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring, an NFL position coach with 3 straight trips to the NFC Championship game, an NFL Coordinator at several successful stops, including the Super Bowl and heading up a league leading defense, and actually reached the level of NFL Coach of the year, and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Again, let's be clear the Super Bowl-it's hard to get to, even with a very good team...that okay to state?
Happy to listen to any and all coaching candidates with those credentials, because the NFL is the Ivy League/Cal-Furd level. Don't professors at Cal come from the top schools of their selected fields?
There is a better chance that Ron isn't going to be the HC at Cal, so this discussion probably doesn't matter; he is at an age that he could easily not want the headaches (and fine, you want to call him out on age, have at it) but hopefully he is a key component of the hiring of the next coach. But let's stop the over analysis when the next Cal coach is at best going to have been a HC at a lower P4, or a coordinator who last was a HC at the HS level.
Right, let's play it safe Cal fans, make sure we hire someone who hasn't been fired from a NFL job....phew...yeah, dodged a bullet.
Note: nothing in my post talks about him as alum who was a stellar student athlete back in the day.

---

True enough. So why settle for Rivera. Lets hire Belichek. Or why not go big with college coaches like say Nick Saban. Those next Cal coaches you reference from the lower levels or P4 coordianators could be similar to say Kirby Smart , Rhett Lashlee, Curt Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham, Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Josh Heupel or even Dabo Swinney (never a coordinator). All were lower level HCs or P4 coordinators. There are many more examples of excellent coaches that were given a chance.

But no Ron Rivera is a must hire. You can try and convince me that his Cal conection has no bearing on your belief. But that does not pass the smell test.

I am all for taking on some risk. Or even fired from the NFL guys. But there are a lot of really good candidates within the college coaching circles. Given how this stuff works these days (NIL, Transfer portal, recruiting) I would prefer someone with that background. If Cal is going to play big boy ball with NIL lets find a HC that is familiar with the landscape.

I'm not advocating either way BUT just chiming in regarding the claim that coach rivera doesn't know about the NIL landscape… I don't believe that to be true. Mrs. Rivera is literally on the board of directors of Cal Legends and the Riveras have consistently been involved in Cal Legends NIL efforts publicly, especially during the big fundraising campaigns for NIL.

Or just hire Pete Carrol. He has the pedigree. Success in the pros as well as college. Peeps like Rivera because he's an alum and he may come at a discount. That's pretty much it.

Tnish18 said:

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I'm not advocating either way BUT just chiming in regarding the claim that coach rivera doesn't know about the NIL landscape… I don't believe that to be true. Mrs. Rivera is literally on the board of directors of Cal Legends and the Riveras have consistently been involved in Cal Legends NIL efforts publicly, especially during the big fundraising campaigns for NIL.

---

I understand that and would love Ron to be involved in the program in some way. But not as the HC. If he can be as ambassador for the program IMO that would be best.

The HC of a college program is even more time consuming than that of a pro team. Recruiting is a full time round the clock endeavor. I have concerns given no prior history as a college coach about hiring a staff, managing the personalities involved with players, recruits and their families etc.

Football is football I suppose but there are enough differences that some background in the college game seems to be very helpful. There is a reason that some college coaches are looking towards the NFL. That is just football. No academics to worry about, moms calling threatening to portal their kid, no opposing teams poaching your roster in season and all the other stuff that comes with college age players.

6956bear said:

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mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

Okay, how about trying it this way: a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring, an NFL position coach with 3 straight trips to the NFC Championship game, an NFL Coordinator at several successful stops, including the Super Bowl and heading up a league leading defense, and actually reached the level of NFL Coach of the year, and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Again, let's be clear the Super Bowl-it's hard to get to, even with a very good team...that okay to state?
Happy to listen to any and all coaching candidates with those credentials, because the NFL is the Ivy League/Cal-Furd level. Don't professors at Cal come from the top schools of their selected fields?
There is a better chance that Ron isn't going to be the HC at Cal, so this discussion probably doesn't matter; he is at an age that he could easily not want the headaches (and fine, you want to call him out on age, have at it) but hopefully he is a key component of the hiring of the next coach. But let's stop the over analysis when the next Cal coach is at best going to have been a HC at a lower P4, or a coordinator who last was a HC at the HS level.
Right, let's play it safe Cal fans, make sure we hire someone who hasn't been fired from a NFL job....phew...yeah, dodged a bullet.
Note: nothing in my post talks about him as alum who was a stellar student athlete back in the day.

---

True enough. So why settle for Rivera. Lets hire Belichek. Or why not go big with college coaches like say Nick Saban. Those next Cal coaches you reference from the lower levels or P4 coordianators could be similar to say Kirby Smart , Rhett Lashlee, Curt Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham, Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Josh Heupel or even Dabo Swinney (never a coordinator). All were lower level HCs or P4 coordinators. There are many more examples of excellent coaches that were given a chance.

But no Ron Rivera is a must hire. You can try and convince me that his Cal conection has no bearing on your belief. But that does not pass the smell test.

I am all for taking on some risk. Or even fired from the NFL guys. But there are a lot of really good candidates within the college coaching circles. Given how this stuff works these days (NIL, Transfer portal, recruiting) I would prefer someone with that background. If Cal is going to play big boy ball with NIL lets find a HC that is familiar with the landscape.

---

Well, the point is that Rivera has that background and would consider Cal where other coaches with incredible resumes won't... There isn't a single conversation of open NFL jobs that doesn't include Bill B....
Totally agree that there is an assistant out there that will be a household name, and it's just a matter when he has that success. Honestly, the big mistake isn't not hiring Ron as the HC....it will be him not heading up the search efforts (assuming he has the time)...

mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

Okay, how about trying it this way: a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring, an NFL position coach with 3 straight trips to the NFC Championship game, an NFL Coordinator at several successful stops, including the Super Bowl and heading up a league leading defense, and actually reached the level of NFL Coach of the year, and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Again, let's be clear the Super Bowl-it's hard to get to, even with a very good team...that okay to state?
Happy to listen to any and all coaching candidates with those credentials, because the NFL is the Ivy League/Cal-Furd level. Don't professors at Cal come from the top schools of their selected fields?
There is a better chance that Ron isn't going to be the HC at Cal, so this discussion probably doesn't matter; he is at an age that he could easily not want the headaches (and fine, you want to call him out on age, have at it) but hopefully he is a key component of the hiring of the next coach. But let's stop the over analysis when the next Cal coach is at best going to have been a HC at a lower P4, or a coordinator who last was a HC at the HS level.
Right, let's play it safe Cal fans, make sure we hire someone who hasn't been fired from a NFL job....phew...yeah, dodged a bullet.
Note: nothing in my post talks about him as alum who was a stellar student athlete back in the day.

---

True enough. So why settle for Rivera. Lets hire Belichek. Or why not go big with college coaches like say Nick Saban. Those next Cal coaches you reference from the lower levels or P4 coordianators could be similar to say Kirby Smart , Rhett Lashlee, Curt Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham, Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Josh Heupel or even Dabo Swinney (never a coordinator). All were lower level HCs or P4 coordinators. There are many more examples of excellent coaches that were given a chance.

But no Ron Rivera is a must hire. You can try and convince me that his Cal conection has no bearing on your belief. But that does not pass the smell test.

I am all for taking on some risk. Or even fired from the NFL guys. But there are a lot of really good candidates within the college coaching circles. Given how this stuff works these days (NIL, Transfer portal, recruiting) I would prefer someone with that background. If Cal is going to play big boy ball with NIL lets find a HC that is familiar with the landscape.

---

Well, the point is that Rivera has that background and would consider Cal where other coaches with incredible resumes won't... There isn't a single conversation of open NFL jobs that doesn't include Bill B....
Totally agree that there is an assistant out there that will be a household name, and it's just a matter when he has that success. Honestly, the big mistake isn't not hiring Ron as the HC....it will be him not heading up the search efforts (assuming he has the time)...

---

Yeah, the reason that nobody would be thinking about Rivera-at-Cal if he were not an alum is that we would never think anybody with that resume would ever consider coming to Cal.

Agree that the biggest question mark would be can he quickly adapt to the unique challenges of college coaching, but I think he would figure it out. Unlike, say, a Joe Kapp, Rivera seems self-aware enough to know what he doesn't know.

The whole discussion about Rivera is based on the assumption that he would take the job for no or little pay, and that's the only way we can change coaches, because of the Wilcox buyout. I will be upfront in that I had very mixed feelings about Cal winning the Big Game, because the Syracuse debacle convinced me that Wilcox just can't get the job done. If he stays the coach, I probably will not renew my season tickets, rather than going and tearing my hair out over the coaching. Wilcox is marginally better than Tom Holmoe, and has benefitted from the fact that the OOC schedule is weaker than when Holmoe was the coach.

Big C said:

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mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

mbBear said:

---

6956bear said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Look, I'm not trying to drag the guy, I'm just saying his record isn't as impressive as it looks. Yeah he won the NFC South 3 years in a row. But one of those years he was 7-8-1. The NFC South was horrid. His record shows that he is capable. But his last 6 years were all losing seasons.

In 18 seasons as a pro head coach, he had 3 losing seasons. 3

At SC, he had zero losing seasons.

I don't think its an accurate comparison between the two because Carroll has a much larger body of work in both NFL and college football. I think its too much of a risk.

---

If Ron Rivera was not a former great Cal Bear nobody would be proposing he be the HC here. Nobody. He has had a long career as a HC and is fantastic person. But he is inspiring to us because of his ties to Cal. Not because his record was great.

Is he a good football coach? Absolutely. I think he could possibly inspire a few Old Blues with some dough to open their wallets which no doubt has value. But Cal needs a football coach that has ties within the college game. There are really no current HS or college players that know much if anything about Ron Rivera. He is a Cal legend. That is not good enough.

---

Okay, how about trying it this way: a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring, an NFL position coach with 3 straight trips to the NFC Championship game, an NFL Coordinator at several successful stops, including the Super Bowl and heading up a league leading defense, and actually reached the level of NFL Coach of the year, and lead his team to the Super Bowl. Again, let's be clear the Super Bowl-it's hard to get to, even with a very good team...that okay to state?
Happy to listen to any and all coaching candidates with those credentials, because the NFL is the Ivy League/Cal-Furd level. Don't professors at Cal come from the top schools of their selected fields?
There is a better chance that Ron isn't going to be the HC at Cal, so this discussion probably doesn't matter; he is at an age that he could easily not want the headaches (and fine, you want to call him out on age, have at it) but hopefully he is a key component of the hiring of the next coach. But let's stop the over analysis when the next Cal coach is at best going to have been a HC at a lower P4, or a coordinator who last was a HC at the HS level.
Right, let's play it safe Cal fans, make sure we hire someone who hasn't been fired from a NFL job....phew...yeah, dodged a bullet.
Note: nothing in my post talks about him as alum who was a stellar student athlete back in the day.

---

True enough. So why settle for Rivera. Lets hire Belichek. Or why not go big with college coaches like say Nick Saban. Those next Cal coaches you reference from the lower levels or P4 coordianators could be similar to say Kirby Smart , Rhett Lashlee, Curt Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham, Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Josh Heupel or even Dabo Swinney (never a coordinator). All were lower level HCs or P4 coordinators. There are many more examples of excellent coaches that were given a chance.

But no Ron Rivera is a must hire. You can try and convince me that his Cal conection has no bearing on your belief. But that does not pass the smell test.

I am all for taking on some risk. Or even fired from the NFL guys. But there are a lot of really good candidates within the college coaching circles. Given how this stuff works these days (NIL, Transfer portal, recruiting) I would prefer someone with that background. If Cal is going to play big boy ball with NIL lets find a HC that is familiar with the landscape.

---

Well, the point is that Rivera has that background and would consider Cal where other coaches with incredible resumes won't... There isn't a single conversation of open NFL jobs that doesn't include Bill B....
Totally agree that there is an assistant out there that will be a household name, and it's just a matter when he has that success. Honestly, the big mistake isn't not hiring Ron as the HC....it will be him not heading up the search efforts (assuming he has the time)...

---

Yeah, the reason that nobody would be thinking about Rivera-at-Cal if he were not an alum is that we would never think anybody with that resume would ever consider coming to Cal.

Agree that the biggest question mark would be can he quickly adapt to the unique challenges of college coaching, but I think he would figure it out. Unlike, say, a Joe Kapp, Rivera seems self-aware enough to know what he doesn't know.

---

Perfectly said. And I have said this before: if you ever get to meet Ron, there is another X factor....he could recruit, but has never had to! The way he talks to people, the way he is as a communicator, would blow away parents long before he started flashing his Super Bowl ring to the kids.
This isn't, "hey, I'm Tosh look what video games I'm playing." This is straight up one of the most comfortable in his own skin people that you ever could meet. You want to think he is too old for a 17 year old to relate to, that's fine, but see if you say that after talking to him.
Let's also not forget his wife Stephanie is in deep in the Cal NIL arena, and Ron has been at events and fundraising efforts....not all of the world of college athletes today is new to him.

Is he an Xs and Os guy, an offensive guru?

movielover said:

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Is he an Xs and Os guy, an offensive guru?

---

Rivera, as a former linebacker and NFL DC, is an Xs and Os guy on the defensive end. But as a successful NFL Head Coach, he would know that he needs to hire a light-out Offensive Coordinator. This would be his most important hire and, unlike Wilcox, I'm pretty confident he would nail it.

My only question about Rivera would be: How fast can he adapt to the differences between the college game and the NFL?

Big C said:

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movielover said:

---

Is he an Xs and Os guy, an offensive guru?

---

Rivera, as a former linebacker and NFL DC, is an Xs and Os guy on the defensive end. But as a successful NFL Head Coach, he would know that he needs to hire a light-out Offensive Coordinator. This would be his most important hire and, unlike Wilcox, I'm pretty confident he would nail it.

My only question about Rivera would be: How fast can he adapt to the differences between the college game and the NFL?

---

He is a selfless individual, so isn't going to worry about his own ego when hiring for the offensive side of the ball. He is a student of the game, so he could probably lecture for an hour on those differences!
Rivera aside, and assuming he isn't part of Cal's HC future, I think Cal will and should hire someone from the offensive side of the ball. I don't say this just because of Wilcox, but I think in today's game that's a recruiting advantage; I think that's going to make more of an impression than whomever Cal hires as the OC for a defensive minded HC.