Harsin is a terrible fit, culturally. That only works if you win big.

Bill McCartney was a bad fit in Boulder for similar reasons. But he turned around an awful football team and CU was 58-11-3 in his last six seasons there. That's what it takes to overlook the cultural misfit.

Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

calumnus said:

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Can we just bring in Ron Rivera NOW?

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why does everyone keep assuming Rivera wants to coach at the college level?

Last time the overture was made to Rivera he said no thanks - what exactly has changed? Just because someone wants to support the team, doesn't mean they want to coach the team.

It is utterly amazing that because someone played football or basketball at Cal everyone keeps posting they want to be a coach at Cal.

I will say Harsin is qualified for the job and I don't see this as a pure friendship hire given Harsin has had a lot of success as the lead play caller. I do hope he works out!

calumnus said:

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dmh65 said:

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Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

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Fewer than most teams by far and some of them accused him of racism too. He issued a statement saying George Floyd protesters were the problem. He is full on Maga,

It is almost like this is Wilcox's Matt Gaetz nomination so we will be OK with Rolovich (who I was against for similar reasons but would be happier with).

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One of the reasons Cal doesn't win in major sports is because too many irrelevant factors interfere. A football coach's politics are almost entirely irrelevant to whether they are a good coach.

Yet some here want to impose a purity test of some sort when the reality is that many (if not most) football coaches probably lean conservative and/or supported Trump. Do you think Wilcox and/or Sirmon are liberal? I tend to doubt it. There are actually a ton of conservative students at Cal for that matter.

I have no idea if Harsin is a good fit. Everyone agrees that the poor OL play was the real problem. But my suspicion is that Bloesch is unwilling to accept a demotion back to OL coach. If so, then the only option was to hire a new OC and new OL, in which case Harsin seems like a reasonable option. I also suspect Wilcox did not have a lot of other great options given his trajectory.

And FWIW, based on what I've read, I blame 99% of what happened to Harsin at Auburn on Auburn. They were looking to fire him from the moment they hired him. He had no chance.

BearGoggles said:

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calumnus said:

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dmh65 said:

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Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

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Fewer than most teams by far and some of them accused him of racism too. He issued a statement saying George Floyd protesters were the problem. He is full on Maga,

It is almost like this is Wilcox's Matt Gaetz nomination so we will be OK with Rolovich (who I was against for similar reasons but would be happier with).

---

One of the reasons Cal doesn't win in major sports is because too many irrelevant factors interfere. A football coach's politics are almost entirely irrelevant to whether they are a good coach.

Yet some here want to impose a purity test of some sort when the reality is that many (if not most) football coaches probably lean conservative and/or supported Trump. Do you think Wilcox and/or Sirmon are liberal? I tend to doubt it. There are actually a ton of conservative students at Cal for that matter.

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Many of us have political opinions that our bosses, colleagues, or employers don't like. Most of us also keep that **** to ourselves and not let it become a distraction at work.

chazzed said:

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I found a couple of articles that indicate Rivera has expressed some interest in coaching his alma mater.

https://www.nfl.com/news/silver-ron-rivera-ready-to-roll-into-next-hc-job-0ap3000001092047

https://247sports.com/college/california/article/ron-rivera-next-coaching-job-2020-cal-golden-bears-comments-140202364/

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Just in case people don't read the articles, the first article never mentions Cal or any college team in the context of a job that Rivera wants.

The second article says if Rivera was to coach at the college level it would be at Cal. It doesn't say he wants to coach at the college level and suggests the demand for him is at the pro level where he knows how to coach.
Which probably explains why the last time the Cal job was open and he was contacted, he didn't move forward. And FWIW, the job is not open currently.

Children, you can make all the requirements you want about politics or whatever turns you for coaching, but the harsh reality is that you are asking someone who is a very qualified coach to come to school with an historically underfunded program, that in the coaching profession is considered a horrible place to coach, has an AD that really has limited experience in managing a power conference programs, and a head coach who probably has one season to turn around a program or be terminated after many seasons of not being able to do so. So guess what children, we are going Nick Saban, and looking at the coach's talent level and ignoring the warts. Get over it.

concernedparent said:

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From what Auburn and Boise State fans are saying, sounds like a D level human being and recruiter, and a B level OC (pretty good).

Frankly, I don't think Wilcox could've done much better. Who wants to work under Wilcox? It's been an OC career graveyard.

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Auburn is a HC "graveyard". Ask Hugh Freeze. And Harsin has won FAR more games as a HC than Wilcox, as well as having a long, successful OC resume of coordinating prolific, high-scoring offenses. So, we could go for 'that', or we could just try to find the best, most likable human being possible to hire as OC.

concernedparent said:

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BearGoggles said:

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calumnus said:

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dmh65 said:

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Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

---

Fewer than most teams by far and some of them accused him of racism too. He issued a statement saying George Floyd protesters were the problem. He is full on Maga,

It is almost like this is Wilcox's Matt Gaetz nomination so we will be OK with Rolovich (who I was against for similar reasons but would be happier with).

---

One of the reasons Cal doesn't win in major sports is because too many irrelevant factors interfere. A football coach's politics are almost entirely irrelevant to whether they are a good coach.

Yet some here want to impose a purity test of some sort when the reality is that many (if not most) football coaches probably lean conservative and/or supported Trump. Do you think Wilcox and/or Sirmon are liberal? I tend to doubt it. There are actually a ton of conservative students at Cal for that matter.

---

Many of us have political opinions that our bosses, colleagues, or employers don't like. Most of us also keep that **** to ourselves and not let it become a distraction at work.

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Most of us are not public figures. Professional coaches and athletes are and plenty of them share their political opinions. Steve Kerr, Popovich, Harbaugh, Belicheck, and lots of others. Assuming the statements are not made on the playing field (i.e., at work), then that is their right. And it is only a distraction to people who are intolerant.

Do we want to win or be ideologically pure? Personally, I want Cal to win and I don't care if the players/coaches are MAGA/socialists/communists/black nationalist/etc. or which side of the middle east conflict they support. I don't want criminals but in terms of personal beliefs, to each their own.

Children? Way to go for the ad hominem argument. I posted the links so that readers are able to make up their own minds.

But you do you, big guy.

WalterSobchak said:

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Cal88 said:

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calumnus said:

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WalterSobchak said:

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It's simply astonishing that we would hire another multi-year unemployed flameout that nobody else wants with a bad recruiter + hard ass to his players reputation. I get that we won't fire Wilcox because we're cheap, but do we have to let him completely trash the program before we finally get him out at a price we're willing to pay? Why does he get free reign to make obvious mistake after obvious mistake? This hire is going to be a portal disaster. Anyone can see that. Our program, or what little is already left of it, may never recover. So disappointing and depressing.

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A Mark Fox hire in the Portal era. Another of his buddies from Idaho. Horrible fit for Berkeley. Wilcox is again showing he has no clue and knowingly or not is trashing the program on his way out. We may not survive this.

Can we just bring in Ron Rivera NOW?

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Look at it this way, if he is indeed a poor leader or a tyrant who is going to antagonize players to the point that many will revolt and leave, this will only raise the chances of Wilcox being replaced.

Lyons might not fire JW for going 7-6, however severe personnel issues would give him just cause, and perhaps even some leverage over his buyout.

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We can't afford that now. We will be dead for sure (assuming we aren't already). Our only hope is to do the best we can until we get rid of Wilcox, then hire someone good to match with decent to good players. If we lose all those players and have to start over again completely from scratch we won't have time.

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Well we cant't afford Ron Rivera, who will command around $10 million in his next NFL job.

The head coach creates the team culture and the other coaches fall in line. If they can't do that, they are gone. Harsin and the other coaches have been around the coaching scene long enough to know that. It's up to Wilcox to establish a culture that retains the players Cal wants to keep. And yes, if Wilcox can't do that he is gone, and Cal is screwed, and the problem lies with the administrators who made bad decisions.

You very well may be right but there are a few reasons to think things might've changed re: Rivera.

1. Last time the job was open he was still working in the NFL and making big money. Now post-Washington Commies tenure it seems very unlikely that he still has an NFL future so it would be essentially coming out of retirement or staying busy because he's not ready to be done

2. The state of college football has changed drastically since then and he's aware of that, I think he knows that it wouldn't just be 'doing us a favor' it could very well be saving a program that he loves. With realignment and our near, and possibly future, relegation he knows that the program needs to get back on track immediately. He's always been one of our outspoken supporters and it's not ridiculous to think he might be willing to come in for a handful of years to right the ship.

3. It doesn't have to be as HC; if he doesn't want to travel, thinks he could make the necessary administrative changes as a football GM, and identifies and lands the right HC to get the job done then everyone would be all for that as well. We just need some people who care and know what they're doing around the program

Personally I'd love it if next year Wilcox is out and we bring in Davis Webb to be our young superstar HC but that's just a personal opinion and there are problems with that as well. Namely, we don't know if he's interested, he has little coaching experience except a few years as an assistant, and with his star on the rise in the NFL there's no telling if he'd be willing to drop down a level (even for a promotion)

BearGoggles said:

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concernedparent said:

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BearGoggles said:

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calumnus said:

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dmh65 said:

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Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

---

Fewer than most teams by far and some of them accused him of racism too. He issued a statement saying George Floyd protesters were the problem. He is full on Maga,

It is almost like this is Wilcox's Matt Gaetz nomination so we will be OK with Rolovich (who I was against for similar reasons but would be happier with).

---

One of the reasons Cal doesn't win in major sports is because too many irrelevant factors interfere. A football coach's politics are almost entirely irrelevant to whether they are a good coach.

Yet some here want to impose a purity test of some sort when the reality is that many (if not most) football coaches probably lean conservative and/or supported Trump. Do you think Wilcox and/or Sirmon are liberal? I tend to doubt it. There are actually a ton of conservative students at Cal for that matter.

---

Many of us have political opinions that our bosses, colleagues, or employers don't like. Most of us also keep that **** to ourselves and not let it become a distraction at work.

---

Most of us are not public figures. Professional coaches and athletes are and plenty of them share their political opinions. Steve Kerr, Popovich, Harbaugh, Belicheck, and lots of others. Assuming the statements are not made on the playing field (i.e., at work), then that is their right. And it is only a distraction to people who are intolerant.

Do we want to win or be ideologically pure? Personally, I want Cal to win and I don't care if the players/coaches are MAGA/socialists/communists/black nationalist/etc. or which side of the middle east conflict they support. I don't want criminals but in terms of personal beliefs, to each their own.

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"In terms of personal beliefs, to each their own." Isn't that what "freedom", and democracy, the US Constitution, the Statue of Liberty...being an American, and all of that stuff, is all about?

calumnus said:

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Harsin is a right-wing, Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist from Boise Idaho accused of racism by his players and was considered to the right of fans in Robert E Lee County Alabama. How is that a fit in Berkeley?
https://flywareagle.com/posts/former-auburn-football-hc-roasted-reaction-donald-trump-conviction

Besides, his offense requires a very good OL,. That ain't happening soon.

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A quote from the article related to the Black player's [Justin Lee's] comments about Harsin: "Several Black players came to Harsin's defense following [Lee's comments], and the lack of any substantial evidence of racist rhetoric from the Boise native certainly helps his case" end quote.

BearGoggles said:

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calumnus said:

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dmh65 said:

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Do you think that Boise State didn't have a lot of black players during his highly successful run there? I would guess that Cal football players are more like Boise State football players than they are reflective of the overall campus culture. But go ahead and stereotype Boise State football players.

Admit it, anyone hired by Wilcox to coach on the offensive side of the ball would be likely blasted by Cal football blogs. (especially if they do not align politically, oh boy!)

If Cal can improve their O-line to be average, and if Fernando is coming back, I am optimistic for 2025. Glad that we'll have an OC with a track record of success (and yes, failure at Auburn. But people also do learn from failure..), and an OC that will not also be the offensive line coach.
Go Bears!

---

Fewer than most teams by far and some of them accused him of racism too. He issued a statement saying George Floyd protesters were the problem. He is full on Maga,

It is almost like this is Wilcox's Matt Gaetz nomination so we will be OK with Rolovich (who I was against for similar reasons but would be happier with).

---

One of the reasons Cal doesn't win in major sports is because too many irrelevant factors interfere. A football coach's politics are almost entirely irrelevant to whether they are a good coach.

Yet some here want to impose a purity test of some sort when the reality is that many (if not most) football coaches probably lean conservative and/or supported Trump. Do you think Wilcox and/or Sirmon are liberal? I tend to doubt it. There are actually a ton of conservative students at Cal for that matter.

I have no idea if Harsin is a good fit. Everyone agrees that the poor OL play was the real problem. But my suspicion is that Bloesch is unwilling to accept a demotion back to OL coach. If so, then the only option was to hire a new OC and new OL, in which case Harsin seems like a reasonable option. I also suspect Wilcox did not have a lot of other great options given his trajectory.

And FWIW, based on what I've read, I blame 99% of what happened to Harsin at Auburn on Auburn. They were looking to fire him from the moment they hired him. He had no chance.

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Well said. I'm not a fan of the hire because 1) even if it is 99% Auburn's fault good coaches usually don't go down in flames like his tenure did, 2) he has been out of work for two years which typically is a bad sign in the coaching fraternity, and 3) was (foolishly) hoping for a more innovate hire on the offensive side of the ball.

Of course, now seeing how the usual suspects here are so furious due to his political beliefs, it would be pure comedy if he turns out to be a huge success. The whole season we can speculate which play Trump helped design! Perhaps Elon Musk can help out with the offensive game plan one week! Gonna be comedy gold!

You know what would be a wild twist? If after next season JW gets fired, and Harsin takes over the reigns as HC.

Pittstop said:

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calumnus said:

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Harsin is a right-wing, Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist from Boise Idaho accused of racism by his players and was considered to the right of fans in Robert E Lee County Alabama. How is that a fit in Berkeley?
https://flywareagle.com/posts/former-auburn-football-hc-roasted-reaction-donald-trump-conviction

Besides, his offense requires a very good OL,. That ain't happening soon.

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A quote from the article related to the Black player's [Justin Lee's] comments about Harsin: "Several Black players came to Harsin's defense following [Lee's comments], and the lack of any substantial evidence of racist rhetoric from the Boise native certainly helps his case" end quote.

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Hmmmm. Gee, that doesn't fit somebody's agenda.

Jirao said:

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Auburn fan here. Was fun rooting for yall while it lasted.

Wish yall the best with this one but I will never root for a good thing to happen to that man on a football field.

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Thank you.. it really doesnt matter.

Jirao said:

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Auburn fan here. Was fun rooting for yall while it lasted.

Wish yall the best with this one but I will never root for a good thing to happen to that man on a football field.

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How soon until Hugh Freeze ends up fully vested in the Auburn fired coaches payout fund?