Believe it or not all people do not think exactly the same way about everything.
ducktilldeath said:Mark Helfrich?Pittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
NVBear78 said:
Believe it or not all people do not think exactly the same way about everything.
Pittstop said:ducktilldeath said:Mark Helfrich?Pittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
Oregon's program is thriving. It definitely wasn't "destroyed." Helfrich just couldn't measure up to the high bar set by Chip, so he failed. But the program bounced back nicely 'after' Helfrich. Auburn didn't "bounce back" after they scapegoating Harsin. They are even more putrid under Freeze, so the problem obviously was not Harsin. "The program" itself is rotten. "The culture" is rotten, and apparently still festering.
calumnus said:Pittstop said:ducktilldeath said:Mark Helfrich?Pittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
Oregon's program is thriving. It definitely wasn't "destroyed." Helfrich just couldn't measure up to the high bar set by Chip, so he failed. But the program bounced back nicely 'after' Helfrich. Auburn didn't "bounce back" after they scapegoating Harsin. They are even more putrid under Freeze, so the problem obviously was not Harsin. "The program" itself is rotten. "The culture" is rotten, and apparently still festering.
How about Helton at USC?
Pittstop said:calumnus said:Pittstop said:ducktilldeath said:Mark Helfrich?Pittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
Oregon's program is thriving. It definitely wasn't "destroyed." Helfrich just couldn't measure up to the high bar set by Chip, so he failed. But the program bounced back nicely 'after' Helfrich. Auburn didn't "bounce back" after they scapegoating Harsin. They are even more putrid under Freeze, so the problem obviously was not Harsin. "The program" itself is rotten. "The culture" is rotten, and apparently still festering.
How about Helton at USC?
How about Lincoln Riley? "USC" is the problem, not Helton. Helton was bad, no doubt. But is was "USC" that made the decision to throw good money after bad by throwing the kitchen sink at Riley to become their next HC.
Pittstop said:calumnus said:Pittstop said:ducktilldeath said:Mark Helfrich?Pittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
Oregon's program is thriving. It definitely wasn't "destroyed." Helfrich just couldn't measure up to the high bar set by Chip, so he failed. But the program bounced back nicely 'after' Helfrich. Auburn didn't "bounce back" after they scapegoating Harsin. They are even more putrid under Freeze, so the problem obviously was not Harsin. "The program" itself is rotten. "The culture" is rotten, and apparently still festering.
How about Helton at USC?
How about Lincoln Riley? "USC" is the problem, not Helton. Helton was bad, no doubt. But it was "USC" that made the decision to throw good money after bad by throwing the kitchen sink at Riley to become their next HC.
BearBoarBlarney said:
Great, Wilcox hiring a guy with a reputation for being a way-below-average recruiter with an abrasive personality.
DiabloWags said:BearBoarBlarney said:
Great, Wilcox hiring a guy with a reputation for being a way-below-average recruiter with an abrasive personality.
Should go over well with the kids.
calumnus said:WalterSobchak said:
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.
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?
BarcaBear said:calumnus said:WalterSobchak said:
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.
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?
Y'all need to stop pretending Rivera is a saviour. Did y'all forget that one OC he had with the Commanders? that clown that just lit that dumpster fire at fUCLA.
Eric Bieniemy was the OC and Asst Head Coach under Rivera.
Shows Rivera is just as capable as any other coach in making a facepalming dunderheaded hire for his staff.
Those of you who try to slander a person to influence their hiring are "children." In this case, it is a commonly used reference in a dialogue about basic issues, such as why should a person's political beliefs influence hiring decisions in a non-political enterprise?chazzed said:
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.
AunBear89 said:
Every enterprise is political to some extent. To expect otherwise is childish.
oskidunker said:AunBear89 said:
Every enterprise is political to some extent. To expect otherwise is childish.
I seem to recall that you were a member of The Go Bears List.
AunBear89 said:oskidunker said:AunBear89 said:
Every enterprise is political to some extent. To expect otherwise is childish.
I seem to recall that you were a member of The Go Bears List.
Ah, yes. The good ol' Gobears listserv. Yes - like smh and a handful of others here, I was there.
oskidunker said:
David Dempster. Always liked that name.
When he was fired he had the #89th ranked Class in America. At Auburn. This tweet also shows another reasonPittstop said:Jirao said:He destroyed our program. Didnt recruit. Thought he was better then everyone, total dick. Was not a good fit at Auburn at all and set us back years.calBlitz said:What exactly did he do that rubbed the Auburn fans the wrong way?Jirao said:
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.
There was alot of off the field stuff but I really dont care about that.
No new HC hire can "destroy" 'any' program in less than 2 years (he was fired before being able to finish his 2nd season) unless that program was already rotting from the inside when he got there.
So just so we’re all clear. Bryan Harsin chased away Heisman Finalist and potential Rookie of the Year Bo Nix, for TJ Finley who is in the portal heading to his 5th school and Robbie Ashford who is now looking for his 4th school. https://t.co/LZMoBuSPkB
— Bailey Rogers (@bjrogi) December 10, 2024
Good post. My two cents.calumnus said:BarcaBear said:calumnus said:WalterSobchak said:
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.
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?
Y'all need to stop pretending Rivera is a saviour. Did y'all forget that one OC he had with the Commanders? that clown that just lit that dumpster fire at fUCLA.
Eric Bieniemy was the OC and Asst Head Coach under Rivera.
Shows Rivera is just as capable as any other coach in making a facepalming dunderheaded hire for his staff.
Rivera is definitely not a perfect candidate if we were starting from scratch. If we were starting from scratch my ideal candidate would be:
1. Young relatable to the players, energetic, could stay a long time if successful.
2. Charismatic, demonstrated or potential success in recruiting.
3. Smart, and sounds smart in speaking with smart athletes, alumni, the press and academics. Comfortable with advanced analytics, at least smart enough to hire someone and listen to them. Able to recruit smart Cal student athletes, sell our academics and keep their intellectual respect. Things fall apart when the players are smarter or know better than their coach.
4. An OC or former OC (ie from the offensive side of the ball). Former DC's at a place like Cal constantly have to hire OCs either because they guessed wrong or they hit paydirt and the OC moves to a better job. Plus the vast majority of critical HC game day decisions are on the offensive side of the ball.
5. Cal alum or at least a Bay Area guy who would stay if successful
6. Have NFL credentials. Preferably name recognition.
7. Have roots, connections or name recognition in our key recruiting areas (NorCal and SoCal, Texas, Hawaii, Atlanta and all neighboring states, North Carolina, Florida and the greater East Coast
8. African American or Polynesian, Latino or Asian or a white guy credibly able to enthusiastically promote Cal's comparative advantage over other schools as a bastion of social Justice (see Ben Braun). See the statements three 5 stars we recruited from Atlanta in football and basketball.
9. And this should be much higher if it were a ranking: demonstrated success as a HC, the higher the level better, or an OC who has a great system and meets a lot of the other criteria.
10. Willing to work for what we can afford to pay.
Now obviously no one candidate tics all of the above boxes. Rivera tics a lot, but if we are starting from scratch, I am sure other candidates tic more boxes or tic ones that should carry more weight.
The problem is we are not starting from scratch. Because of Knowlton's stupid extension, if we replace Wilcox we still have to pay him $15 million over the next three years, plus pay whatever we pay the new coach (the real incremental cost). This in the midst of an impending financial crisis likely to be made worse with huge cuts in Federal funding for the university. So the first hope is Wilcox finally picks a good OC that will stay more than a season. IMO, if Harsin is hired, he more than likely did not. We will see.
I only mention Rivera because he is the only candidate I can think of who checks a lot of boxes and could replace Wilcox and start immediately, because he would likely be willing to work with Cal to receive little or no income while we pay off Wilcox.
Thus it is a binary choice, Wilcox with Harsin (and Sirmon) or Rivera with whatever staff he assembles. This is a question of probabilities. Neither outcome is certain. Rivera could flop or Wilcox and Harsin could kill it 2025, I do think it is possible (though even if so, Harsin probably then jumps ship and we are back to square one, worse probably with another Wilcox extension). So the question is, if the only choices are Wilcox/Harsin or Rivera, who would you bet on? I just see the odds are that Wilcox delivers similar to what he has delivered every year thus far: losing conference records, getting to near .500 beating FCS teams and FBS teams with losing records. Rivera is no guarantee by far, but I think he gives us a better chance of doing much better than that and he would give hope to the fan base and sell season tickets.,
Or do you see another viable option? I really am open to possibilities but you can't just day "donors put up $15 million and we fire Wilcox and do a search." Because that hasn't happened yet and seems very unlikely to happen, but if it does happen I'll gladly start contemplating all the different candidates.
JimSox said:
I guess it's official. Posted on the Cal Bears website.
I remember Harsin telling me stories about him and Justin Wilcox selling pizzas at Boise State summer camp to make a few extra bucks as GAs.
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) December 10, 2024
Now they are back together again at Cal. Pretty cool - and I'd suspect Harsin will have success just focusing on coaching offense again. https://t.co/Pt0NJBmzzC
okaydo said:
I don't think the opposition to Harsin is due to his politics. It's due to his past. If Wilcox had chosen somebody popular like Luigi, the fan base wouldn't care about politics.