Fred Bear said:

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annarborbear said:

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I think the only real option is for Ron to take over the team and coach it for the next three years. His reputation as a coach in the NFL should attract recruits. He can also work for very little extra money given his unique loyalty to the University. And if he can take us to the next level that we need, we can even rename the stadium after him.

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Shouldn't the fact that one of the most successful coaches in NFL history is tanking at UNC give people pause at assuming that an NFL coach alum with far less success is gonna take over a college program and be good at it. College coaching requires a completely different skill set than NFL coaching and it's a lot of work and a lot of road miles talking to 18 year olds and trying to get them to go to your school.

A lot of older coaches don't have the energy for that and there's nothing wrong with that.

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pingpong2 said:

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The good news is that Rich and Ron have gone on record to say the goal is 9 win seasons.

https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/07/ron-rivera-cal-football-rich-lyons/

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pingpong2 said:

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The good news is that Rich and Ron have gone on record to say the goal is 9 win seasons.

https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/07/ron-rivera-cal-football-rich-lyons/

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pingpong2 said:

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The good news is that Rich and Ron have gone on record to say the goal is 9 win seasons.

https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/07/ron-rivera-cal-football-rich-lyons/

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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sycasey said:

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pingpong2 said:

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The good news is that Rich and Ron have gone on record to say the goal is 9 win seasons.

https://sfstandard.com/2025/10/07/ron-rivera-cal-football-rich-lyons/

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This is encouraging, yes.

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Sandy Barbour's goals:

"I think we need to get reacquainted with the Rose Bowl,"

"The bar has been set high here," she said. "No doubt we have some difficult challenges. But I am confident that we can not only hit the bar, but I anticipate that we will continue to raise it and hit it again and again and again."

Berkeley, she said, "is a world class institution with a phenomenal reputation. Its athletic department should mirror that reputation and level of achievement.

09.16.2004 - New AD Sandy Barbour 'thrilled' by chance to lead Cal sports

Sonny Dykes goals:

"Everybody's goal in the program is to reach the Rose Bowl," he said after Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour introduced him at Memorial Stadium Thursday afternoon. "That means you've won a conference championship. That's why you coach. That's why you play."

Dykes has 'Rose Bowl goal' for Cal football NBC Sports Bay Area & California

But hey, if it floats people's boats to have the Chancellor saying at the press conference "Gee sir, do you think we could maybe possibly even win 8 games?!?!" and getting the response "Oh, 9! You know you've made the big time when you beat up 4 patsy non-conference teams and win 5 conference games (or 4 with a minor bowl victory)" and the Chancellor responding "Oooooooh. I like the cut of your gib. Game on!" have at it.

There is a big difference between setting lofty goals at a press conference and setting an expectation that must be met. All three of the examples were in the former category. No one has said that failure to meet 9 wins means regime change any more than they said failure to get to a Rose Bowl meant regime change.

Our lofty goals have gotten far less lofty. We don't even remotely talk about winning conference championships anymore. Frankly, I find the give up much deeper in the discouraging category than encouraging.

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