Jason Eck will be good but he might be waiting for Wisconsin/Jump there after a year.

I will be interested in talking to Johnathan Smith because his work with Oregon State was great and he will come on the cheap if/when fired at Michigan State

Kirby Moore is high on my list for HC because he is a west coast guy who has worked with Jeff Tedford/Kalen DeBoer and Drinkwitz so an offensive mind who has learn from some of the best.

Not a familiar name but how about Bob Chesney (James Madison HC). He has made is way up the ranks and wins everywhere he has been.

Joegeo said:

---

Jason Eck will be good but he might be waiting for Wisconsin/Jump there after a year.

I will be interested in talking to Johnathan Smith because his work with Oregon State was great and he will come on the cheap if/when fired at Michigan State

Kirby Moore is high on my list for HC because he is a west coast guy who has worked with Jeff Tedford/Kalen DeBoer and Drinkwitz so an offensive mind who has learn from some of the best.

---

Moore would be a really good hire! Sounds like he might be up for some "bigger" SEC jobs, but maybe he wants to come back out west.

Joegeo said:

---

Jason Eck will be good but he might be waiting for Wisconsin/Jump there after a year.

I will be interested in talking to Johnathan Smith because his work with Oregon State was great and he will come on the cheap if/when fired at Michigan State

Kirby Moore is high on my list for HC because he is a west coast guy who has worked with Jeff Tedford/Kalen DeBoer and Drinkwitz so an offensive mind who has learn from some of the best.

---

No clue regarding Eck. He is pretty highly regarded. If Cal needed to look a little longer term he may be of greater interest to me. But with realignment looming and the metrics needed for inclusion I would pass on him for now.

Absolute NO on Smith. Michigan State is a dumpster fire. And Smith is an a**hole.

Moore is someone I like. Checks a lot of boxes other than previous HC experience.

I would be very interested in Louisville OC Brian Brohm. But I suspect if Jeff Brohm leaves to take another job he gets the Louisville HC gig or follows his brother as OC to Penn St.

I am intrigued by JaMarcus Shephard the assistant HC at Alabama. Terrific recruiter and worked now for several seasons with Kalen DeBoer.

Texas A&M OC Collin Klein is another guy I would have an interest in. Will likely get a HC gig this cycle.

Charles Huff current HC at Southern Miss. Great recruiter and has worked with Nick Saban and James Franklin in the past. Wins.

I do believe that Tosh Lupoi has a lot of key donor support and view him as the likely odds on favorite.

SpensBlack87 said:

---

Not a familiar name but how about Bob Chesney (James Madison HC). He has made is way up the ranks and wins everywhere he has been.

---

Has won conference 8 out of 15 years and undefeated in conference this year. Cignetti like past.

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

He can win a few national titles and join Cal in... 2035.

movielover said:

---

He can win a few national titles and join Cal in... 2035.

---

Sort of like easing into retirement?

Bobodeluxe said:

---

movielover said:

---

He can win a few national titles and join Cal in... 2035.

---

Sort of like easing into retirement?

---

That's our value prop - as long as you are a nice guy that doesn't start any scandals, you can collect $5M a year for a decade without delivering any results on the field

MinotStateBeav said:

---

Lane Kiffin, shoot our shot.

---

Not Lame Kitten!

ac_green33 said:

---

Joegeo said:

---

Jason Eck will be good but he might be waiting for Wisconsin/Jump there after a year.

I will be interested in talking to Johnathan Smith because his work with Oregon State was great and he will come on the cheap if/when fired at Michigan State

Kirby Moore is high on my list for HC because he is a west coast guy who has worked with Jeff Tedford/Kalen DeBoer and Drinkwitz so an offensive mind who has learn from some of the best.

---

Moore would be a really good hire! Sounds like he might be up for some "bigger" SEC jobs, but maybe he wants to come back out west.

---

Yea I think he is a good mix of being relatively affordable (don't think Auburn/Arkansas/LSU will hire him as a HC) and good work in the west coast with an offensive background.

The biggest threat is if he thinks Memphis/USF/Tulane is a better path for an elite job than going to Cal

Bobodeluxe said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

---

He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

calumnus said:

---

Bobodeluxe said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

---

He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

---

So, seriously, he could get the Cal job, flame out in 3 years, have 30 years of Davis salary or more in the bank and take the Davis job again the next time it opens. And that is assuming no buyout. As I have said over and over. If someone offers you a million dollars and you don't already have a million dollars, you take the million dollars.

Don't know him personally, but if you bet on 20 coaches at his level turning down a P4 offer at 10 times the salary, you are going to lose that bet 19 or 20 times.

One thing you need to know. The new coach wont be anyone discussed here. Speculate on…

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Bobodeluxe said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

---

He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

---

So, seriously, he could get the Cal job, flame out in 3 years, have 30 years of Davis salary or more in the bank and take the Davis job again the next time it opens. And that is assuming no buyout. As I have said over and over. If someone offers you a million dollars and you don't already have a million dollars, you take the million dollars.

Don't know him personally, but if you bet on 20 coaches at his level turning down a P4 offer at 10 times the salary, you are going to lose that bet 19 or 20 times.

---

Or he could end up like Harsin where his DC took the Boise job and he couldn't go back to his alma mater after flaming out at Auburn. Or like Rolovich where an even more popular alum and former QB (actually from Hawaii) took the Hawaii job after he left. Montgomery had the same thing happen when he flamed out at the Warriors and the Stanford job was already filled with his own protege but lucky for him (and us) another Bay Area job opened up (his wife was happy with the $millions he already had and was not interested in moving).

I don't know what Plough would do if we offered, but there is a real chance he will stay at his alma mater instead of taking the big pay increase and risk of the Cal job and that is just one reason why schools that are not at the top of the food chain are wise to give some preference to alums, all other things being equal.

calumnus said:

---

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Bobodeluxe said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

---

He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

---

So, seriously, he could get the Cal job, flame out in 3 years, have 30 years of Davis salary or more in the bank and take the Davis job again the next time it opens. And that is assuming no buyout. As I have said over and over. If someone offers you a million dollars and you don't already have a million dollars, you take the million dollars.

Don't know him personally, but if you bet on 20 coaches at his level turning down a P4 offer at 10 times the salary, you are going to lose that bet 19 or 20 times.

---

Or he could end up like Harsin where his DC took the Boise job and he couldn't go back to his alma mater after flaming out at Auburn. Or like Rolovich where an even more popular alum and former QB (actually from Hawaii) took the Hawaii job after he left. Montgomery had the same thing happen when he flamed out at the Warriors and the Stanford job was already filled with his own protege but lucky for him (and us) another Bay Area job opened up (his wife was happy with the $millions he already had and was not interested in moving).

I don't know what Plough would do if we offered, but there is a real chance he will stay at his alma mater instead of taking the big pay increase and risk of the Cal job and that is just one reason why schools that are not at the top of the food chain are wise to give some preference to alums, all other things being equal.

---

1. All your examples took their shot which bolsters my point
2. One of your examples got a job at the same level he left.
3. All of your examples were making a lot more money than Plough at a much higher level.

I'm not saying he would be a fool not to take the Cal job at 10 times the salary. No actually I am saying that. Complete idiot. But that isn't my point. No one does that. Do people stay for less money? Yes. Do people turn down I can retire in a year money? No. I stand by my statement that if you bet a coach in his position won't take the job you will lose that bet 19 or 20 times out of 20.

Plough had some tough injuries as a player (QB), and may have temporarily had a problem w prescribed meds. Coach Sochor helped him, and Sochor more or less tabbed him as the future Aggie leader.

Davis didn't fully fund football then, and career position coach Coach Ron Gould unfortunately crashed and burned as HC.

Coach Dan Hawkins brought the program back, and a new High Performance Facility and Business major have helped the program. (Ironically, Hawkins recently walked away from his deal to be a lowly paid ($10K?) assistant for his son at Idaho State.) Plough now appears to have his second playoff team, though his defense is devastated by the injury bug.

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

calumnus said:

---

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Bobodeluxe said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

concernedparent said:

---

movielover said:

---

southseasbear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

---

Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

---

Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

---

Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

---

Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

---

Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

---

He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

---

So, seriously, he could get the Cal job, flame out in 3 years, have 30 years of Davis salary or more in the bank and take the Davis job again the next time it opens. And that is assuming no buyout. As I have said over and over. If someone offers you a million dollars and you don't already have a million dollars, you take the million dollars.

Don't know him personally, but if you bet on 20 coaches at his level turning down a P4 offer at 10 times the salary, you are going to lose that bet 19 or 20 times.

---

Or he could end up like Harsin where his DC took the Boise job and he couldn't go back to his alma mater after flaming out at Auburn. Or like Rolovich where an even more popular alum and former QB (actually from Hawaii) took the Hawaii job after he left. Montgomery had the same thing happen when he flamed out at the Warriors and the Stanford job was already filled with his own protege but lucky for him (and us) another Bay Area job opened up (his wife was happy with the $millions he already had and was not interested in moving).

I don't know what Plough would do if we offered, but there is a real chance he will stay at his alma mater instead of taking the big pay increase and risk of the Cal job and that is just one reason why schools that are not at the top of the food chain are wise to give some preference to alums, all other things being equal.

---

1. All your examples took their shot which bolsters my point
2. One of your examples got a job at the same level he left.
3. All of your examples were making a lot more money than Plough at a much higher level.

I'm not saying he would be a fool not to take the Cal job at 10 times the salary. No actually I am saying that. Complete idiot. But that isn't my point. No one does that. Do people stay for less money? Yes. Do people turn down I can retire in a year money? No. I stand by my statement that if you bet a coach in his position won't take the job you will lose that bet 19 or 20 times out of 20.

---

Well it is difficult to show you the examples of coaches that were offered higher/better paying jobs and said they weren't interested and stayed put because those discussions are usually not public, but that is more than likely the case with any coach that has long term success at the same school at anything but the highest level. Supposedly Tedford turned down better offers in the NFL or B1G to stay at Cal 11 years as just one example. Peterson turned down lots of offers for a long time at Boise before he finally took the UW job. I am sure Harsin had inquiries before he took the Auburn job. Mark Few at Gonzaga is definitely another one. Dean Smith at North Carolina and Coach K at Duke are two guys that were at the top of college basketball and could have made a higher initial salary in the NBA (like Monty did) but didn't.

I wouldn't mind Alonzo Cartier getting an interview

Hmmm https://www.on3.com/news/pat-fitzgerald-describes-his-best-fit-to-get-back-into-coaching/

Quote:

---

Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a Wildcat through and through before he was fired in July 2023. Fitzgerald, who played for the program from 1993-96 and coached the program from 2006-2022, was let go after an investigation concluded that he was aware of hazing incidents that took place around the program. His firing actually came after he had agreed to serve a two-week offseason suspension, at which point the coach hired outside legal counsel. Following his firing, Fitzgerald sued the school for $130 million. Northwestern reportedly settled the lawsuit last month. In the three months since the lawsuit was settled, Fitzgerald has returned to the national spotlight as he looks to begin coaching at the FBS level once again. He joined ESPN's Rece Davis on this week's edition of the 'College GameDay Podcast,' where he revealed his best fit to get back into coaching.

"I think my fit is at a school that has a lot of linemen," Fitzgerald said. "I say that because with Jim Phillips, who is now the Commissioner of the ACC, we had alignment moving out of the athletic department through our board up through the presidents office. We were competing and winning championships. We were rolling. As some things change, it changes.

"For me, that's what I'm trying to evaluate on my end. I want to be in a fox-hole together with an AD where we are doing this as partner's together."

---

Strykur said:

---

Hmmm https://www.on3.com/news/pat-fitzgerald-describes-his-best-fit-to-get-back-into-coaching/

Quote:

---

Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was a Wildcat through and through before he was fired in July 2023. Fitzgerald, who played for the program from 1993-96 and coached the program from 2006-2022, was let go after an investigation concluded that he was aware of hazing incidents that took place around the program. His firing actually came after he had agreed to serve a two-week offseason suspension, at which point the coach hired outside legal counsel. Following his firing, Fitzgerald sued the school for $130 million. Northwestern reportedly settled the lawsuit last month. In the three months since the lawsuit was settled, Fitzgerald has returned to the national spotlight as he looks to begin coaching at the FBS level once again. He joined ESPN's Rece Davis on this week's edition of the 'College GameDay Podcast,' where he revealed his best fit to get back into coaching.

"I think my fit is at a school that has a lot of linemen," Fitzgerald said. "I say that because with Jim Phillips, who is now the Commissioner of the ACC, we had alignment moving out of the athletic department through our board up through the presidents office. We were competing and winning championships. We were rolling. As some things change, it changes.

"For me, that's what I'm trying to evaluate on my end. I want to be in a fox-hole together with an AD where we are doing this as partner's together."

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we shouldn't even interview this toxic time bomb

calumnus said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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calumnus said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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calumnus said:

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Bobodeluxe said:

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ac_green33 said:

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concernedparent said:

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movielover said:

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southseasbear said:

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HearstMining said:

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Tim Plough has the UC Davis program humming (currently #6 ranked in FCS). He's only been the HC a couple of years, but:

• Understands the Cal environment having been the TE coach for a year
• Knows what it's like to coach at an academically demanding school
• Only in his second year as HC at UCD but with somebody like Ron in the GM position to mentor him, it could work.

Don't think Plough has enough of a track record? That's what people on BI said about former USF basketball coach Todd Golden until Florida snapped him up.

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Additionally, it was rumored that he took over playcalling after Musgrave was relieved of duties. In the last two games of the season (Stanford and Southern Branch, iirc) the once moribund offense came alive.

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Plough this week said he's going nowhere without his family (his anchor), and wants to win a national championship at Davis. It sounds like he's set there for 5, 7, 10 years..

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Nobody is going to say their current job is only a stepping stone. He's gettable but depending on how his season shakes out, there will be serious competition or there will be doubts about his ability to succeed here.

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Also: Davis is like 45 mins away lol

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Davis is a nice job. Are the headaches of D1 NIL-ball worth a tenfold increase in salary?

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He is a Davis alum. It is why all things being equal you hire alums. One, he loves the place and can sell it. Two, having had some success, he is staying loyal.

He makes about $325,000. Not a lot by FBS standards, less than many position coaches, but a lot by normal standards, especially living in Davis. He is 40. His kids are under 10. He has job security. His kids can grow up in one place, go to junior high and high school with the same friends. He can spend the next 25 years at Davis with $millions in earnings and retire as a legend there, or once he is in his early 50s and his kids are leaving for college, use his record at Davis to make the jump to a P4 job and the really big bucks.

If he makes the jump now, he could fail, and though he would have $millions in the bank, he would have to up root his family again. Don't you think that in retrospect Harsin and Rolovich regret leaving their head coaching jobs at their alma maters? Harsin at Boise and Tolovich in Hawaii? And don't you think Taylor regrets leaving Sac State for the Stanford job? I'm sure he'd be the front runner for the Cal job right now. Instead he is damaged goods.

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So, seriously, he could get the Cal job, flame out in 3 years, have 30 years of Davis salary or more in the bank and take the Davis job again the next time it opens. And that is assuming no buyout. As I have said over and over. If someone offers you a million dollars and you don't already have a million dollars, you take the million dollars.

Don't know him personally, but if you bet on 20 coaches at his level turning down a P4 offer at 10 times the salary, you are going to lose that bet 19 or 20 times.

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Or he could end up like Harsin where his DC took the Boise job and he couldn't go back to his alma mater after flaming out at Auburn. Or like Rolovich where an even more popular alum and former QB (actually from Hawaii) took the Hawaii job after he left. Montgomery had the same thing happen when he flamed out at the Warriors and the Stanford job was already filled with his own protege but lucky for him (and us) another Bay Area job opened up (his wife was happy with the $millions he already had and was not interested in moving).

I don't know what Plough would do if we offered, but there is a real chance he will stay at his alma mater instead of taking the big pay increase and risk of the Cal job and that is just one reason why schools that are not at the top of the food chain are wise to give some preference to alums, all other things being equal.

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1. All your examples took their shot which bolsters my point
2. One of your examples got a job at the same level he left.
3. All of your examples were making a lot more money than Plough at a much higher level.

I'm not saying he would be a fool not to take the Cal job at 10 times the salary. No actually I am saying that. Complete idiot. But that isn't my point. No one does that. Do people stay for less money? Yes. Do people turn down I can retire in a year money? No. I stand by my statement that if you bet a coach in his position won't take the job you will lose that bet 19 or 20 times out of 20.

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Well it is difficult to show you the examples of coaches that were offered higher/better paying jobs and said they weren't interested and stayed put because those discussions are usually not public, but that is more than likely the case with any coach that has long term success at the same school at anything but the highest level. Supposedly Tedford turned down better offers in the NFL or B1G to stay at Cal 11 years as just one example. Peterson turned down lots of offers for a long time at Boise before he finally took the UW job. I am sure Harsin had inquiries before he took the Auburn job. Mark Few at Gonzaga is definitely another one. Dean Smith at North Carolina and Coach K at Duke are two guys that were at the top of college basketball and could have made a higher initial salary in the NBA (like Monty did) but didn't.

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You are giving examples that are all guys that were making very large sums of money that were revered in their existing situations whose pay raise would not be huge, some of whom ultimately did take offers which more indicates that they were waiting for the right offer. Tedford in a similar situation turned down a promotion to SDSU HC to wait on Cal. That isn't unusual.

Comparing Coach K making millions of dollars as one of, if not the best college coach not wanting to stake that reputation and toss 40 years of job security at salaries that made him unbelievably wealthy is not apt. Coaching is never a sure thing. Plough may have more job security at Davis but that doesn't mean he has job security. $350K is a great salary for us average folk, but to maintain your lifestyle through retirement, he would need to work 25-30 years with no downturn, and that is not likely in college football coaching. One P4 contract and he is guaranteed a very comfortable retirement unless he is immensely stupid with his money and he could serve out years of coaching without having to worry about finances.

Guys have literally said they would not move their family while they were negotiating to move. The people in any walk of life that would turn down a 10x pay raise are few and far between.

Frankly, I'd say the chances of any random candidate turning us down because they are not convinced of our commitment are far higher than the coach of Davis considering it his dream job.

RR should have already done preliminary vetting on 4 - 6 candidates, including a DEI candidate(s) (required?), as well as confirming if Plough ran the offense the last few games of his tenure.

movielover said:

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Ags just lost a tough game by two points, their QB had been hospitalized (tonsillitis), and six stud defensive players (most All Americans) out with injuries. (Including the Connors twins.)

Love this team. Yesterday was a tough day. Whenever we don’t achieve the results we want it is always on ME.

But I will continue to put the “Process” over the “Results”

I find joy in learning how to be better

I am thankful for all lessons…even when they’re hard and painful

— Timothy Plough (@VintagePlough) November 2, 2025

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Quote:

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But I will continue to put the "Process" over the "Results"

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I wish Cal fans shared this mentality. Far too often heads get stuck into the sands when (arguably undeserved) wins come our way, despite consistent signs of weaknesses. I've said before, I'd rather see the team play very well and lose on a fluke play than see the team play poorly but win on a fluke. Law of averages suggests the former team will see more wins in the long run than the latter team because fluky wins while playing very poorly (i.e. the UNC win) are wholly unsustainable.

Coach Plough said he is hard on his starting freshman QB. In their last victory there were several broken plays which the mobile Pinnick picked up good yardage, and a touchdown throw "that was late". (Pinnick was named POTW three weeks in a row and is in the running for the Jerry Rice FCS Freshman POTY award.)

Plough often says "we didn't give them the best play to be successful". The Ags are 6-2 with a drubbing by UW, and a recent two-point loss when they left some points on the field.

Has Wilcox ever had a lead assistant who was a proven stud (expert)? How were his first few OCs?

Write for California:

Nov 28, 2023: "The first year TE coach [Coach Plough] with the Bears has been instrumental in the development of Jack Endries and the rest of the tight end room. In the run game, Endries, JT Byrne, Asher Alberding, and Jeffrey Johnson have all played big roles in pulling blocks, creating holes for Jaydn Ott, Isaiah Ifanse, and others to run through. It's been nothing short of spectacular, after the tight end room lacked identity in recent seasons."

https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/report-cal-te-coach-tim-plough-in

movielover said:

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Coach Plough said he is hard on his starting freshman QB. In their last victory there were several broken plays which the mobile Pinnick picked up good yardage, and a touchdown throw "that was late". (Pinnick was named POTW three weeks in a row and is in the running for the Jerry Rice FCS Freshman POTY award.)

Plough often says "we didn't give them the best play to be successful". The Ags are 6-2 with a drubbing by UW, and a recent two-point loss when they left some points on the field.

Has Wilcox ever had a lead assistant who was a proven stud (expert)? How were his first few OCs?

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DeRuyter delivered a Top 10 defense in Wilcox's second year. Wilcox has not had anything close on offense or defense before or after. I would say Wilcox the last few years has had elite DB production, but allocating money for 3 DB coaches is not a good strategy for producing a good team overall or even a great defense when you are so lacking at DL recruiting.

Yes his First and Best Db hire

He seems to change OCs frequently.

How about Davis Webb? Broncos quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

btw I saw a blurb today that UW's coach had his family say "**** this seattle rain" and left him for returning to AZ.

MilleniaBear said:

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How about Davis Webb? Broncos quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

btw I saw a blurb today that UW's coach had his family say "**** this seattle rain" and left him for returning to AZ.

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It is true that Fisch's wife and family went back to Arizona. He has a good job at UW but but his family wants to live in an area with more sunshine. Which is why he is on the coaches hot board at UCLA. He makes around $8m a year at UW and it is interesting that UCLA asked the regents to approve a salary of $8m for their next hire.

Fisch is a Florida alum and that would be an acceptable destination for his family as well.

As for Webb I think he is a fast riser in the NFL and seems likely to stay in the NFL. He is an interesting candidate though.

I like Davis webb