TedfordTheGreat said:
I know, yet another useless thread rehashing the same thing. But on this solemn saturday where our bears are not playing and we are seeing Indiana and Mendoza head one step closer to ranked #1 and a heisman award, I need something to do.I just want to spitball with yall and so let's make a pros and cons list for acting now vs later. Here is what I am thinking.
Pros:
* Get a head start at the coaching carousel
* Signal to other coaching candidates that we take football seriously and losing is not acceptable
* The contract is already guaranteed to him, no cost saving firing him later
* We can test out Rolo or Harsin or anyone else on staff we want for "free" and see if they can do something with it
* Show JKS that we do not accept losing as an answer and that Ron is here to make BIG changes
* Ron can step in and coach the team and be a GM/coach and see if college coaching is something he wants/likes to do
Cons:
* We "salvage the season" with continuity so we have a better shot at the big game? Though this is not even for certain
I really cannot think of 1 single cons and 1 single reason not to fire him today or tomorrow. UNLESS Ron thinks that Wilcox should still be our coach October 2026. And if that is the case, I am out
You all are more plugged in and more creative than I am. What is a good cons to firing him tomorrow?
No one hires new head coaches this time of year so let me try a rebuttal:
Let's get a few things out of way:
1. Ron is not stepping in as the coach. The head coach really is a full time job, and to be fair to the players, it should be. The GM really does have a defined role which is really is like being an AD. He has to fundraise, attend stuff the JK normally would, handle the media, meet with administrators, direct marketing, handle TV and sponsors, and a lot other stuff. He doesn't have time to be a head football coach. He also under this scenario has to spend the time to hire a new coach while he is coaching. How does this make any sense?
2) Wilcox's salary and buy out come from different financial sources. Cal has formal commitments on funding Wilcox's salary from donors and the school in place. Most donors don't want their money used for getting rid of a coach. Who knows what commitments, if any, Cal has on paying Wilcox's buy-out and the amount of those commitments. They may need to get his buy-out down to the post-season level.
3) There is no head start on the coaching carousal that depends on firing Wilcox right now. RR has lead time to engage the Chancellor, donors, the UC President, and other stakeholders, and otherwise get his ducks in a row, without formally firing Wilcox, if he is even firing Wilcox as season end. There are reasons new coaches don't get hired during the season. Most likely anyone RR wants as the new head coach is coaching presently and won't be available until season end. Making a formal offer to the coaching candidate or even tampering with working coaches has all sorts of legal and NCAA consequences. There are ways too determine interest through agents and search firms, but none of it involves hiring or even firing Wilcox. I suppose Cal could approach a retread, but just hiring someone with a contract approved by the Regents will take most of the remaining season. None of this really makes sense.
4)
Early December is the active period for coaching movement, both firing and hirings for good reasons. There is the greater selection with all the coaches that become available at the end of the season when the coaching carousal starts because coaches are also then being hired (carousals go up and down). There are two dates that now loom large for athletic directors for when to hire coaches, which are the early signing period for recruiting and the opening of the transfer portal.
5) A coaching move is not salvaging the season. I get firing coaches early or even mid-season if the team is headed in the wrong direction, in order to try to save the season. At this late point in the season, I don't see the point of terminating Wilcox with so few games remaining. Anyone elevated to interim head coach is going to run the same schemes, and not be able to do that much else. And the team's skill level with injuries is what it currently is. Nor do I understand why Ron would want to be boxed in by naming Harsin as opposed to Rolo as head coach or vice versa.
So the cons after all this:
1) You open up an additional Portal period for players to leave.
2) You could have a net negative impact on morale and player perspective. Just look at the Cal running backs room last year when their coach was fired. Wilcox is popular with the players by and large.
3) This makes no sense if RR has not yet determined if Wilcox is leaving.
4) You don't know if you have money to pay the existing buy-out
5) The players and assistants still on staff have to pick up the pieces and finish out the season, and there is a coaching talent loss on the defense if Wilcox leaves. Cal could be worse.
6) The next coach probably requires a greater buyout if Cal is thought to now have a quick hook under RR
The pros are:
1) You can try out Harsin or Rolo, but I question how much of a pro that is really. Does the loser in that selection leave?
2) You can demonstrate things to JSK, and my response to that is I think what he really wants to see are NIL, better blocking and better receivers, all of which is happening after the season.
3) Purportedly signaling to prospective coaches that Cal mean business by firing the existing coach during the season. How is when Wilcox is fired really a factor in any prospective coach's decision process? For a moment, think about what coaches really want to see:
a) Supportive college President and AD (check)
b) Large NIL purse (House and outside collective) (check)
c) Good facilities (check)
d) Good QB and key players (working on it)
d) Good coaching salaries, especially in a high cost of living area (working on it)
e) Engaged fan base (not presently, but RR is working on it)
Now offset that against a coach wondering if his program is going to be relegated to playing at a non-power conference level. Just that eliminates a lot of the desired coaching pool to complicate things further by firing Wilcox at an unconventional time.
