By no means is this a "let's keep Wilcox" thread. He clearly hasn't been the answer for a few years, so it's time to ****can him (Wood have been even better after years 6, or 7, or 8…)

BUT with Cal being cursed, this offseason is of course seeing the highest rate of coach turnover maybe ever. It might be tricky to find a good coach out there. With so much competition from big money teams, I think it could be a blessing in disguise that we have to get creative and hire a lesser known up and coming coach, and avoid another huge buyout contract scenario. Let the big money teams trip over themselves to overpay for the Lane Kiffins of the world. Hopefully we can find a West Coaster with good recruiting skills, and balance it out with our NIL money and pray for a miracle. I definitely think that's our better move than overpaying for a big name has-been.

I don't follow the national CFB closely enough to make suggestions, does anyone have thoughts on good candidates? I've seen Tosh, the SDSU coach (he sure beat the **** out of us), Rolovich. Or are we going to be a little fish in the midst of a feeding frenzy?

Either way, no more Wilcox. ****, I'll coach the team next year if need be. Can't be much worse and I'll at least make it entertaining with no fewer than 7 fake punts a game.

Cal should always try to "Moneyball" a new head coach. We don't have the money to pay for a proven quantity right away. Donors will step up if that guy does well, but you start with a "prove it" contract.

I have made clear that I think the hottest "affordable" candidate that is going to be on the market Sean Lewiis from SDSU (is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Lewis_(American_football))

Here are the highlights from yesterday

https://www.espn.com/college-football/video/_/gameId/401760405

Honestly he may be out of our price range. I would assume if they are not stupid we will be bidding against UCLA and Furd for him.

Here is a national media perspective from another article in The Athletic, about the coaching carousel. And PLEASE DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER, im just sharing!

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Eight Power 4 jobs are open right now. Seven are up for grabs because of in-season firings, and one will be because Stanford is doing the Frank Reich thing for a year. More are coming, perhaps some or all of these five among them: Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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Quote:

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Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move: Kiffin, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, Cal's Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield, Duke's Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech's Brent Key, Houston's Willie Fritz, Iowa State's Matt Campbell, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska's Matt Rhule, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Washington's Jedd Fisch

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It's interesting to see that national media not only doesn't see Wilcox as a firing candidate, but also thinks that he is in the caliber of coach that can leave on his own volition to another P4 job.

I got absolutely killed in another thread for suggesting that Wilcox still has a good reputation in the broader CFB world (and he shouldn't!) but I think it's the case.

sycasey said:

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Cal should always try to "Moneyball" a new head coach. We don't have the money to pay for a proven quantity right away. Donors will step up if that guy does well, but you start with a "prove it" contract.

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With Wilcox, Cal has set the precedent that if they hire you as a first time coach, and you have small and limited initial success, you will get a life-defining extension.

That has to be appealing, right?

We need the perception of Wilcox being a great coach going viral. I imagine that the faster he gets a job, the lower our buyout becomes...but who knows Knowlton could have written the contract such that he gets it all regardless of finding another job .. wouldn't surprise me.

ac_green33 said:

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Here is a national media perspective from another article in The Athletic, about the coaching carousel. And PLEASE DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER, im just sharing!

Quote:

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Eight Power 4 jobs are open right now. Seven are up for grabs because of in-season firings, and one will be because Stanford is doing the Frank Reich thing for a year. More are coming, perhaps some or all of these five among them: Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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Quote:

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Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move: Kiffin, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, Cal's Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield, Duke's Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech's Brent Key, Houston's Willie Fritz, Iowa State's Matt Campbell, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska's Matt Rhule, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Washington's Jedd Fisch

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It's interesting to see that national media not only doesn't see Wilcox as a firing candidate, but also thinks that he is in the caliber of coach that can leave on his own volition to another P4 job.

I got absolutely killed in another thread for suggesting that Wilcox still has a good reputation in the broader CFB world (and he shouldn't!) but I think it's the case.

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It's probably a bit of old man syndrome and delusion that makes me think that I know more about Wilcox's head coaching ability than any writer, any AD, and any other coach in the fraternity. But I've always liked the "I'll know it when I see it" theory first put forth by justice so-and-so in 1964. Wilcox's teams have never passed the eye test for me and at least I have his league record to absolutely back that up. RR is slowly approaching that level for me too but I'll admit I don't really know much about what an AD does and have any actions of his other than a couple of bad quotes to go on. I've mentioned this before but I was really glad when Gladstone and Clark were picking our football coach because I knew their reputations as really tough head coaches. Plus I don't remember either of them getting into serious trouble while instituting harsh training methods. I know it's highschool but Ladouceur was the same at DLS. Long before DLS had a flood of talent coming in he took normal highschool football talent and made them tough and disciplined with rigorous training without the least bit of controversy. Game nights he had the demeanor of Wilcox (honestly). He had other coaches do the yelling and screaming. But he coached both lines and they were fantastic even when regular size.

okaydo said:

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golden sloth said:

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sycasey said:

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Cal should always try to "Moneyball" a new head coach. We don't have the money to pay for a proven quantity right away. Donors will step up if that guy does well, but you start with a "prove it" contract.

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With Wilcox, Cal has set the precedent that if they hire you as a first time coach, and you have small and limited initial success, you will get a life-defining extension.

That has to be appealing, right?

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Limited initial success!?

This was Wilcox's best season.




This was Dykes' best season.

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Yeah, but when Dykes did that he had clearly topped out on what he could do, with Goff in his final season.

Silly me, I thought that with Chase Garbers performing well down the stretch in 2019 and coming back that we could keep rising under Wilcox. Then he had 3 straight losing seasons and got an extension. What a country!

Dykes fooled everyone a few years later by being named coach of the year, but "we" know better.

nikeykid said:

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add one more firing

Sources: Auburn has fired coach Hugh Freeze. He’s gone 6-16 in the SEC over his three seasons and 15-19 overall. After losing to Kentucky last night to fall to 4-5, Auburn is in danger of having a losing record for third-straight year. pic.twitter.com/aaVjkJpcF9

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 2, 2025

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Also lost to Cal, which is unacceptable.

It would be so funny if we all had to start liking Tosh Lupoi again.

sycasey said:

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nikeykid said:

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add one more firing

Sources: Auburn has fired coach Hugh Freeze. He’s gone 6-16 in the SEC over his three seasons and 15-19 overall. After losing to Kentucky last night to fall to 4-5, Auburn is in danger of having a losing record for third-straight year. pic.twitter.com/aaVjkJpcF9

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 2, 2025

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Also lost to Cal, which is unacceptable.

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We returned the favor by taking their terrible, disgraced HC who has done nothing for our offense.

ac_green33 said:

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Here is a national media perspective from another article in The Athletic, about the coaching carousel. And PLEASE DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER, im just sharing!

Quote:

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Eight Power 4 jobs are open right now. Seven are up for grabs because of in-season firings, and one will be because Stanford is doing the Frank Reich thing for a year. More are coming, perhaps some or all of these five among them: Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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Quote:

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Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move: Kiffin, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, Cal's Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield, Duke's Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech's Brent Key, Houston's Willie Fritz, Iowa State's Matt Campbell, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska's Matt Rhule, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Washington's Jedd Fisch

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It's interesting to see that national media not only doesn't see Wilcox as a firing candidate, but also thinks that he is in the caliber of coach that can leave on his own volition to another P4 job.

I got absolutely killed in another thread for suggesting that Wilcox still has a good reputation in the broader CFB world (and he shouldn't!) but I think it's the case.

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It's so fascinating to me that Wilcox has managed to maintain some of this reputation within national media. Do they not look at the records? That he hasn't had a winning season in 5 years? I know there's an idea (somewhat deserved) that Cal makes it hard to win, but if there is supposed to be market for a coach shouldn't he have to actually show he's a winner?

Alkiadt said:

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sycasey said:

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It would be so funny if we all had to start liking Tosh Lupoi again.

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Yes it would.
But I'm at the point where I'm ready to accept it.

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It can't ever be that bad. No Tosh

*I* think that with all the coaching upheaval that there is room for someone to lead the way and create a back loaded contract cause at some point its gotta happen. Base plus incentives that, when earned, benefit the coach, the school, the fan base, and the future.

Hire a young gun coach with a solid base salary to live in the bay area. And then "you'll earn the rest. What have you done for me lately?"

Roll the dice and try to get DJ. He'll bring in incredible WRs and motivate the kids. Hell, Marshawn will probably help him out, too. We have nothing to lose at this point. Justin was a great guy, but he could not navigate where FB has gone. NIL, kids these days, etc. Cal has a huge decision to make: either modernize (with all of the attendant issues that brings) or drop FB. Traditionalism has killed the program (and I loved the traditional game, but it's gone).

All these teams firing coaches, both long standing and few seasons in. At least they show spine enough to not accept poor performances. I expect Colorado firing sanders. I expect quite a few more coaches being gone by next week. Why oh why are we waiting. Get rid of Wilcox Ron! You're showing being a weak GM right now when you should be showing superiority and authority to demand a winning program. At this point, Ro. Is no better than everyone that has allowed this to come into fruition.

bearsandgiants said:

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I don't think it's panic time. The supply of coaches is massive, thanks to all of these firings. Many of the fired guys are searching for work, driving prices down. Up and comers are in high demand so they have a chance to make lots of money on a relative basis, but it seems like these firings are going to squeeze toward a median that's cheaper for the big dogs and about the same for us.

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Moderately optimistic. Unlike past hires, the decision will be made by someone who is competent and understands Cal and football. By all accounts, RR will have institutional support, donor buy-in, and resources. Decent chance we stick the landing and come out with a good coach/staff we can build around.

We're a mediocre program hobbled by consistently poor coaching. It won't take a miracle to become competitive and stop routinely embarrassing ourselves.

ac_green33 said:

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Here is a national media perspective from another article in The Athletic, about the coaching carousel. And PLEASE DONT SHOOT THE MESSENGER, im just sharing!

Quote:

---

Eight Power 4 jobs are open right now. Seven are up for grabs because of in-season firings, and one will be because Stanford is doing the Frank Reich thing for a year. More are coming, perhaps some or all of these five among them: Auburn, Kentucky, Florida State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

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Quote:

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Sitting Power 4 head coaches who may be enticed to move: Kiffin, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, Cal's Justin Wilcox, Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield, Duke's Manny Diaz, Georgia Tech's Brent Key, Houston's Willie Fritz, Iowa State's Matt Campbell, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Nebraska's Matt Rhule, SMU's Rhett Lashlee, Vanderbilt's Clark Lea, Washington's Jedd Fisch

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It's interesting to see that national media not only doesn't see Wilcox as a firing candidate, but also thinks that he is in the caliber of coach that can leave on his own volition to another P4 job.

I got absolutely killed in another thread for suggesting that Wilcox still has a good reputation in the broader CFB world (and he shouldn't!) but I think it's the case.

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Ok. If that's true, we should give him our unqualified blessing to interview elsewhere. Tons of prestige openings this year, and more will open as jobs fill.