I've seen folks say they trust in Ron and there was a hand Ron the keys thing earlier this year. But why do we trust Ron? Yes, he is a football guy and loves Cal. Yes, he's probably better than Knowlton (who isn't?). But is he good at evaluating and hiring coaches?

Ron spent 13 years as an NFL head coach. He's a defense guy so I think it makes sense to look at his OC choices as that's his most critical coaching personnel decision every year. Below are his OC's by year.

2011 - Rob Chudzinski
2012 - Rob Chudzinski
2013 - Mike Shula
2014 - Mike Shula
2015 - Mike Shula
2016 - Mike Shula
2017 - Mike Shula
2018 - Norv Turner
2019 - Norv Turner
2020 - Scott Turner
2021 - Scott Turner
2022 - Scott Turner
2023 - Eric Bienemy

Chudzinski left to become HC of the Browns. That's a good sign, a promotion. He went 4-12 and was fired after 1 season. He then worked as an OC again for a couple years and then was unemployed for a few years and then fell out of the NFL. He's currently a special assistant at Boston College.

Mike Shula is Don Shula's kid. He left being RR's OC to be the Giants' OC. After a couple years he became a QB coach for the Broncos. He's now an OC for South Carolina.

Norv Turner was a good NFL OC at the end of his career basically helping his son get coaching jobs. Being RR's OC was Norv's last real coaching job.

Scott Turner is Norv's son. Nepo baby #2 on this list. After being RR's OC he has been the "passing game coordinator" for a couple putrid NFL teams (Raiders, Jets). RR's OC is high high water mark as a coach so far.

Eric Bienemy had play calling duties for the first time in his career as RR's OC. After Ron and Eric got canned, Eric went to UCLA to be the OC. UCLA was 126th in scoring with him running the offense. Wilcox would love him. He's now a position coach.

All in all, a lot of nepotism and not much success in hiring great coaches. Wilcox fits right into this bunch. Did we hand the keys to the wrong guy?

This is the most distasteful thing Ron has seen.

boredom said:

---

I've seen folks say they trust in Ron and there was a hand Ron the keys thing earlier this year. But why do we trust Ron? Yes, he is a football guy and loves Cal. Yes, he's probably better than Knowlton (who isn't?). But is he good at evaluating and hiring coaches?

Ron spent 13 years as an NFL head coach. He's a defense guy so I think it makes sense to look at his OC choices as that's his most critical coaching personnel decision every year. Below are his OC's by year.

2011 - Rob Chudzinski
2012 - Rob Chudzinski
2013 - Mike Shula
2014 - Mike Shula
2015 - Mike Shula
2016 - Mike Shula
2017 - Mike Shula
2018 - Norv Turner
2019 - Norv Turner
2020 - Scott Turner
2021 - Scott Turner
2022 - Scott Turner
2023 - Eric Bienemy

Chudzinski left to become HC of the Browns. That's a good sign, a promotion. He went 4-12 and was fired after 1 season. He then worked as an OC again for a couple years and then was unemployed for a few years and then fell out of the NFL. He's currently a special assistant at Boston College.

Mike Shula is Don Shula's kid. He left being RR's OC to be the Giants' OC. After a couple years he became a QB coach for the Broncos. He's now an OC for South Carolina.

Norv Turner was a good NFL OC at the end of his career basically helping his son get coaching jobs. Being RR's OC was Norv's last real coaching job.

Scott Turner is Norv's son. Nepo baby #2 on this list. After being RR's OC he has been the "passing game coordinator" for a couple putrid NFL teams (Raiders, Jets). RR's OC is high high water mark as a coach so far.

Eric Bienemy had play calling duties for the first time in his career as RR's OC. After Ron and Eric got canned, Eric went to UCLA to be the OC. UCLA was 126th in scoring with him running the offense. Wilcox would love him. He's now a position coach.

All in all, a lot of nepotism and not much success in hiring great coaches. Wilcox fits right into this bunch. Did we hand the keys to the wrong guy?

---

Not encouraging. Thanks for the info.

boredom said:

---

I've seen folks say they trust in Ron and there was a hand Ron the keys thing earlier this year. But why do we trust Ron? Yes, he is a football guy and loves Cal. Yes, he's probably better than Knowlton (who isn't?). But is he good at evaluating and hiring coaches?

Ron spent 13 years as an NFL head coach. He's a defense guy so I think it makes sense to look at his OC choices as that's his most critical coaching personnel decision every year. Below are his OC's by year.

2011 - Rob Chudzinski
2012 - Rob Chudzinski
2013 - Mike Shula
2014 - Mike Shula
2015 - Mike Shula
2016 - Mike Shula
2017 - Mike Shula
2018 - Norv Turner
2019 - Norv Turner
2020 - Scott Turner
2021 - Scott Turner
2022 - Scott Turner
2023 - Eric Bienemy

Chudzinski left to become HC of the Browns. That's a good sign, a promotion. He went 4-12 and was fired after 1 season. He then worked as an OC again for a couple years and then was unemployed for a few years and then fell out of the NFL. He's currently a special assistant at Boston College.

Mike Shula is Don Shula's kid. He left being RR's OC to be the Giants' OC. After a couple years he became a QB coach for the Broncos. He's now an OC for South Carolina.

Norv Turner was a good NFL OC at the end of his career basically helping his son get coaching jobs. Being RR's OC was Norv's last real coaching job.

Scott Turner is Norv's son. Nepo baby #2 on this list. After being RR's OC he has been the "passing game coordinator" for a couple putrid NFL teams (Raiders, Jets). RR's OC is high high water mark as a coach so far.

Eric Bienemy had play calling duties for the first time in his career as RR's OC. After Ron and Eric got canned, Eric went to UCLA to be the OC. UCLA was 126th in scoring with him running the offense. Wilcox would love him. He's now a position coach.

All in all, a lot of nepotism and not much success in hiring great coaches. Wilcox fits right into this bunch. Did we hand the keys to the wrong guy?

---

While I was an advocate for pursuing Rivera as potential HC for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, I thought it was a big mistake to make Rivera the GM. His advantages: HC experience, name recognition, NFL cred, and personality would have given us a needed boost and signaled change as HC but are wasted at GM. He has no experience as a GM, no experience in the Cal bureaucracy, has not been following the team closely the last 8 years. His statements since being hired are not encouraging to anyone who wants more than incremental change.

I think there are people with more experience at Cal, or in professional sports management, that would have been better suited as the behind the scenes GM. They could have consulted alums who are football experts like Rivera on the next hire.

However, his record on OC hires aside, I do think that if Rivera hires a young, up and coming offensive minded HC, he will be able to provide valuable mentorship as the GM and virtual HC, including advice on hiring a DC and filling out the staff.

calumnus said:

---

He has no experience as a GM, no experience in the Cal bureaucracy,

---

I agree with most of your points, but I have to quibble with this. He was acting as the head personnel guy in Washington during his stint there along with being the HC. And, late career Dan Snyder + transition to new owners might have been even more dysfunctional than Cal, believe it or not.

That being said, his personnel record in DC was widely criticized (although Snyder has a know ln to have a heavy influence) to the point where I think only 4 of the players drafted during his tenure are still with the team. College is a different beast and I wish him all the best and I think he'll be able to find a modicum of success, but a lot of people think he's unassailable and I disagree with that.

boredom said:

---

I've seen folks say they trust in Ron and there was a hand Ron the keys thing earlier this year. But why do we trust Ron? Yes, he is a football guy and loves Cal. Yes, he's probably better than Knowlton (who isn't?). But is he good at evaluating and hiring coaches?

Ron spent 13 years as an NFL head coach. He's a defense guy so I think it makes sense to look at his OC choices as that's his most critical coaching personnel decision every year. Below are his OC's by year.

2011 - Rob Chudzinski
2012 - Rob Chudzinski
2013 - Mike Shula
2014 - Mike Shula
2015 - Mike Shula
2016 - Mike Shula
2017 - Mike Shula
2018 - Norv Turner
2019 - Norv Turner
2020 - Scott Turner
2021 - Scott Turner
2022 - Scott Turner
2023 - Eric Bienemy

Chudzinski left to become HC of the Browns. That's a good sign, a promotion. He went 4-12 and was fired after 1 season. He then worked as an OC again for a couple years and then was unemployed for a few years and then fell out of the NFL. He's currently a special assistant at Boston College.

Mike Shula is Don Shula's kid. He left being RR's OC to be the Giants' OC. After a couple years he became a QB coach for the Broncos. He's now an OC for South Carolina.

Norv Turner was a good NFL OC at the end of his career basically helping his son get coaching jobs. Being RR's OC was Norv's last real coaching job.

Scott Turner is Norv's son. Nepo baby #2 on this list. After being RR's OC he has been the "passing game coordinator" for a couple putrid NFL teams (Raiders, Jets). RR's OC is high high water mark as a coach so far.

Eric Bienemy had play calling duties for the first time in his career as RR's OC. After Ron and Eric got canned, Eric went to UCLA to be the OC. UCLA was 126th in scoring with him running the offense. Wilcox would love him. He's now a position coach.

All in all, a lot of nepotism and not much success in hiring great coaches. Wilcox fits right into this bunch. Did we hand the keys to the wrong guy?

---

I have this knee-jerk aversion to nepotism. I see a lot of it in the entertainment world of which I am well-acquainted. There are so many children of celebrities getting prime acting jobs it's annoying. But there has been no backlash, so it persists.

(*Before somebody goes, "that's always been the case.: Yes, it sure has. But there is a massive amount of it happening now.Like way too much...and it's become normalized.)


But it particularly bothers me in the NFL because there are very few jobs.

Case in point: From 2003-2005, Stanford won 13 games. As you'll recall, they were awful. Yet one of their low-level staffers from those years was hired in 2006 as one of 2 highly coveted entry level coaching jobs each NFL team has: Offensive and defensive quality control coach. He was hired as offensive quality control coach by the Tampa Bay Bucs because his dad was the offensive coordinator. He did nothing to distinguish himself at Stanford to get that covetedj job. But he got the ticket to the big leagues that many low level coaches covet. And thanks to his name and connections, he rose to a head coaching job (for one year), before ultimately flaming out.


Which brings me back to the point:

When Ron became head coach of the Washington Redskins, I looked at who hired as his offensive and defensive quality control coaches. For the defensive job, he hired Vincent "Bug" Rivera, his nephew (and Cal alum). For the offensive job, he hired Luke Del Rio, the son of his defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. (Both are now out of the NFL.)

I'm not currently negative on Ron Rivera.

But those hirings left a negative impression on me.

ac_green33 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

He has no experience as a GM, no experience in the Cal bureaucracy,

---

I agree with most of your points, but I have to quibble with this. He was acting as the head personnel guy in Washington during his stint there along with being the HC. And, late career Dan Snyder + transition to new owners might have been even more dysfunctional than Cal, believe it or not.

That being said, his personnel record in DC was widely criticized (although Snyder has a know ln to have a heavy influence) to the point where I think only 4 of the players drafted during his tenure are still with the team. College is a different beast and I wish him all the best and I think he'll be able to find a modicum of success, but a lot of people think he's unassailable and I disagree with that.

---

Except that hiring assistant coaches and recruiting players is exactly what a college HC does, not the GM, who is not a "designated recruiter" in the eyes of the NCAA.

calumnus said:

---

ac_green33 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

He has no experience as a GM, no experience in the Cal bureaucracy,

---

I agree with most of your points, but I have to quibble with this. He was acting as the head personnel guy in Washington during his stint there along with being the HC. And, late career Dan Snyder + transition to new owners might have been even more dysfunctional than Cal, believe it or not.

That being said, his personnel record in DC was widely criticized (although Snyder has a know ln to have a heavy influence) to the point where I think only 4 of the players drafted during his tenure are still with the team. College is a different beast and I wish him all the best and I think he'll be able to find a modicum of success, but a lot of people think he's unassailable and I disagree with that.

---

Except that hiring assistant coaches and recruiting players is exactly what a college HC does, not the GM, who is not a "designated recruiter" in the eyes of the NCAA.

---

Rivera was not hired to be a GM in the specific way an NFL GM would operate. His role besides evaluating Wilcox and his staff was the engage the donors and repair the football operations. I believe he is very qualified to evaluate Wilcox and select a new HC.

The HC will have a lot of authority over staff selection. I am fairly certain Ron will have some criteria that he wishes for staff and some staff may be held over and work with whoever the next coach is. Wilcox of course could be retained, which IMO would be a major misstep.

Ron is the ideal guy to get the donors energized. This season was critical to set the stage for 2026. He has now seen how this staff works, how the football operation runs, gotten significant donor feedback, seen the portal in action etc. He now needs to make an enormous decision. What to do about Wilcox.

While I think looking at Rivera's resume he seems like a great option to be the HC, IMO he is the perfect guy to take on his current role. There are few folks IMO that can come in here with his credibility and energize the donors.

As to Ron being a recruiter. No he is not a "designated recruiter" but he is present on campus visits and no doubt is very helpful in selling Cal football. He is a well known former HC in the NFL that has accolades from his time there. Recruits want to make the league, so simply being here helps recruiting.

IMO his decision on Wilcox will be perhaps the biggest decision and move he will make here. It will be the thing everyone looks at as we decide just how good his tenure has been. He can change a lot about the game experience, help remove obstacles within the department and administration but the team has to win. Winning drives attendance, donations and is crucial to any realignment scenario.

This is a crucial time for Cal football and Ron. A lot is riding on how he proceeds.

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

RR can improve his credibility by booting you know who

BrightBear said:

---

RR can improve his credibility by booting you know who

---

I can fire Wilcox. I doubt I could pick a good coach and hire him. RR can't do half a job.

Thanks for the review of his OCs in the NFL. While I do agree its the key hire he made as HC its not everything. How about his DC and ST coach hires? Same issues? How has his coaching tree done on the other side of the ball? In general am I correct in saying that the Ditka/Ryan tree has withered and the game has past them by?

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

The coaching world is built on cronyism and nepotism. I'm not in the "Ron is the savior" camp, but I hope he is successful. His past comments about the call to fire JW as distasteful said a lot in my opinion.

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

boredom said:

---

I've seen folks say they trust in Ron and there was a hand Ron the keys thing earlier this year. But why do we trust Ron? Yes, he is a football guy and loves Cal. Yes, he's probably better than Knowlton (who isn't?). But is he good at evaluating and hiring coaches?

Ron spent 13 years as an NFL head coach. He's a defense guy so I think it makes sense to look at his OC choices as that's his most critical coaching personnel decision every year. Below are his OC's by year.

2011 - Rob Chudzinski
2012 - Rob Chudzinski
2013 - Mike Shula
2014 - Mike Shula
2015 - Mike Shula
2016 - Mike Shula
2017 - Mike Shula
2018 - Norv Turner
2019 - Norv Turner
2020 - Scott Turner
2021 - Scott Turner
2022 - Scott Turner
2023 - Eric Bienemy

Chudzinski left to become HC of the Browns. That's a good sign, a promotion. He went 4-12 and was fired after 1 season. He then worked as an OC again for a couple years and then was unemployed for a few years and then fell out of the NFL. He's currently a special assistant at Boston College.

Mike Shula is Don Shula's kid. He left being RR's OC to be the Giants' OC. After a couple years he became a QB coach for the Broncos. He's now an OC for South Carolina.

Norv Turner was a good NFL OC at the end of his career basically helping his son get coaching jobs. Being RR's OC was Norv's last real coaching job.

Scott Turner is Norv's son. Nepo baby #2 on this list. After being RR's OC he has been the "passing game coordinator" for a couple putrid NFL teams (Raiders, Jets). RR's OC is high high water mark as a coach so far.

Eric Bienemy had play calling duties for the first time in his career as RR's OC. After Ron and Eric got canned, Eric went to UCLA to be the OC. UCLA was 126th in scoring with him running the offense. Wilcox would love him. He's now a position coach.

All in all, a lot of nepotism and not much success in hiring great coaches. Wilcox fits right into this bunch. Did we hand the keys to the wrong guy?

---

Thank you for putting this together! The blind faith in River has always been misplaced and this history shows why.

Wilcox's father is a Hall of Fame linebacker, ulp, nepo extension coming?

RR has more fb knowledge in his pinky than all you guys combined. Obviously a new AD couldn't do what needs to be done. RR also fund raises and gets donors involved. You think an outsider can get up to speed this fast? Cal has maybe 3 years to become a big enough player or else… Time is not our friend and that makes a coaching decision all the more complex as well….Go Bears and donate to Caliber fund if you want to have an impact…

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy our 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

Goobear said:

---

RR has more fb knowledge in his pinky than all you guys combined. Obviously a new AD couldn't do what needs to be done. RR also fund raises and gets donors involved. You think an outsider can get up to speed this fast? Cal has maybe 3 years to become a big enough player or else… Time is not our friend and that makes a coaching decision all the more complex as well….Go Bears and donate to Caliber fund if you want to have an impact…

---

Pretty much every coach across the college and professional ranks has more football knowledge than the posters here. That doesn't mean every one of them knows how to make good hiring decisions.

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy are 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

---

Next year is looking tougher than this year and last year, but not as tough as when we were in the Pac-12, and our record will likely be worse, all things being equal. A lot will depend on who UCLA hires and how good they are next year. BYU and UNLV on the road will be tough. Clemsen at home. Virginia, Syracuse, NC State and SMU on the road. If Wilcox stays or is replaced and Cal gets 8 or more wins it will be because Cal will have fielded a better team than Wilcox has for his first 9 years.

^ 2026 schedule mistakenly stated

Shocky1 said:

---

^ 2026 schedule mistakenly stated

---

This is what I was relying on:
https://fbschedules.com/2026-california-football-schedule/

^ it's inaccurate

Shocky1 said:

---

^ it's inaccurate

---

So post the accurate schedule.

In looking for it I did see this:
https://www.si.com/college/cal/football/cal-will-play-nine-acc-games-next-season-01k5sr26mzcp
The ACC will be going to 9 conference games in 2026 so will need to drop one of BYU, UCLA, UNLV or Wagner. I presume it won't be Wagner. Maybe we try to get out of the BYU game?

I still think next year looks like it will inevitably be tougher than 2024 and 2025 were, even if easier than our Pac-12 schedules used to be.

calumnus said:

---

Shocky1 said:

---

^ it's inaccurate

---

So post the accurate schedule.

In looking for it I did see this:
https://www.si.com/college/cal/football/cal-will-play-nine-acc-games-next-season-01k5sr26mzcp
The ACC will be going to 9 conference games in 2026 so will need to drop one of BYU, UCLA, UNLV or Wagner. I presume it won't be Wagner. Maybe we try to get out of the BYU game?

I still think next year looks like it will inevitably be tougher than 2024 and 2025 were, even if easier than our Pac-12 schedules used to be.

---

Careful. Wagner Seahawks are on a four game run, with Long Island U upcoming.

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy are 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

---

Next year is looking tougher than this year and last year, but not as tough as when we were in the Pac-12, and our record will likely be worse, all things being equal. A lot will depend on who UCLA hires and how good they are next year. BYU and UNLV on the road will be tough. Clemsen at home. Virginia, Syracuse, NC State and SMU on the road. If Wilcox stays or is replaced and Cal gets 8 or more wins it will be because Cal will have fielded a better team than Wilcox has for his first 9 years.

---

We have a decent team this year with a freshman QB. If he stays, we will be even better. Please note that half the teams we have played this season have somehow been scheduled to have their bye week right before playing us. That isn't fair scheduling and gives us a disadvantage relative to our strength of schedule. It isn't something sagarin weighs because it isn't supposed to happen.

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy are 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

---

Next year is looking tougher than this year and last year, but not as tough as when we were in the Pac-12, and our record will likely be worse, all things being equal. A lot will depend on who UCLA hires and how good they are next year. BYU and UNLV on the road will be tough. Clemsen at home. Virginia, Syracuse, NC State and SMU on the road. If Wilcox stays or is replaced and Cal gets 8 or more wins it will be because Cal will have fielded a better team than Wilcox has for his first 9 years.

---

We have a good team this year with a freshman QB. If he stays, we will be even better. Please note that half the teams we have played this season have somehow been scheduled to have their bye week right before playing us. That isn't fair scheduling and gives us a disadvantage relative to our strength of schedule. It isn't something sagarin weighs because it isn't supposed to happen.

---

Interesting, not half, but 4 teams does seem greater than average. Who do you think we could have beat that we lost to because they had a bye?

We are the #110 offense in yards per play. #135 in rushing. The way we get better next year is if we can surround Sagapolutele with good skill players instead of chasing them away like these coaches did this year.

We are the #101 team in rushing yards per play defense. If we don't improve then teams will only exploit it more consistently. Louisville should have, Stanford probably can't but SMU can. We will need a better DL next year to improve on that, since we already have great LBs.

A lot will depend on what happens in the offseason.

I am sure most of us who hired people have made mistakes before… ours are not public however…for Cal's sake given the limited time to get us up there and survive the next purge RR is a 1000 times better than any AD we could have hired. Go Bears!

Goobear said:

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RR has more fb knowledge in his pinky than all you guys combined. Obviously a new AD couldn't do what needs to be done. RR also fund raises and gets donors involved. You think an outsider can get up to speed this fast? Cal has maybe 3 years to become a big enough player or else… Time is not our friend and that makes a coaching decision all the more complex as well….Go Bears and donate to Caliber fund if you want to have an impact…

---

Agree this is a ridiculous discussion. our primary problem is recruiting, RR solves that and smooths over JW deficiencies.

Well, at least 1,000 times better than ADs we HAVE hired.

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy are 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

---

Next year is looking tougher than this year and last year, but not as tough as when we were in the Pac-12, and our record will likely be worse, all things being equal. A lot will depend on who UCLA hires and how good they are next year. BYU and UNLV on the road will be tough. Clemsen at home. Virginia, Syracuse, NC State and SMU on the road. If Wilcox stays or is replaced and Cal gets 8 or more wins it will be because Cal will have fielded a better team than Wilcox has for his first 9 years.

---

We have a good team this year with a freshman QB. If he stays, we will be even better. Please note that half the teams we have played this season have somehow been scheduled to have their bye week right before playing us. That isn't fair scheduling and gives us a disadvantage relative to our strength of schedule. It isn't something sagarin weighs because it isn't supposed to happen.

---

Interesting, not half, but 4 teams does seem greater than average. Who do you think we could have beat that we lost to because they had a bye?

We are the #110 offense in yards per play. #135 in rushing. The way we get better next year is if we can surround Sagapolutele with good skill players instead of chasing them away like these coaches did this year.

We are the #101 team in rushing yards per play defense. If we don't improve then teams will only exploit it more consistently. Louisville should have, Stanford probably can't but SMU can. We will need a better DL next year to improve on that, since we already have great LBs.

A lot will depend on what happens in the offseason.

---

Stanfurd will have had a bye when playing us next week. Considering that each team gets two byes, FIVE is indeed greater than TWO. I am glad you can admit that FOUR seems greater than TWO, but it should be obvious to even the most dense bashers.

To summarize,

5 > 2

and

4 > 2.

It is hard to question that or put doubt into that even if you don't want to admit that it makes our schedule this season harder than your arguments want it to be.

And, guess what?

Having our opponent have a bye before playing us, makes it harder to play them!

So, yes, we would have likely done better in all four games and those ratings you repeat endlessly would be improved! Logically, this helps us do better in all 4 games, one of which we lost in a close fashion. Thanks!

The Out of Conference is tougher next year (but you can argue Minnesota>UCLA and this year SDSU>next year Unlv) but I don't know how can you be scared of any ACC schedule. The only team I will be confident that can get to 9 years next year is Miami everyone else has a range of outcomes from 5-9 wins.

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

oski003 said:

---

calumnus said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

Oakbear said:

---

AmadorBear said:

---

Ron Rivera is football royalty.

All American in college
Plays for 85' Chicago Bears team under tutelage of Buddy Ryan/Ditka and wins SB
Asst Coach for many years.
Head Coach in the league and makes it to the Super Bowl with Carolina
De Facto CEO/HC of the crumbling Washington Commanders franchise when owner got booted
On the NFL competition committee.

He has simply seen and done it all at every level.

I have 100% full confidence in his decision making for the future of our Cal program.

---

not opposed to RR, but keep in mind top players often do not make great coaches

the reality (which most ignore) is that picking the next great/awesome coach is more or less a crapshoot, sometimes you win, usually you lose

if JW is dumped at some point (end of contract) do not be surprised if at some point, some are wishing for the good old days of JW

---

Wishing for the good old days of Wilcox? Let's compare with closest (in terms of performance) predecessor:

Justin Wilcox - 9 years, .471 Winning Percentage, .361 Conference Winning Percentage
Ray Willsey - 8 years - .488 Winning Percentage, .409 Conference Winning Percentage

I was a Cal student at the time, and nobody wished for the "good old days" of Ray after he was replaced by Mike White.

---

Similarly, none of us who wanted Holmoe fired and were against his extension were pinning for Gilby. We knew we could do better than both.

The reality to keep in mind is that our schedule will be tougher next year than Wilcox was gifted these past two years. Ideally we would have made the change ahead of the 2024 or 2025 season to give the new coach the bump (hopefully more than this) and recruiting momentum. Now, if we keep Wilcox another year I think he bottoms out next year, like Holmoe and Fox finally did (only after we extended them). I'm not sure that is better for the program even if we "save" a few $million (whatever a new coach would cost). On the other hand, it can be bad when a coach is fired because the next year looks worse and you hand the new coach a bad situation, undermining fan support for the new coach (part of what happened in 2013).

We will see what Ron does.

---

If Wilcox stays, I look forward to hearing about how easy are 2026 schedule is next summer and fall. It is predictable.

---

Next year is looking tougher than this year and last year, but not as tough as when we were in the Pac-12, and our record will likely be worse, all things being equal. A lot will depend on who UCLA hires and how good they are next year. BYU and UNLV on the road will be tough. Clemsen at home. Virginia, Syracuse, NC State and SMU on the road. If Wilcox stays or is replaced and Cal gets 8 or more wins it will be because Cal will have fielded a better team than Wilcox has for his first 9 years.

---

We have a good team this year with a freshman QB. If he stays, we will be even better. Please note that half the teams we have played this season have somehow been scheduled to have their bye week right before playing us. That isn't fair scheduling and gives us a disadvantage relative to our strength of schedule. It isn't something sagarin weighs because it isn't supposed to happen.

---

Interesting, not half, but 4 teams does seem greater than average. Who do you think we could have beat that we lost to because they had a bye?

We are the #110 offense in yards per play. #135 in rushing. The way we get better next year is if we can surround Sagapolutele with good skill players instead of chasing them away like these coaches did this year.

We are the #101 team in rushing yards per play defense. If we don't improve then teams will only exploit it more consistently. Louisville should have, Stanford probably can't but SMU can. We will need a better DL next year to improve on that, since we already have great LBs.

A lot will depend on what happens in the offseason.

---

Stanfurd will have had a bye when playing us next week. Considering that each team gets two byes, FIVE is indeed greater than TWO. I am glad you can admit that FOUR seems greater than TWO, but it should be obvious to even the most dense bashers.

To summarize,

5 > 2

and

4 > 2.

It is hard to question that or put doubt into that even if you don't want to admit that it makes our schedule this season harder than your arguments want it to be.

And, guess what?

Having our opponent have a bye before playing us, makes it harder to play them!

So, yes, we would have likely done better in all four games and those ratings you repeat endlessly would be improved! Logically, this helps us do better in all 4 games, one of which we lost in a close fashion. Thanks!

---

A bye week isn't necessarily an advantage, all 4 of the CFP top seeded teams that had a bye ended up losing. Also, you need not look further than Wilcox's own record to see that byes don't auto translate to wins. Notable losses include 2022 Colorado, 2023 USC, and 2024 Miami