The Justin Wilcox Era

2,125 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 4 mo ago by southseasbear
okaydo
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
2:59a, 11/23/25
Some random thoughts on a coach who has been around for 4 presidential administrations:



I recall wanting Wilcox as head coach.

But there seemed to be no desire for him to become one until we came calling in mid-January.

And now we know why.

I've seen so many younger Calgorithmers who root for him, and it's seemed so odd.

Why didn't we keep around for so long?

1. He's a nice guy. When I was at the Daily Cal in the late 90s, I sometimes hung out with the sports desk. One Cal football beat reporter was a close friend. And that person would always tell me how nice Tom Holmoe was. He was a great dude. And so you wanted to root for Holmoe as you wanted to root for Wilcox.

2. And he was such a contrast with Sonny Dykes. I don't see the Dykes era as badly as some of y'all*, but I agree we had to move on. But I did buy into the hype of Dykes for his National Title run a few years ago. In the past week, my Twitter algorithm has been filled with TCU fans ready to move on from him.

*But as I pointed out in another thread:

Dykes was 18-19 in his final 3 seasons.

Wilcox is 18-19 in the last 3 seasons with 2 games to go.

And Wilcox was 20-18 in his first three seasons.
















3. He's been really good in the OOC. I've pointed this out before. But getting halfway to bowl eligibility in September would bring Cal fans a lot of hope each season. Also, beating teams like Auburn and Ole Miss carry a lot of weight. So the inevitable October falloff wouldn't be so bad.


4. Wilcox reminds me of a certain national prominent figure in that his biggest disasters become easily forgotten. And it becomes Groundhog Day.

With a 47% winning percentage, Wilcox is perfectly mid. When you are mid,you aren't terrible. There is always hope.
Reply Quote
calumnus
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to okaydo • 3:07a, 11/23/25
okaydo said:
Some random thoughts on a coach who has been around for 4 presidential administrations:



I recall wanting Wilcox as head coach.

But there seemed to be no desire for him to become one until we came calling in mid-January.

And now we know why.

I've seen so many younger Calgorithmers who root for him, and it's seemed so odd.

Why didn't we keep around for so long?

1. He's a nice guy. When I was at the Daily Cal in the late 90s, I sometimes hung out with the sports desk. One Cal football beat reporter was a close friend. And that person would always tell me how nice Tom Holmoe was. He was a great dude. And so you wanted to root for Holmoe as you wanted to root for Wilcox.

2. And he was such a contrast with Sonny Dykes. I don't see the Dykes era as badly as some of y'all*, but I agree we had to move on. But I did buy into the hype of Dykes for his National Title run a few years ago. In the past week, my Twitter algorithm has been filled with TCU fans ready to move on from him.

*But as I pointed out in another thread:

Dykes was 18-19 in his final 3 seasons.

Wilcox is 18-19 in the last 3 seasons with 2 games to go.

And Wilcox was 20-18 in his first three seasons.
















3. He's been really good in the OOC. I've pointed this out before. But getting halfway to bowl eligibility in September would bring Cal fans a lot of hope each season. Also, beating teams like Auburn and Ole Miss carry a lot of weight. So the inevitable October falloff wouldn't be so bad.


4. Wilcox reminds me of a certain national prominent figure in that his biggest disasters become easily forgotten. And it becomes Groundhog Day.

With a 47% winning percentage, Wilcox is perfectly mid. When you are mid,you aren't terrible. There is always hope.


His 47% is propped up by a generally weak OOC schedule including 8 FCS wins.

His conference percentage is right around 33%, losing roughly twice as many conference games as he wins and finishing in the bottom half of two conferences every year for 9 years. That is not "mid" that is a well below average. There are occasionally worse coaches, but they get fired and then Wilcox loses to the interim coach.
Reply Quote
1 edit
6956bear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to calumnus • 4:03a, 11/23/25
calumnus said:
okaydo said:
Some random thoughts on a coach who has been around for 4 presidential administrations:



I recall wanting Wilcox as head coach.

But there seemed to be no desire for him to become one until we came calling in mid-January.

And now we know why.

I've seen so many younger Calgorithmers who root for him, and it's seemed so odd.

Why didn't we keep around for so long?

1. He's a nice guy. When I was at the Daily Cal in the late 90s, I sometimes hung out with the sports desk. One Cal football beat reporter was a close friend. And that person would always tell me how nice Tom Holmoe was. He was a great dude. And so you wanted to root for Holmoe as you wanted to root for Wilcox.

2. And he was such a contrast with Sonny Dykes. I don't see the Dykes era as badly as some of y'all*, but I agree we had to move on. But I did buy into the hype of Dykes for his National Title run a few years ago. In the past week, my Twitter algorithm has been filled with TCU fans ready to move on from him.

*But as I pointed out in another thread:

Dykes was 18-19 in his final 3 seasons.

Wilcox is 18-19 in the last 3 seasons with 2 games to go.

And Wilcox was 20-18 in his first three seasons.
















3. He's been really good in the OOC. I've pointed this out before. But getting halfway to bowl eligibility in September would bring Cal fans a lot of hope each season. Also, beating teams like Auburn and Ole Miss carry a lot of weight. So the inevitable October falloff wouldn't be so bad.


4. Wilcox reminds me of a certain national prominent figure in that his biggest disasters become easily forgotten. And it becomes Groundhog Day.

With a 47% winning percentage, Wilcox is perfectly mid. When you are mid,you aren't terrible. There is always hope.


His 47% is propped up by a generally weak OOC schedule including 8 FCS wins.

His conference percentage is right around 33%, losing roughly twice as many conference games as he wins and finishing in the bottom half of two conferences every year for 9 years. That is not "mid" that is a well below average. There are occasionally worse coaches, but they get fired and then Wilcox loses to the interim coach.


My biggest complaint has always been his conference record. It is bad. That and the almost always well below average offenses.
Reply Quote
okaydo
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to calumnus • 4:17a, 11/23/25
calumnus said:
okaydo said:
Some random thoughts on a coach who has been around for 4 presidential administrations:



I recall wanting Wilcox as head coach.

But there seemed to be no desire for him to become one until we came calling in mid-January.

And now we know why.

I've seen so many younger Calgorithmers who root for him, and it's seemed so odd.

Why didn't we keep around for so long?

1. He's a nice guy. When I was at the Daily Cal in the late 90s, I sometimes hung out with the sports desk. One Cal football beat reporter was a close friend. And that person would always tell me how nice Tom Holmoe was. He was a great dude. And so you wanted to root for Holmoe as you wanted to root for Wilcox.

2. And he was such a contrast with Sonny Dykes. I don't see the Dykes era as badly as some of y'all*, but I agree we had to move on. But I did buy into the hype of Dykes for his National Title run a few years ago. In the past week, my Twitter algorithm has been filled with TCU fans ready to move on from him.

*But as I pointed out in another thread:

Dykes was 18-19 in his final 3 seasons.

Wilcox is 18-19 in the last 3 seasons with 2 games to go.

And Wilcox was 20-18 in his first three seasons.
















3. He's been really good in the OOC. I've pointed this out before. But getting halfway to bowl eligibility in September would bring Cal fans a lot of hope each season. Also, beating teams like Auburn and Ole Miss carry a lot of weight. So the inevitable October falloff wouldn't be so bad.


4. Wilcox reminds me of a certain national prominent figure in that his biggest disasters become easily forgotten. And it becomes Groundhog Day.

With a 47% winning percentage, Wilcox is perfectly mid. When you are mid,you aren't terrible. There is always hope.


His 47% is propped up by a generally weak OOC schedule including 8 FCS wins.

His conference percentage is right around 33%, losing roughly twice as many conference games as he wins and finishing in the bottom half of two conferences every year for 9 years. That is not "mid" that is a well below average. There are occasionally worse coaches, but they get fired and then Wilcox loses to the interim coach.



Jeff Tedford, a Cal Hall of Fame coach, had a 53% conference record.

Tom Holmoe, one of the worst ever coaches, had a 23% conference record.

Sonny Dykes was 28%.

Justin Wilcox is 36%.

For a Cal head coach, Wilcox is pretty mid in terms of conference record. Not great. Not terrible.


Reply Quote
1 edit
Northside91
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to okaydo • 5:47a, 11/23/25
16 losing seasons in a row in conference (yes, I'm counting SMU as a guaranteed loss). And now people are pinning their hopes on a ceremonial figure hired to pump palms, back slap and shake a few bucks out of clueless donors. How many punches to the head does the Cal collective need to take before someone says no mas?
Reply Quote
oski003
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
6:36a, 11/23/25
Dykes just beat #23 Houston to bring TCU's record to 7-4. After they can Dykes, can we hire him back? Jk, I know the college national coach of the year isn't good enough to win more than 28% conference games at Cal.
Reply Quote
1 edit
DoubtfulBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to okaydo • 6:55a, 11/23/25
okaydo said:
calumnus said:
okaydo said:
Some random thoughts on a coach who has been around for 4 presidential administrations:



I recall wanting Wilcox as head coach.

But there seemed to be no desire for him to become one until we came calling in mid-January.

And now we know why.

I've seen so many younger Calgorithmers who root for him, and it's seemed so odd.

Why didn't we keep around for so long?

1. He's a nice guy. When I was at the Daily Cal in the late 90s, I sometimes hung out with the sports desk. One Cal football beat reporter was a close friend. And that person would always tell me how nice Tom Holmoe was. He was a great dude. And so you wanted to root for Holmoe as you wanted to root for Wilcox.

2. And he was such a contrast with Sonny Dykes. I don't see the Dykes era as badly as some of y'all*, but I agree we had to move on. But I did buy into the hype of Dykes for his National Title run a few years ago. In the past week, my Twitter algorithm has been filled with TCU fans ready to move on from him.

*But as I pointed out in another thread:

Dykes was 18-19 in his final 3 seasons.

Wilcox is 18-19 in the last 3 seasons with 2 games to go.

And Wilcox was 20-18 in his first three seasons.
















3. He's been really good in the OOC. I've pointed this out before. But getting halfway to bowl eligibility in September would bring Cal fans a lot of hope each season. Also, beating teams like Auburn and Ole Miss carry a lot of weight. So the inevitable October falloff wouldn't be so bad.


4. Wilcox reminds me of a certain national prominent figure in that his biggest disasters become easily forgotten. And it becomes Groundhog Day.

With a 47% winning percentage, Wilcox is perfectly mid. When you are mid,you aren't terrible. There is always hope.


His 47% is propped up by a generally weak OOC schedule including 8 FCS wins.

His conference percentage is right around 33%, losing roughly twice as many conference games as he wins and finishing in the bottom half of two conferences every year for 9 years. That is not "mid" that is a well below average. There are occasionally worse coaches, but they get fired and then Wilcox loses to the interim coach.



Jeff Tedford, a Cal Hall of Fame coach, had a 53% conference record.

Tom Holmoe, one of the worst ever coaches, had a 23% conference record.

Sonny Dykes was 28%.

Justin Wilcox is 36%.

For a Cal head coach, Wilcox is pretty mid in terms of conference record. Not great. Not terrible.



PAC10/12 was a much stronger conference than the ACC, with 5-6 ranked teams compared to 2-3. On top of the fact that ACC struggles to get teams any teams higher than top 15. Furthermore, thanks to our scheduling, we both played USC/UCLA every season on top of consistent contenders in UO and UW. The only ACC contender we will play this season is SMU, who will likely dominate us just like last year.
Reply Quote
Bobodeluxe
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
7:45a, 11/23/25
Smu will crumble when faced with 100db audio garbage echoing of of 50,000 empty aluminum seats.

8-5. Take it to the monster bank.

I forgot, MAGIC.
Reply Quote
1 edit
concordtom
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to okaydo • 7:54a, 11/23/25
Perhaps the career choice of football coach is a trade of high salary for eternal derision.
One who decides to venture into this arena must know that there is a 99% chance they will acquire both.
Reply Quote
Anarchistbear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to concordtom • 8:18a, 11/23/25
concordtom said:
Perhaps the career choice of football coach is a trade of high salary for eternal derision.
One who decides to venture into this arena must know that there is a 99% chance they will acquire both.


You're a middle manager paid millions to win once a week. Half will lose.
Reply Quote
concordtom
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Anarchistbear • 8:26a, 11/23/25
Lol.
Exactly.
And then they fire you in disgust because you had a .500 record.

You've got to know that going in, and your parents hold on tight knowing their boy is going to be the endless landing zone for excrement.

I've long complained about the need to pay millions for coaches. It's a fun job most would do for free. Yet, for the dragging of one's reputation through the gutter…. That's what they get paid big money for - not for the actual job.
Reply Quote
DoubtfulBear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to concordtom • 8:36a, 11/23/25
concordtom said:
Lol.
Exactly.
And then they fire you in disgust because you had a .500 record.

You've got to know that going in, and your parents hold on tight knowing their boy is going to be the endless landing zone for excrement.

I've long complained about the need to pay millions for coaches. It's a fun job most would do for free. Yet, for the dragging of one's reputation through the gutter…. That's what they get paid big money for - not for the actual job.

Imagine being so dense that you think Wilcox represents the average coach. 99.9% of coaches with Wilcox's record would be gone from the league. No one would hire such a loser. We're the only school that has allowed such a bad coach to stay on for 9 years and counting. Imagine getting paid almost $1M per win and having to deal with the shame of being a loser. Clearly someone worth empathizing with
Reply Quote
concordtom
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to DoubtfulBear • 9:29a, 11/23/25
Please pay close attention to my posts in this thread. You'll see that I did not mention Wilcox.

Okaydo named the post Wilcox, and shares his thoughts about Wilcox, but he included a bunch of tweets about other coaches who are getting paid boatloads and are under fire.

My comments, therefore, were directed at the industry.
I think it's stupid that universities pay people as much as they do, then fire them a couple years later with a break up fee.

What a gig!

All the voices who take part in the rallying cry to raise funds for the break up fee, and then pay someone new even MORE money, presumably, are part of the problem.

And a reminder - it is and will always be a ZERO SUM GAME.

But I guess we are Cal and we demand more than .500 so we are most definitely going to PAY for that expectation!

Good luck!



OR…. Return to Berkeley. Walk the campus. Share the memories with your kids and grandkids, and enjoy the spectacle of fall college football in Northern California.

The choice is yours.
Reply Quote
82gradDLSdad
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to concordtom • 9:35a, 11/23/25
concordtom said:
Please pay close attention to my posts in this thread. You'll see that I did not mention Wilcox.

Okaydo named the post Wilcox, and shares his thoughts about Wilcox, but he included a bunch of tweets about other coaches who are getting paid boatloads and are under fire.

My comments, therefore, were directed at the industry.
I think it's stupid that universities pay people as much as they do, then fire them a couple years later with a break up fee.

What a gig!

All the voices who take part in the rallying cry to raise funds for the break up fee, and then pay someone new even MORE money, presumably, are part of the problem.

And a reminder - it is and will always be a ZERO SUM GAME.

But I guess we are Cal and we demand more than .500 so we are most definitely going to PAY for that expectation!

Good luck!



OR…. Return to Berkeley. Walk the campus. Share the memories with your kids and grandkids, and enjoy the spectacle of fall college football in Northern California.

The choice is yours.


Totally agree. Hire a low level coach at low pay and hope to find a diamond. Be ready to rinse and repeat. Have someone like Rivera (hopefully) who knows what he's looking for. And hope he's not looking for someone like Wilcox. Focus on traditions. It's college for God's sake.
Reply Quote
concordtom
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to 82gradDLSdad • 9:38a, 11/23/25
82gradDLSdad said:
concordtom said:
Please pay close attention to my posts in this thread. You'll see that I did not mention Wilcox.

Okaydo named the post Wilcox, and shares his thoughts about Wilcox, but he included a bunch of tweets about other coaches who are getting paid boatloads and are under fire.

My comments, therefore, were directed at the industry.
I think it's stupid that universities pay people as much as they do, then fire them a couple years later with a break up fee.

What a gig!

All the voices who take part in the rallying cry to raise funds for the break up fee, and then pay someone new even MORE money, presumably, are part of the problem.

And a reminder - it is and will always be a ZERO SUM GAME.

But I guess we are Cal and we demand more than .500 so we are most definitely going to PAY for that expectation!

Good luck!



OR…. Return to Berkeley. Walk the campus. Share the memories with your kids and grandkids, and enjoy the spectacle of fall college football in Northern California.

The choice is yours.


Totally agree. Hire a low level coach at low pay and hope to find a diamond. Be ready to rinse and repeat. Have someone like Rivera (hopefully) who knows what he's looking for. And hope he's not looking for someone like Wilcox. Focus on traditions. It's college for God's sake.


Oh my God!
Agreement!
Somebody agrees with me!!!

Thank you, dear lord!
Reply Quote
TedfordTheGreat
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to concordtom • 9:47a, 11/23/25
concordtom said:
Please pay close attention to my posts in this thread. You'll see that I did not mention Wilcox.

Okaydo named the post Wilcox, and shares his thoughts about Wilcox, but he included a bunch of tweets about other coaches who are getting paid boatloads and are under fire.

My comments, therefore, were directed at the industry.
I think it's stupid that universities pay people as much as they do, then fire them a couple years later with a break up fee.

What a gig!

All the voices who take part in the rallying cry to raise funds for the break up fee, and then pay someone new even MORE money, presumably, are part of the problem.

And a reminder - it is and will always be a ZERO SUM GAME.

But I guess we are Cal and we demand more than .500 so we are most definitely going to PAY for that expectation!

Good luck!



OR…. Return to Berkeley. Walk the campus. Share the memories with your kids and grandkids, and enjoy the spectacle of fall college football in Northern California.

The choice is yours.

u dont get paid for wins. Wins are important because it keeps the product going. But take the record aside entirely.

In every business, you get paid to generate revenue. College football is now a business, a big business.

Wilcox has had a negative influence on Cal football. Tedford built this program into 60k to 70k attendance. Dykes took it to a downwards spiral but you can still see some 55k games there. Wilcox and Knolwton buried us. To the point where we missed out on an annual 50M+ paycheck from the Big10 and have to settle for 7M

In no business can an individual cost the business eight figures and still be employed. That is the cost of Justin Wilcox and his stain on Cal football.
Reply Quote
2 edits
TedfordTheGreat
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:50a, 11/23/25
ok now lets bring the record back in. Wilcox is 48-55 against all competition

he is 40-55 against FBS competition. that is not .500. That is .42
Reply Quote
southseasbear
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TedfordTheGreat • 10:03a, 11/23/25
TedfordTheGreat said:
concordtom said:
Please pay close attention to my posts in this thread. You'll see that I did not mention Wilcox.

Okaydo named the post Wilcox, and shares his thoughts about Wilcox, but he included a bunch of tweets about other coaches who are getting paid boatloads and are under fire.

My comments, therefore, were directed at the industry.
I think it's stupid that universities pay people as much as they do, then fire them a couple years later with a break up fee.

What a gig!

All the voices who take part in the rallying cry to raise funds for the break up fee, and then pay someone new even MORE money, presumably, are part of the problem.

And a reminder - it is and will always be a ZERO SUM GAME.

But I guess we are Cal and we demand more than .500 so we are most definitely going to PAY for that expectation!

Good luck!



OR…. Return to Berkeley. Walk the campus. Share the memories with your kids and grandkids, and enjoy the spectacle of fall college football in Northern California.

The choice is yours.

u dont get paid for wins. Wins are important because it keeps the product going. But take the record aside entirely.

In every business, you get paid to generate revenue. College football is now a business, a big business.

Wilcox has had a negative influence to Cal football. Tedford built this program into 60k to 70k attendance. Dykes took it to a downwards spiral but you can still see some 55k games there. Wilcox and Knolwton buried us. To the point where we missed out on an annual 50M+ paycheck from the Big10 and have to settle for 7M

In no business can an individual cost the business eight figures and still be employed. That is the cost for Justin Wilcox and his stain on Cal football.

And the business cannot be expected to tolerate an eight figure loss when that individual responsible for the downturn makes a seven figure salary (highest paid public employee in California).
Reply Quote
1 edit
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.