The right thing to do at this point. Unfortunate that this didn't ever seem like a great fit. I for one, will not bash Wilcox. He had a undistinguished tenure, but he's a thoroughly decent person, from a family of distinguished individuals. He represented Cal with class and dignity, and I believe that he recruited the best players and people that he could. While I'm happy we're moving on, I sincerely wish him well in his future endeavors. I'm cautiously optimistic that Rivera will make a good hire, and that the football program, in his hands, has a better future.

HungryCalBear said:

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How much does Cal owe Wilcox for terminating him now?

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Cal owes Wilcox $10,879,167.

Cal cares more about football than FSU

— DarealMVP 24 (@DarealMVP2437) November 23, 2025

Finally! The Wilcox Error is over!

Marty said:

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The right thing to do at this point. Unfortunate that this didn't ever seem like a great fit.

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IMO there were reasons to be optimistic in the early seasons, but they dissipated quickly after COVID. (I'm not blaming COVID for Wilcox's failures, to be clear . . . just saying that's the time it happened.)

I was surprised it's only been 9 years. This team has aged me at an unnatural rate. Then again the Cheez-It Bowl seems like only yesterday.

Statement from Cal GM Ron Rivera on the firing of nine-year HC Justin Wilcox pic.twitter.com/Pw1bBTPBAf

— Joaquin Ruiz (@WalkingRuiz) November 24, 2025

MinotStateBeav said:

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Will be hard to watch the race to sign our QB ..but this had to be done.

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Honestly, even if JKS leaves, it's acceptable collateral damage.

Now we get to see if JKS committed to Cal, or if he committed to Wilcox. I was fully on the "JKS would be a dummy for not transferring if Wilcox is here next year" wagon but obviously this changes the calculus entirely.

pingpong2 said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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Will be hard to watch the race to sign our QB ..but this had to be done.

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Honestly, even if JKS leaves, it's acceptable collateral damage.

Now we get to see if JKS committed to Cal, or if he committed to Wilcox. I was fully on the "JKS would be a dummy for not transferring if Wilcox is here next year" wagon but obviously this changes the calculus entirely.

---

He says he loves the school and the place and wants to be here. We'll see how true that is.

Cal Football and Ron Rivera release a statement, confirming that the program has parted ways with Justin Wilcox

Offensive analyst Nick Rolovich will be the interim HC for the final two games of the season pic.twitter.com/feIfGSxdI9

— Thomas Dunn (@Thomasdunn24) November 24, 2025

Nick Rolovich will be the interim head coach.

MinotStateBeav said:

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Will be hard to watch the race to sign our QB ..but this had to be done.

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Yeah, even if JKS bounces back to Whor-egon, this had to be done. Should have been done sooner, but at least it was finally done.

DiabloWags said:

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HungryCalBear said:

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How much does Cal owe Wilcox for terminating him now?

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Cal owes Wilcox $10,879,167.

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Per his contract, Cal is set to owe Justin Wilcox nearly $10.9 million. https://t.co/OawlJxSZdJ

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 24, 2025

DiabloWags said:

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annarborbear said:

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Knowlton and Justin can compare mansions and Lamborghini's while we struggle to survive.

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You can throw Larry Scott into that mix with his $50 million while he let the Pac-10 die.

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Was that his total take for his time in charge? Offices were a lot cheaper in The Creek.

Strangely, a large number of Twitter comments are saying this was a dumb decision on Cal's part.

Foreign bots?

PAC-10-BEAR said:

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Strangely, a large number of Twitter comments are saying this was a dumb decision on Cal's part.

Foreign bots?

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Has Ian Miles Cheong commented?

Marty said:

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The right thing to do at this point. Unfortunate that this didn't ever seem like a great fit. I for one, will not bash Wilcox. He had a undistinguished tenure, but he's a thoroughly decent person, from a family of distinguished individuals. He represented Cal with class and dignity, and I believe that he recruited the best players and people that he could. While I'm happy we're moving on, I sincerely wish him well in his future endeavors. I'm cautiously optimistic that Rivera will make a good hire, and that the football program, in his hands, has a better future.

---

this is how i feel as well.


I was convinced in the last 2 to 3 years he had to go. But he ran a clean program. Players didn't get in trouble, they like each other, grades were good.

It wasn't good enough for THE greatest public university in the world.

But he tried his best. His best wasn't good enough. Wish we made this decision sooner. But thats on knolwton and christ. Ron came in and made things happen

No hard feelings. Let's move on. Best of luck Justin

Hooray!! Finally done; about 5 years too late, but better late than never. Thank you Ron Rivera.

Thank the lord! Onward and upward…hopefully. Tough to go downward at least.

Or Election Wizard? Should hear soon.

ducktilldeath said:

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BREAKING: Cal has fired head coach Justin Wilcox, @PeteNakos reports❌https://t.co/CoN38InFGO pic.twitter.com/jfVFj5VuHt

— On3 (@On3sports) November 23, 2025

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Woohoo!

CV Bear said:

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Waiting for a ninth circuit judge to overturn this.

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The Supreme Court will just issue a stay.

HungryCalBear said:

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How much does Cal owe Wilcox for terminating him now?

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Less than we owed him before we terminated him.

DiabloWags said:

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HungryCalBear said:

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How much does Cal owe Wilcox for terminating him now?

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Cal owes Wilcox $10,879,167.

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Less obligation to mitigate and in any case we will pay him less than we would have if we didn't terminate him.

DiabloWags said:

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OldenBear said:

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DiabloWags said:

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movielover said:

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Interim announced?

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Jim Knowlton

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he's rested and ready

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A born leader.
From the Air Force Academy!

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And a hockey guy! Actually he was Army and career Army before retiring. He was just at Air Force two years before Carol Christ inexplicably hired him.

calumnus said:

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DiabloWags said:

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OldenBear said:

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DiabloWags said:

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movielover said:

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Interim announced?

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Jim Knowlton

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he's rested and ready

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A born leader.
From the Air Force Academy!

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And a hockey guy! Actually he was Army and career Army before retiring. He was just at Air Force two years before Carol Christ inexplicably hired him.

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amazing we lured him

movielover said:

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DiabloWags said:

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annarborbear said:

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Knowlton and Justin can compare mansions and Lamborghini's while we struggle to survive.

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You can throw Larry Scott into that mix with his $50 million while he let the Pac-10 die.

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Was that his total take for his time in charge? Offices were a lot cheaper in The Creek.

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Yes.
Correct on BOTH points.

Larry Scott has made more than $50 million from the Pac-12

Do players have another opportunity to hit the portal when there's a coaching change?

JSC 76 said:

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Do players have another opportunity to hit the portal when there's a coaching change?

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After the new coach is named.

The first order of business will be recruiting, including recruiting/retaining current players.

sycasey said:

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PAC-10-BEAR said:

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Strangely, a large number of Twitter comments are saying this was a dumb decision on Cal's part.

Foreign bots?

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Has Ian Miles Cheong commented?

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Looking forward to Justin Wilcox next program. He’s a really good coach.

— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) November 23, 2025

What are you "Fire Wilcox" guys going to do now?? These Growls post numbers are going to drop dramatically! Maybe we can get back to real fan news and insights rather than that constant mantra. You got your way yet please be gracious in thanking a coach who served and deserves respect.

PAC-10-BEAR said:

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sycasey said:

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PAC-10-BEAR said:

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Strangely, a large number of Twitter comments are saying this was a dumb decision on Cal's part.

Foreign bots?

---

Has Ian Miles Cheong commented?

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Looking forward to Justin Wilcox next program. He’s a really good coach.

— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) November 23, 2025

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I sure hope Leinart doesn't have CTE…

cal83dls79 said:

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calumnus said:

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DiabloWags said:

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OldenBear said:

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DiabloWags said:

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movielover said:

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Interim announced?

---

Jim Knowlton

---

he's rested and ready

---

A born leader.
From the Air Force Academy!

---

And a hockey guy! Actually he was Army and career Army before retiring. He was just at Air Force two years before Carol Christ inexplicably hired him.

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amazing we lured him

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Well, he was making something like $200k at Air Force and Cal ended up paying him $1.3 million a year with a guaranteed contract through 2029 after he "turned down Northwestern" THAT WE ARE STILL PAYING!, so yeah, it took a lot of money to lure a great, brilliant MAGA guy like him to liberal Berkeley from Colorado Springs…

PAC-10-BEAR said:

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sycasey said:

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PAC-10-BEAR said:

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Strangely, a large number of Twitter comments are saying this was a dumb decision on Cal's part.

Foreign bots?

---

Has Ian Miles Cheong commented?

---

Looking forward to Justin Wilcox next program. He’s a really good coach.

— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) November 23, 2025

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Why did Leinert's USC team fire him midseason then?

pingpong2 said:

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I sure hope Leinart doesn't have CTE…

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Wilcox will land a good defensive coordinator job somewhere soon.

This is the most annoying thing I read. From a Merc columnist.

Anyways, Wilcox made Rivera's decision easy.

Heard from more than a few people this year that there was some power struggle with Rivera coming in. Wilcox thought he'd be a figurehead, handle the politics stuff he didn't want to do/isn't very good at.

Rivera disagreed.

And he just pulled rank.

— Dieter Kurtenbach 🔥 (@dieter) November 23, 2025

I appreciate high standards. I'm not convinced Ron is the man to get Cal there. We'll see.

— Dieter Kurtenbach 🔥 (@dieter) November 23, 2025

Was he the source of the mediocrity?

— Dieter Kurtenbach 🔥 (@dieter) November 23, 2025

I don't think every one of those guys leaves if they won 9-10 games last year like they should have.

— Garrett Post (@ParrettGost) November 24, 2025