Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

H@lls no! Character matters. End stop

Do you believe someone can grow in 15 years? Do you believe that people are not fixed characters who have no growth? Do you acknowledge that Tedford throwing a young assistant under the bus and forcing him to take punishment for injurygate was inappropriate? Do you acknowledge Wilcox was also a part of the scheme given his involvement as DC at UW?

Being petty for pettys sake does nothing to improve our situation

I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

I have done a lot of dumb sh*t in my 20s. I didn't have conviction. I said whatever I needed to say to be liked. I figured that out in my 30s and beyond.

Are everyone of you perfect? You have never done dumb stuff when you are younger?

If he comes back and says hey listen maybe things didn't end right the last time, but i love this university, and I am willing to do what it takes to get us back. I will be on board.

For everyone who is so prideful about the past congrats maybe you have been perfect your whole life

Sir you want wilsux ?

Tosh would be a homerun. It would signal that Cal is serious about winning. Lane Kiffen was once a pariah - now he's the the most coveted HC in the country.

Of course Cal won't hire him. TypiCal

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Very well stated and I am personally all in on Tosh - emotionally and financially. I know him well and the teammates He played with here (Chase Lyman knows him Extremely well has said " I would take a bullet for Tosh") All said that for Tosh "Failure is not an option". He will not let our team lose. The culture will change, winning becomes an expectation, our team will play with physicality, passion and be disciplined. There will be a significant upgrade in talent across the team. The players who have played with him and for him, speak uniformingly very positive and supportive.

The program is at a key cross road with the unknown of the ACC status come 2031 and in order to be considered for future realignment etc, Cal has to win games and be in legit conference title discussions. Tosh has the rolodex of highly respected coaches for staff positions, has key relationships within the HS coaches tree (Folsom, Serra, De La Salle, Riordan etc) and has an elite recruiting plan in place. Tosh is the best candidate to literally save our program at this crucial juncture. Bottom line - Ron Rivera is driving this program and will definitely take a long look at Tosh. I believe in RR's experience, knowledge of Cal and which HC candidate is best suited to lead our program to a winning level we will all be proud of. Go Bears!

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

TedfordTheGreat said:

---

I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

---

• Alabama (2016)
  Outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2017)
  Co-defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2018)
  Defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Cleveland Browns (2019)
  Defensive line coach
• Atlanta Falcons (2020)
  Defensive line coach & run game coordinator
• Jacksonville Jaguars (2021)
  Defensive line coach
• Oregon (2022present)
  Defensive coordinator & linebackers coach

-If he was a good DC, he would have been retained at Alabama, not let go after one season. Going from DC at the top program in the NCAA to a DL coach at one of the worst NFL organisations is a step down.

-He couldn't hold on to a DL position coach position in the NFL for more than 1 year, he was let go after every season.

calumnus said:

---

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

---

Half the fanbase hates the idea of him, right now. If he's the guy, and he starts winning, that will change.

Watch this interview - the first thing he mentions is energy. We have had the opposite of that for 9 years. The cal fanbase is desperate to be relevant again. Want to be relevant? Hire tosh

I am sold!

Bearbassics said:

---

calumnus said:

---

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

---

Half the fanbase hates the idea of him, right now. If he's the guy, and he starts winning, that will change.

Watch this interview - the first thing he mentions is energy. We have had the opposite of that for 9 years. The cal fanbase is desperate to be relevant again. Want to be relevant? Hire tosh

---

Thanks for that. Problem is, it is chicken and egg. He is going to need the donors to be on board in order to get the money to get the top OC and top players in order for him to start winning to start winning over the fans and donors that hate him. He isnt going to win games just with "energy."

And he is not the only coach with energy. I am not dead set against him, but I would rather get a young coach with an offense and energy. If we are going defense again I'd prefer Rivera over Tosh because I think we get a better OC that way not even taking into account the additional donor money and NIL that brings.

Bearbassics said:

---

calumnus said:

---

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

---

Half the fanbase hates the idea of him, right now. If he's the guy, and he starts winning, that will change.

Watch this interview - the first thing he mentions is energy. We have had the opposite of that for 9 years. The cal fanbase is desperate to be relevant again. Want to be relevant? Hire tosh

---

Thanks for posting the interview, a good insight into Tosh mentality, energy, and traits He looks for. Tosh has the drive, the relationships developed with the coaching community and certainly the important recruiting connections. Definitely will bring about a complete re start with the culture - physicality, talent, brotherhood and passion. If Ron closes the deal with Tosh Cal Will become relevant and competing for conf titles.

Cal88 said:

---

TedfordTheGreat said:

---

I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

---

• Alabama (2017)
  Co-defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2018)
  Defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach

-If he was a good DC, he would have been retained at Alabama, not let go after one season. Going from DC at the top program in the NCAA to a DL coach at one of the worst NFL organisations is a step down.

-He couldn't hold on to a DC coach position in the NFL for more than 1 year, he was let go after every season.

---

He was the co-defensive coordinator in 2017, the year the Tide won the national championship. In 2017, their defense ranked first nationally in total defense, allowing 260.4 yards per game. They also led the nation in rushing defense, permitting only 66.4 yards per game, and were second in scoring defense, allowing 9.8 points per game.

In 2018, he was the defensive coordinator. The Tide played for the national championship that year, but lost to Clemson. In 2018, their defense ranked #12 nationally in points allowed.

Since joining Oregon as the DC, the Ducks have consistently ranked in the top 20 in most defensive categories, and are the #3 ranked defense in yards allowed this season.

No idea if he's any good, but statistically he's led very solid defenses as a college DC.

Hiring the Toshtitute would be unacceptable. Moral integrity matters. Why would we want to insult and dishonor Tedford with such an inappropriate person after what he did to Cal when Tedford was coach? The whole idea is grotesque.

calumnus said:

---

4thGenCal said:

---

Bearbassics said:

---

calumnus said:

---

eastcoastcal said:

---

Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

---

Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

---

Half the fanbase hates the idea of him, right now. If he's the guy, and he starts winning, that will change.

Watch this interview - the first thing he mentions is energy. We have had the opposite of that for 9 years. The cal fanbase is desperate to be relevant again. Want to be relevant? Hire tosh

---

Thanks for posting the interview, a good insight into Tosh mentality, energy, and traits He looks for. Tosh has the drive, the relationships developed with the coaching community and certainly the important recruiting connections. Definitely will bring about a complete re start with the culture - physicality, talent, brotherhood and passion. If Ron closes the deal with Tosh Cal Will become relevant and competing for conf titles.

---

You offer some insight into the donor community so appreciate your comments. Do you think that if Rivera hired him and gave him his stamp of approval, he would be able to raise the money needed for a top OC and NIL budget?

---

Yes to the buy in by the key donor base - already people are lining up and while the full monies needed to be raised have levels to go, the momentum is strong. Tosh connects very well with people - naturally an extrovert and truly LOVES Cal. He is being heavily pursued by several programs now, but his heart in the Bay Area and Cal. A key part of any salary package will be the amount available to hire a top level staff. Tosh will rightfully need a bigger package than the current staff was getting. The COL locally is very high (convenient, quality housing costs, sufficient term commitment, current accelerated competitive packages available)

Cal88 said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

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I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

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• Alabama (2016)
  Outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2017)
  Co-defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2018)
  Defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Cleveland Browns (2019)
  Defensive line coach
• Atlanta Falcons (2020)
  Defensive line coach & run game coordinator
• Jacksonville Jaguars (2021)
  Defensive line coach
• Oregon (2022present)
  Defensive coordinator & linebackers coach

-If he was a good DC, he would have been retained at Alabama, not let go after one season. Going from DC at the top program in the NCAA to a DL coach at one of the worst NFL organisations is a step down.

-He couldn't hold on to a DC coach position in the NFL for more than 1 year, he was let go after every season.

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i dont think defensive coordinator in college to Dline coach in the NFL is that big of a step down, if at all. But sure I will give you that.

I have a hard time believing what you are saying which is that its all Dan Lanning's defense and all Saban's defense You think that with all the resonsibility of a head coach Lanning will just call all the defensive plays and scheme all the defensive scheme in between weeks? Maybe he has an imprint and he advices tosh from time to time, but to put it all on lanning? I have a really, really hard time believing that.

Tosh will have a DC. His DC can also advice him, and his DC will be the one calling plays.

Tosh might not be the best Xs and Os guy, but he is plenty good enough IMO. Do we need our headcoach to be the best Xs and Os guy in the room though? I find that head coach should be a CEO. Good motivator. Great rolodex. Energy. Hold his hires accountable. Being an ace recruiter doesn't hurt.

Chip kelly couldn't make it in the NFL with Xs and Os, but he won the national championship last year with his playcalling.

We will never get a perfect candidate since we are Cal. But color me intrigued.

concordtom said:

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After so many naughty politicians, I've heard it said that "America is a forgiving nation". BUT, the transgressor needs to apologize in a sincere way.

A lot of time has gone by. Tosh was young.

I believe it's possible for Tosh to have a reputation resetting mea culpa moment with Cal fans who still feel the pain of that chapter.

Do you (or Chase) think it's possible for Tosh to take such a humbling step? Would he be willing to, and could he pull it off (without someone shooting holes in his explanation)?

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Yes and He would/will when asked. Lot more to the background than some of the posters here have posted - meaning opinions formed with out having spoken to Him, or the players involved, the staff/AD at the time. Tosh wanted to stay but the HC then Tedford, was not competitive until the last possible day (gap was substantial) and the final package that Sarkisian offered was 50% higher literally. Bottom line, his teammates can and will vouch for his character and the pride they hold for him.

no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

DaveT said:

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Cal88 said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

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I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

---

• Alabama (2017)
  Co-defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2018)
  Defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach

-If he was a good DC, he would have been retained at Alabama, not let go after one season. Going from DC at the top program in the NCAA to a DL coach at one of the worst NFL organisations is a step down.

-He couldn't hold on to a DC coach position in the NFL for more than 1 year, he was let go after every season.

---

He was the co-defensive coordinator in 2017, the year the Tide won the national championship. In 2017, their defense ranked first nationally in total defense, allowing 260.4 yards per game. They also led the nation in rushing defense, permitting only 66.4 yards per game, and were second in scoring defense, allowing 9.8 points per game.

In 2018, he was the defensive coordinator. The Tide played for the national championship that year, but lost to Clemson. In 2018, their defense ranked #12 nationally in points allowed.

Since joining Oregon as the DC, the Ducks have consistently ranked in the top 20 in most defensive categories, and are the #3 ranked defense in yards allowed this season.

No idea if he's any good, but statistically he's led very solid defenses as a college DC.

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exactly. His resume is a home run hire on paper. To nitpick his professional stint (where he never stayed more than a year) when urban meyer was fired is a bit much.

Also not crediting him for a constant track record of success seems a bit biased

4thGenCal said:

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Bearbassics said:

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calumnus said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Given the ESPN reports that he is a leading candidate, I think we should all take a step back and breathe. I know the circumstances under which he left were undesirable. I understand having resentment towards that. I'm here to say that he is a dream candidate and if we land him, we should be ecstatic.

This is a guy who leads a top 10 defensive unit for a national title contender, is from the Saban tree (and was explicitly named as one of the best recruiters in the country & invaluable members of the staff), has recruited top-5 classes, and has sent tons of kids to the NFL.

Addressing concerns:
"Okay so he's a top-flight recruiter, what about his Xs/Os?"
- He has experience under the best of the best coaching trees. Saban is notorious for manufacturing his staff to be killer with game fundamentals and exhaustive scheme knowledge. Tosh has led top defensive units both at Alabama and Oregon.

"What about the lack of HC experience?"
- In this day and age, the HC has effectively become a CEO / managerial role. HCs aren't calling plays (mostly), they're hiring excellent staff and being a frontline recruiter / representative of the program. These are all calling cards for Tosh. You can even argue this is one of Wilcox's biggest weaknesses- he isn't a hair on fire recruiter and managed his staff poorly. Tosh will come with bona-fide recruiting chops + a rolodex of top flight assistants/coordinators who are from the various trees he's worked in (all winners). Wilcox's tree was stale and he consistently towards the end of his tenture seemed to regurgitate his friends. A modernized system will do wonders.

"Okay, but Toshgate was so bad"
- Ask any of the players and they still say they love him. I can't speak to the specifics obviously but seriously: the players don't hold anything against him. Look at twitter, look at their comments. They love Tosh. There was a whole lot that went on, but if we hired Wilcox who absolutely knew about everything that went down, we can get over it and welcome back Tosh. The last thing I'll say on this is the idea of growth: Do you believe someone can grow, learn, and improve over 15 years? Do you believe people are not static? Swallow the bitterness and understand that we are at an existential moment for the program. It is win or be relegated. Getting over hurt feelings from over 15 years ago is necessary. We can overcome.

The truth is, this is the type of candidate who if not for his Cal ties, we could only dream of landing. One of the best recruiters in the nation (yes, he is) who has coached top-5 units, landed top 3 classes, has literally won nearly everywhere he's gone, and is loved by players, the whale donors at Cal, and has west coast ties?

Don't overthink it-- if we get Tosh, we should be celebrating. Bring Tosh Home!

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Dan Lanning is Oregon's head coach. He was the DC on Georgia's National Championship team. It is his defense. Same with Saban at Alabama. Did Tosh even do any hiring? I don't trust hiring OCs from schools with offensive gurus as HCs and I don't trust DCs from schools with defensive gurus as head coaches. I doubt Tosh has the organizational and management experience to be a head coach. If Rivera thinks so, maybe, but it is a huge concern.

If we hire Tosh we need to spend big on a OC and if they turn out to be good, spend even more. In that case, I'd rather Rivera be the head coach as we could lure a good OC to Cal and keep them with the possibility of taking over from Rivera sooner rather than later.

Finally, even if half the fanbase is for him, half the fanbase hates him. It is the main reason I thought we needed to move on from Sonny Dykes, not that he was necessarily a bad football coach, but because half the fanbase absolutely despised him.

We need the next football coach to a guy that the vast majority of fans, players and especially donors can rally around. Tosh ain't it.

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Half the fanbase hates the idea of him, right now. If he's the guy, and he starts winning, that will change.

Watch this interview - the first thing he mentions is energy. We have had the opposite of that for 9 years. The cal fanbase is desperate to be relevant again. Want to be relevant? Hire tosh

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Thanks for posting the interview, a good insight into Tosh mentality, energy, and traits He looks for. Tosh has the drive, the relationships developed with the coaching community and certainly the important recruiting connections. Definitely will bring about a complete re start with the culture - physicality, talent, brotherhood and passion. If Ron closes the deal with Tosh Cal Will become relevant and competing for conf titles.

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I have said before that Wilcox would go 7-5 with Georgia's roster, and that is largely due not just to his lack of ability when it comes to coaching strategy, his stoic sideline demeanor is uninspiring and in-game success is dependent on getting guys emotionally invested to play their asses off in a sport that can be mentally and physically punishing, watching games this season Wilcox was often aloof and stiff and the team's performance would mimic his apparent lack of in-game emotional interest

boredom said:

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no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

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except that 4thGenCal literally just explained that people do want him.

TedfordTheGreat said:

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boredom said:

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no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

---

except that 4thGenCal literally just explained that people do want him.

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And even more importantly, that donors want him

TedfordTheGreat said:

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boredom said:

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no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

---

except that 4thGenCal literally just explained that people do want him.

---

no he didn't. He said Chase Lyman likes him. Is Chase Lyman hiring UCLA's next coach?

I'm sure Tosh has backers in the Cal community. I never said he didn't. I said that, to my knowledge, he hasn't surfaced as a leading contender for any other major conference head coaching opening.

4thGenCal said:

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concordtom said:

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After so many naughty politicians, I've heard it said that "America is a forgiving nation". BUT, the transgressor needs to apologize in a sincere way.

A lot of time has gone by. Tosh was young.

I believe it's possible for Tosh to have a reputation resetting mea culpa moment with Cal fans who still feel the pain of that chapter.

Do you (or Chase) think it's possible for Tosh to take such a humbling step? Would he be willing to, and could he pull it off (without someone shooting holes in his explanation)?

---

Yes and He would/will when asked. Lot more to the background than some of the posters here have posted - meaning opinions formed with out having spoken to Him, or the players involved, the staff/AD at the time. Tosh wanted to stay but the HC then Tedford, was not competitive until the last possible day (gap was substantial) and the final package that Sarkisian offered was 50% higher literally. Bottom line, his teammates can and will vouch for his character and the pride they hold for him.

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"he will apologize if necessary to get what he wants" is not a ringing endorsement

Need an offensive guy to keep JKS!!

bledblue said:

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Need an offensive guy to keep JKS!!

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Not necessarily, we need a whole new roster of OL and skill players and a coach who can tell JKS convincingly that he can recruit that kind of talent back to Berkeley, and that leads to...Tosh

DaveT said:

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Cal88 said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

---

I echo your thoughts eastcoastalcal

If Tosh didn't have the baggage he did this board would be clamoring for him given his resume.

---

• Alabama (2017)
  Co-defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach
• Alabama (2018)
  Defensive coordinator & outside linebackers coach

-If he was a good DC, he would have been retained at Alabama, not let go after one season. Going from DC at the top program in the NCAA to a DL coach at one of the worst NFL organisations is a step down.

-He couldn't hold on to a DC coach position in the NFL for more than 1 year, he was let go after every season.

---

He was the co-defensive coordinator in 2017, the year the Tide won the national championship. In 2017, their defense ranked first nationally in total defense, allowing 260.4 yards per game. They also led the nation in rushing defense, permitting only 66.4 yards per game, and were second in scoring defense, allowing 9.8 points per game.

In 2018, he was the defensive coordinator. The Tide played for the national championship that year, but lost to Clemson. In 2018, their defense ranked #12 nationally in points allowed.

Since joining Oregon as the DC, the Ducks have consistently ranked in the top 20 in most defensive categories, and are the #3 ranked defense in yards allowed this season.

No idea if he's any good, but statistically he's led very solid defenses as a college DC.

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He didn't make it through 1 season as the play caller at Alabama. Saban didn't have confidence that Tosh could do it (but wanted to keep him for the recruiting) and hired an insurance policy. After seeing Tosh fail early in the season Saban demoted him and handed play calling to the insurance policy. So yes, Alabama had a good defense that year and Tosh did play a part in it but mostly through recruiting.

"Lupoi seemed overwhelmed during practices and didn't totally grasp situational play-calling"
https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2019/01/why-tosh-lupoi-leaving-alabama-was-long-expected.html

So yes, great recruiter. But he can't run an offense or a defense or special teams. Apparently had trouble running practices or making in game adjustments. There's a lot of red flags there around the stuff that a head coach would need to be good at.

boredom said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

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boredom said:

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no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

---

except that 4thGenCal literally just explained that people do want him.

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no he didn't. He said Chase Lyman likes him. Is Chase Lyman hiring UCLA's next coach?

I'm sure Tosh has backers in the Cal community. I never said he didn't. I said that, to my knowledge, he hasn't surfaced as a leading contender for any other major conference head coaching opening.

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"He is being heavily pursued by several programs now"

boredom said:

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TedfordTheGreat said:

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boredom said:

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no Tosh. Even putting aside for the moment all the stuff from when he left and the cash in a cup and etc, no.

He's not shown himself to be a good coach. He had 3 shots at being a position coach in the NFL and failed quickly each time, never even made it to year 2. Saban made him the DC and then got rid of him.

He's a good recruiter. Yes. But he's not a good coach. With most coaches you only need to make a really good hire on one side of the ball, with Tosh we'd need both as he can't handle either side of the ball.

How come nobody else wants him? He's been known as an elite recruiter for 15 years. He was the DC under Saban almost a decade ago. Why is Cal the only school to talk about hiring him? Why isn't furd or UCLA or any of the 10(?) other major conference programs that need a new coach clamoring for this guy?

This is how we end up with Wilcox or Joe Kapp. We can explore options that have not been at Cal before. We don't have to reach for a guy nobody else wants just because he was at Cal when our recruits were in diapers.

---

except that 4thGenCal literally just explained that people do want him.

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no he didn't. He said Chase Lyman likes him. Is Chase Lyman hiring UCLA's next coach?

I'm sure Tosh has backers in the Cal community. I never said he didn't. I said that, to my knowledge, he hasn't surfaced as a leading contender for any other major conference head coaching opening.

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Need to correct some of your miss statements - Yes there are three programs reaching out to him now (with Coach Lanning approval) and Definitely want him. His heart is for Cal - RR will make a thorough and vetted decisions. I trust RR's experience, leadership, and football decisions impacting Cal. Most of the conversations are done before the media finds out. As to your assertions that "He is not a good coach" bizarre comment given who has hired him and increased his salary to keep him at numerous stops. Should be informative to listen to what Saban, Sarkisian, Smart and now Lanning say about him.