"They are on the same tier for me."

The Minor League Football Coach of the Year, from Liberty University, Justin Wilcox.

sycasey said:

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My attitude is, let's get to being a consistent top 20-40 program, and then see if that builds momentum towards Top 10 . . . maybe not every year, but some years. We're not jumping to Top 10 status overnight.

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We play an 8-3 SMU team tomorrow night that is ranked #21 but is playing for the ACC Title Game. It is not that far away from where we could easily be. We won 6 last year and this year and each year blew 4 games we easily could have won.

We are not aspiring to be Ohio State or Alabama, but being in the mix with Miami, Virginia, SMU to compete for the ACC Championship with a possible invite to the CFP is not a huge ask.

Cal alum Bruce Jenkins;

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/jenkins/article/cal-canning-wilcox-reflects-college-football-s-21212522.php?taid=692a40e977bd840001581fb9&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

calumnus said:

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sycasey said:

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My attitude is, let's get to being a consistent top 20-40 program, and then see if that builds momentum towards Top 10 . . . maybe not every year, but some years. We're not jumping to Top 10 status overnight.

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We play an 8-3 SMU team tomorrow night that is ranked #21 but is playing for the ACC Title Game. It is not that far away from where we could easily be. We won 6 last year and this year and each year blew 4 games we easily could have won.

We are not aspiring to be Ohio State or Alabama, but being in the mix with Miami, Virginia, SMU to compete for the ACC Championship with a possible invite to the CFP is not a huge ask.

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Absolutely. If SMU can do it and Vanderbilt can do it then Cal can do it.

califortunate said:

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There were unrevealed but serious reasons why Spavital had to go.

Wilcox handled it professionally.

What's missing from this thread is that Wilcox was forced to endure massive challenges that were arguably worse than those facing any other programs.

And notably, he had to try and overcome these with inept and unqualified administrative support from 2 athletic directors who were abysmal.

In his 9-year tenure at Cal, he only had this year, with Lyons and Rivera here, when there was any competent support from the University.

Cal may indeed hire a new HC who can win more games here, albeit with fewer obstacles and more support.

But it's highly unlikely that we get a man with so many stellar qualities: smart, humble, hard-working, tenacious, well-respected, and loyal.

Cal ground him down, just like it has to so many others over the years.

Wilcox will never likely get the deserved respect he warrants for doing as well as he did.

Virtually anyone who ever spent time with him and knows how horrid Cal has been agrees.

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I'm still trying to connect the dots on how poor administrative support can lead to bad clock management, poor discipline (excessive penalties including procedural penalties coming out of stoppages), inability to make in-game adjustments, and the agonizing tendancy to turtle with a lead only to see the opponent slowly but surely come back and win it. Unless you don't believe those to be true, you'd have to admit that even with more institutional support our team would still be plagued by those issues because they're wholly unrelated to whatever "challenges" Wilcox may or may not have had to endure.

califortunate said:

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There were unrevealed but serious reasons why Spavital had to go.

Wilcox handled it professionally.

What's missing from this thread is that Wilcox was forced to endure massive challenges that were arguably worse than those facing any other programs.

And notably, he had to try and overcome these with inept and unqualified administrative support from 2 athletic directors who were abysmal.

In his 9-year tenure at Cal, he only had this year, with Lyons and Rivera here, when there was any competent support from the University.

Cal may indeed hire a new HC who can win more games here, albeit with fewer obstacles and more support.

But it's highly unlikely that we get a man with so many stellar qualities: smart, humble, hard-working, tenacious, well-respected, and loyal.

Cal ground him down, just like it has to so many others over the years.

Wilcox will never likely get the deserved respect he warrants for doing as well as he did.

Virtually anyone who ever spent time with him and knows how horrid Cal has been agrees.

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So why did he lose the ENTIRE room of RB's, Mendoza and most of our WR's THIS YEAR with "all the support???"

TandemBear said:

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califortunate said:

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There were unrevealed but serious reasons why Spavital had to go.

Wilcox handled it professionally.

What's missing from this thread is that Wilcox was forced to endure massive challenges that were arguably worse than those facing any other programs.

And notably, he had to try and overcome these with inept and unqualified administrative support from 2 athletic directors who were abysmal.

In his 9-year tenure at Cal, he only had this year, with Lyons and Rivera here, when there was any competent support from the University.

Cal may indeed hire a new HC who can win more games here, albeit with fewer obstacles and more support.

But it's highly unlikely that we get a man with so many stellar qualities: smart, humble, hard-working, tenacious, well-respected, and loyal.

Cal ground him down, just like it has to so many others over the years.

Wilcox will never likely get the deserved respect he warrants for doing as well as he did.

Virtually anyone who ever spent time with him and knows how horrid Cal has been agrees.

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So why did he lose the ENTIRE room of RB's, Mendoza and most of our WR's THIS YEAR with "all the support???"

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Harsin, Wilcox's buddy from Boise.

Knowlton was the most compliant and accommodating AD a HC could ever ever hope for. He let him hire whomever he wanted. He did not have his own opinions. He gave him a 6 year extension after going 6-10 in his two most recent seasons. Tough for any coach to make having an AD like that be their excuse for not succeeding. "He didn't hold me to a high enough standard"? "I just hired my friends and skated finishing in the bottom of the conference every year because they let me"?

Yeah these are head scratchers for sure - especially 2021 Arizona and 2022 Colorado and the most recent Big Game loss. All are road games - every single one of these. It seems to point to poor preparation and motivation for a road team coming an as the clear favorite. Once or twice is maybe an anomaly, but with this kind of frequency, it was a pattern. And definitely a good reason to move on.

m2bear said:

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calumnus said:

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Just wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity.

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I have a friend who is a big Boise donor.

They NEVER want to see Wilcox again. And we kept him for almost 10 years.

That's how poorly run Cal football has been...

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You mean Harsin?

tjn1126 said:

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m2bear said:

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calumnus said:

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Just wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity.

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I have a friend who is a big Boise donor.

They NEVER want to see Wilcox again. And we kept him for almost 10 years.

That's how poorly run Cal football has been...

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You mean Harsin?

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No Wilcox.

Go to a Boise board and ask them what they think of Wilcox.

If Cal simply vetted Boise football fans Wilcox never would have been the coach at Cal.

I don't know how they feel about Harsin.

m2bear said:

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tjn1126 said:

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m2bear said:

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calumnus said:

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Just wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity.

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I have a friend who is a big Boise donor.

They NEVER want to see Wilcox again. And we kept him for almost 10 years.

That's how poorly run Cal football has been...

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You mean Harsin?

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No Wilcox.

Go to a Boise board and ask them what they think of Wilcox.

If Cal simply vetted Boise football fans Wilcox never would have been the coach at Cal.

I don't know how they feel about Harsin.

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Ah gotcha

sycasey said:

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calumnus said:

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sycasey said:

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My attitude is, let's get to being a consistent top 20-40 program, and then see if that builds momentum towards Top 10 . . . maybe not every year, but some years. We're not jumping to Top 10 status overnight.

---

We play an 8-3 SMU team tomorrow night that is ranked #21 but is playing for the ACC Title Game. It is not that far away from where we could easily be. We won 6 last year and this year and each year blew 4 games we easily could have won.

We are not aspiring to be Ohio State or Alabama, but being in the mix with Miami, Virginia, SMU to compete for the ACC Championship with a possible invite to the CFP is not a huge ask.

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Absolutely. If SMU can do it and Vanderbilt can do it then Cal can do it.

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Exactly. I really think with the right coach we can be at or near the top 25 as soon as next year.

Wait? He's leaving?

You better seek some help for your Wilcox Derangement Syndrome pal.

You'll be the first keyboard warrior bed-wetter calling for Tosh's scalp when he loses against some underdog in 2026.

AmadorBear said:

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You better seek some help for your Wilcox Derangement Syndrome pal.

You'll be the first keyboard warrior bed-wetter calling for Tosh's scalp when he loses against some underdog in 2026.

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You seem to be taking Justin Wilcox's firing personally. Is he a family member? Or do you just think you need defend his performance like you defend Trump's, by attacking and insulting people who criticize him?

I do hope he is hired elsewhere so you have another team to root for. Or stay and let's root for the next Cal coach to make Cal great again together.

Defending Trump?

Locker rooms are some of the most diverse environments on earth. Nobody cares about your race, politics, or background. The only thing that matters is whether you can play and whether your teammates can trust you.

The fact that you turned this into a political argument tells me you've never been a part of one.

I'm all for constructive criticism of a football program and for a coach who has been in the pilot's seat for 9 years. The headwinds were strong, but your comments as it relates to the Pacific NW/Harsin, the firing of an African American coach, to me, appear to be subtle attacks on his character. You're making wild assumptions that he has some extreme, outlier political allegiance.

I would have sent this if the coach was Marv Levy, Keith Gilbertson or Sonny Dykes.

Keep the personal attacks outta here.

I disagree with your previous comments that Knowlton was a solid AD.

In my 49 years of being closely affiliated with the Cal football program , he was by far the worst.

Zero knowledge of football, zero knowledge of basketball and had never been to California until he interviewed for the position.

Go Bears

I'd agree that Knowlton was mediocre.

"By far the worst..." I'd have to say Bob Bockrath was worse than Knowlton. He failed to retain Bruce Snyder.

calumnus said:

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AmadorBear said:

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You better seek some help for your Wilcox Derangement Syndrome pal.

You'll be the first keyboard warrior bed-wetter calling for Tosh's scalp when he loses against some underdog in 2026.

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You seem to be taking Justin Wilcox's firing personally. Is he a family member? Or do you just think you need defend his performance like you defend Trump's, by attacking and insulting people who criticize him?

I do hope he is hired elsewhere so you have another team to root for. Or stay and let's root for the next Cal coach to make Cal great again together.

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We could probably do a whole thread on this. There are (I'm not meaning just on this Board ) a sizable group of Cal fans that were/are sad to see Wilcox get fired. To their point: Wilcox is a good guy; was good with the media; was a good ambassador for Cal; had a more-or-less scandal-free tenure. I doubt that I'm the only one that felt he was a better cultural fit at Cal than Sonny Dykes, but Dykes had a great resume and was a logical hire at the time. I'd also concede that Wilcox had to deal with the Covid seasons, and the shifting NIL landscape. Until this year, the other argument in his favor was that, by and large, we won Big Game with Wilcox at the helm. I think there is a fear-of-loss factor among the Wilcox defenders. Older fans have bad memories of coaches like Holmoe, Gilbertson, and Dykes.

At the end of the day, my problem was that football under Wilcox' leadership was stuck in 5-7 win territory. Bowls were of the Cheeze-It, Redbox, LA Bowl variety. And there no end in sight. in part because he couldn't retain key talent. This year in particular, I can point to three losses in which the team's performance was inexcusable: Stanford, San Diego State, and Duke. In the first two instances, the game plan and/or the preparation was poor. Maybe with San Diego State you could try to excuse it on the grounds that thiss is a team we rarely see. Stanford? How can the team that turned around the following week and beat ranked SMU play that incredibly poorly against our arch-rival with a 3-7 record? With Duke, we saw poor skill on managing a lead. I can also point to wins - Boston College and North Carolina come immediately to mind - that were much harder than they needed to be.

SoFlaBear said:

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calumnus said:

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AmadorBear said:

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You better seek some help for your Wilcox Derangement Syndrome pal.

You'll be the first keyboard warrior bed-wetter calling for Tosh's scalp when he loses against some underdog in 2026.

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You seem to be taking Justin Wilcox's firing personally. Is he a family member? Or do you just think you need defend his performance like you defend Trump's, by attacking and insulting people who criticize him?

I do hope he is hired elsewhere so you have another team to root for. Or stay and let's root for the next Cal coach to make Cal great again together.

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We could probably do a whole thread on this. There are (I'm not meaning just on this Board ) a sizable group of Cal fans that were/are sad to see Wilcox get fired. To their point: Wilcox is a good guy; was good with the media; was a good ambassador for Cal; had a more-or-less scandal-free tenure. I doubt that I'm the only one that felt he was a better cultural fit at Cal than Sonny Dykes, but Dykes had a great resume and was a logical hire at the time. I'd also concede that Wilcox had to deal with the Covid seasons, and the shifting NIL landscape. Until this year, the other argument in his favor was that, by and large, we won Big Game with Wilcox at the helm. I think there is a fear-of-loss factor among the Wilcox defenders. Older fans have bad memories of coaches like Holmoe, Gilbertson, and Dykes.

At the end of the day, my problem was that football under Wilcox' leadership was stuck in 5-7 win territory. Bowls were of the Cheeze-It, Redbox, LA Bowl variety. And there no end in sight. in part because he couldn't retain key talent. This year in particular, I can point to three losses in which the team's performance was inexcusable: Stanford, San Diego State, and Duke. In the first two instances, the game plan and/or the preparation was poor. Maybe with San Diego State you could try to excuse it on the grounds that thiss is a team we rarely see. Stanford? How can the team that turned around the following week and beat ranked SMU play that incredibly poorly against our arch-rival with a 3-7 record? With Duke, we saw poor skill on managing a lead. I can also point to wins - Boston College and North Carolina come immediately to mind - that were much harder than they needed to be.

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Add a bad Virginia Tech team beating us by just running the same running play over and over… that is 4 games.

And last year it was 4 games we had good leads with Mendoza passing downfield and squandered them by going conservative with Wilcox confirming that was his strategy, that the "offense had scored enough" and it was up to the defense to win the game.

Six win seasons that good coaching (motivation and in game strategy) stretches to 10.

And that doesn't even include the poor choices around OCs, Bloesch as a first time solo OC but with no OL cosch, hiring Harsin and letting him chase off all our skill players…. Delivering bottom ranked offenses once again in years 8 and 9…. Despite the two best quarterbacks of his tenure (with a nod to Garbers).

If Tosh can just avoid shooting himself in the foot our prospects increase significantly, but add better hiring and good recruiting and we should be better off, though I don't think we will again have quite as easy on opportunity as we had in 2024 and 2025.