http://www.sfgate.com/college/jenkins/article/Latest-letdown-turns-up-heat-on-Tedford-3905721.php

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I've heard that the Cal alumni haven't mustered sufficient anger to force a coaching change, and that the university wouldn't consider buying out Tedford's contract, paying him some $2.8 million annually through 2015. But that's not what I was hearing on Saturday.

Before the game, I visited a tailgate party full of wealthy, influential alums. One of them, particularly well-connected and in the know, cast a grim outlook on Tedford's future. He asked not to be quoted by name, and that's always an unsatisfying experience for the reader, but there are times when off-the-record comments reflect the tone of a crisis, and that could well be the case here.

"I'm the last one off the bus when it comes to (firing) Tedford," he told me. "But we have to move on. His game management has been awful. I mean, that 4th-and-one call at Ohio State (opting for a field goal) when we'd already racked up 500 yards! I like the guy, personally. This beautiful new stadium doesn't get done without him. But it's so frustrating. If this doesn't turn around, I really think they'll buy him out. I'm predicting that if we finish under .500, he's gone."

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I spoke to a few influential donors after the Nevada game who said Tedford needs 6 wins or he's fired. Looks like he is done.

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I've heard that the Cal alumni haven't mustered sufficient anger to force a coaching change, and that the university wouldn't consider buying out Tedford's contract, paying him some $2.8 million annually through 2015. But that's not what I was hearing on Saturday.

Before the game, I visited a tailgate party full of wealthy, influential alums. One of them, particularly well-connected and in the know, cast a grim outlook on Tedford's future. He asked not to be quoted by name, and that's always an unsatisfying experience for the reader, but there are times when off-the-record comments reflect the tone of a crisis, and that could well be the case here.

"I'm the last one off the bus when it comes to (firing) Tedford," he told me. "But we have to move on. His game management has been awful. I mean, that 4th-and-one call at Ohio State (opting for a field goal) when we'd already racked up 500 yards! I like the guy, personally. This beautiful new stadium doesn't get done without him. But it's so frustrating. If this doesn't turn around, I really think they'll buy him out. I'm predicting that if we finish under .500, he's gone."

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okaydo;841963576 said:

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http://www.sfgate.com/college/jenkins/article/Latest-letdown-turns-up-heat-on-Tedford-3905721.php

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That's encouraging and seems to reflect the general consensus of the Cal community: a personal respect for the man, an appreciation of the program's prior success under him and for getting the new facilities built...but an acknowledgment that a change needs to be made and made soon.

Thank goodness!

Finishing 5-7 from here though, would be indicative of an incredible turnaround. Sounds like this was the sentiment going into the season or maybe after the Nevada game. Since then, we've reached new lows. But its amazing how short sighted people can be after just a couple wins. I highly doubt he's gone if we bounce back and win 4 more. I think the odds of that are pretty slim though.

When arguably your best offensive weapon, Brandon Bigelow doesn't get into the game until one minute left in the first quarter, gets no carries at all, and you see JT chosing to punt the ball away on 4th down with less than 6 minutes left in the game being down by two scores...... it smacks of INCOMPETENCE.

The door is that way



Thank you and good bye.

Cal is in waaay too deep to be able to afford another three years hoping for the best. For the plan to work to pay off the stadium, sellouts are a must.
Not just the ESP sales, but also the ancillary fan base needs to jump on the bandwagon to fill up the stadium. Even in a down year like this season, that means playing your top talent. Fans might still come to games watch a rebuilding program for a chance to see a player like Bigelow do something they have never seen before, for example, They might also support a program that is undermanned but plays with high energy and passion, a team that is well coached. But with so many other ways to spend disposable income in the Bay Area, you have to compete for those dollars. Moribund or inert entertainment options like present day Cal football will be ignored.

Sad to say, but this is the best news I've heard today. I hope the wealthy alums really mean it but I have a real hard time imagining that they can pony up that much after all the fundraising and the ESP tickets. Our program is stale at a time when there should be excitement. Even our expectations were reasonable but we definitely are heading for under .500.

When finishing for a minor bowl will take a minor miracle, and realizing you can only play spoiler before October even starts... I think thats about it, especially with a senior QB, AA WR candidate, and senior RBs. I don't blame the players and never will, there's one person in charge.

TrackLife;841963608 said:

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When arguably your best offensive weapon, Brandon Bigelow doesn't get into the game until one minute left in the first quarter, gets no carries at all, and you see JT chosing to punt the ball away on 4th down with less than 6 minutes left in the game being down by two scores...... it smacks of INCOMPETENCE.

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Playing your best players should also include playing one of our 3 Elite 11 QBs.

If they were so highly touted, why can't one of them beat out a mediocre QB.

CalBearz02;841963632 said:

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It also shows, like you said, how short-sighted and reactionary people are. Cal's team was similarly bad last year, but because we scheduled 3 OOC cupcakes and physically dominated a few mediocre Pac teams, we were bowl bound and people figured not only is everything okay, but that our team was good!

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I'm not sure if that many people thought that. It was more that at least having a winning season last year bought JT a bit more time, not that everything was okay.

Bigs can handle Berkeley curriculum but the playbook is where he is stumped? Change it.

socaliganbear;841963655 said:

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Bigs can handle Berkeley curriculum but the playbook is where he is stumped? Change it.

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+1

CalBearz02;841963667 said:

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This is exactly what I'm talking about. The winning season was due to 3 cupcake OOC wins. Why should that buy a coach time, and if it should, why wouldn't people believe that everything is okay and that there is hope for a future with Tedford?

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Because there was a new stadium opening the next season, and because JT's past performance also bought him some leeway.

"Hope for the future" is not the same as "everything is okay."

That quote from the unnamed wealthy alum sounds like something I could have written. In fact, I think I did. A number of times this month, even.

This isn't difficult, folks. The handwriting is on the wall for everyone to see. I'll say again what I said shortly after the Nevada loss: the date of Tedford's firing will be November 18, 2012.

FiatSlug;841963713 said:

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That quote from the unnamed wealthy alum sounds like something I could have written. In fact, I think I did. A number of times this month, even.

This isn't difficult, folks. The handwriting is on the wall for everyone to see. I'll say again what I said shortly after the Nevada loss: the date of Tedford's firing will be November 18, 2012.

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Agreed. When do you think the search begins?

socaliganbear;841963716 said:

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Agreed. When do you think the search begins?

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It already has I'll bet..

tydog;841963586 said:

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I spoke to a few influential donors after the Nevada game who said Tedford needs 6 wins or he's fired. Looks like he is done.

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If they are demanding 6 wins then Tedford is gone.

LOok at our remaining games

UCLA - loss - They have a good D-line and rght now their offense is too solid. Expect them to put up 27-30 points minimum and hold Cal to less than 20.

WSU - tossup - They don't have much talent, but they have a great coach who has the offense starting to work well. Worse, they are a passing team and Cal's pass defense has been poor at best. Most likely it becomes a race to 50. Right now Cal will always lose that kind of game.

Oregon - loss - Not only are they averaging 50 points a game, but their defense will feast on the Cal ball-carriers due to the lack of an O-line.

Utah - likely Cal win - They have one of the best DTs in the natoin, but their offense has been terrible. Cal should be able to win this game 10-7 or so.

Stanford - loss - Josh Nunes hasn't looked good, but Stanford's front 7 are just too good on defense. With the terrible O-line Cal will likely get crushed.

UW - Loss - They have issues, but unless they suffer a lot of injuries they will be basically a better ASU with an even more dominant QB. Cal cannot beat that kind of team right now.

Oregon State - loss - another team with just too much on defense to allow CAl to score while having a dependable offense that can score. They should win this one 30+ to 17-

I see Oregon and Stanford as 100% guaranteed losses. UW and OSU are 80% or better, UCLA at least 75%. To avoid more than six losses Cal must win 3 of those games, right now I don't see any chance of that. This team looked that bad today.

And its not hte players. Most of them clearly were playing their hearts out, especially the defense. But when the coaches don't prepare you, the game is lost before you even take the field.

There is little reason to think that wealthy influential alums are watching a different game from little people like me.
If the overwheming sentiment on the board is that the football program is in a bad shape, take a guess what the wealthy donors are thinking: the same.

If anything, you'd think the wealthy donors are even less likely to put up with mediocrity. After all, for a big chunk of them, when they donate money, they expect the money to contribute to success.

Cal_Fan2;841963723 said:

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It already has I'll bet..

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I'm pretty sure that AD Sandy Barbour has been reviewing possibilities for at least a season. I suspect that the only reason Tedford has survived the last 2 seasons has been the work on the stadium and the fact that the contract didn't have a proper "buyout".

The only question is who she's looking at and if any ambitious DCs or OCs have quietly sent her resumes. THe fact that Tedford has been on a hot seat for the past 2 seasons hasn't exactly been a secret.

okaydo;841963576 said:

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http://www.sfgate.com/college/jenkins/article/latest-letdown-turns-up-heat-on-tedford-3905721.php

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hallelujah!

Sandy will say at the press conference announcing Tedford's firing that a national search begins immediately. That presser will come the day after the last regular season game: November 18, 2012. The formal acceptance of applications for the position begins November 18, 2012.

I think a search, though, begins no later than October 22 (the Monday after The Big Game) with a gathering of intelligence and information about potential candidates. By that time, the season record could very well be 1-7 with no possibility of a winning season or a bowl game in sight.

But realistically, I cannot imagine SB being at all comfortable with this situation. For all I know, the search has already begun.

CalBearz02;841963736 said:

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How are the defense/offense "not prepared"?

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Simple, neither had a good game plan and play-calling setup to allow them the real opportunity to succeed. This was especially true of the offense. For reasons I cannot figure out Tedford is trying to have Maynard run an offense he's not suited to, with an offensive line that is poor at pass blocking. Worse, Tedford insists on trying to run Isi outside. Isi is a tough running back, but he isn't particularly fast and with the way teams defend against Cal, Isi will get stuffed for a loss on a regular basis on that kind of play.

On defense, Cal plays a zone that is softer than a down pillow and has holes bigger than the federal deficit. Worse, the blitz packages we use rarely work. Teams that face Cal seem to have at least 2 blitzes a game where a LB or DB gets a clean rush at Maynard, and no one blocks him. This hasn't happened for Cal in the past 3 games. The LBs that do blitz are always picked up by blockers.

That is completely due to poor coaching and preparation.

FiatSlug;841963744 said:

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Sandy will say at the press conference announcing Tedford's firing that a national search begins immediately. That presser will come the day after the last regular season game: November 18, 2012. The formal acceptance of applications for the position begins November 18, 2012.

I think a search, though, begins no later than October 22 (the Monday after The Big Game) with a gathering of intelligence and information about potential candidates. By that time, the season record could very well be 1-7 with no possibility of a winning season or a bowl game in sight.

But realistically, I cannot imagine SB being at all comfortable with this situation. For all I know, the search has already begun.

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Fiat..you know way more than I do about the inner workings of the AD and dept, I would be shocked if Sandy hadn't started some type of succession planning by now...It would seem to me that they should be working on this right now, or even last year, at least the preliminary stuff. We need to hire someone as soon as possible after dumping JT just to keep whatever recruits we can together.

mvargus;841963749 said:

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On defense, Cal plays a zone that is softer than a down pillow and has holes bigger than the federal deficit. Worse, the blitz packages we use rarely work. Teams that face Cal seem to have at least 2 blitzes a game where a LB or DB gets a clean rush at Maynard, and no one blocks him. This hasn't happened for Cal in the past 3 games. The LBs that do blitz are always picked up by blockers.

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ASU seemed to have our D figured out by the 4th quarter . . . they had several great screen and/or misdirection plays designed to take advantage of an overaggressive defense. They'd start the QB rolling one way, and then have him turn and throw to a wide open man somewhere else. By then, the Cal D has completely flowed to the wrong side of the field and is way out of position.

FiatSlug;841963744 said:

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Sandy will say at the press conference announcing Tedford's firing that a national search begins immediately. That presser will come the day after the last regular season game: November 18, 2012. The formal acceptance of applications for the position begins November 18, 2012.

I think a search, though, begins no later than October 22 (the Monday after The Big Game) with a gathering of intelligence and information about potential candidates. By that time, the season record could very well be 1-7 with no possibility of a winning season or a bowl game in sight.

But realistically, I cannot imagine SB being at all comfortable with this situation. For all I know, the search has already begun.

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How I see it as well.

Today's game (loss, and how we performed), were critical to me and my feeling that we need to act now, this season.

JT will have a special place in Golden Bear history, an in many of our hearts, but it is time for a new direction.

Thoughts on the HC at SJSU? Not sure if I heard his name mentioned in the other threads... I believe he formerly coached at Duke.

Cal89;841963763 said:

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Thoughts on the HC at SJSU? Not sure if I heard his name mentioned in the other threads... I believe he formerly coached at Duke.

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If that is the best we can do, perhaps those pumpers have been right.

sycasey;841963675 said:

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...and because JT's past performance also bought him some leeway..."

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What past performance are you referring to? The losing conference record over the past five years? The abysmal academic performance of our student athletes? Our losing overall record the last two years? Poor play calling, clock management, lack of offensive identity, blowout losses, laughable road record, pathetic QB development...

JT's glory days ended during the Bush administration. Staggering to see so any people are only now waking up to his ineptitude.

GoOoOoOoOoBears!;841963775 said:

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What past performance are you referring to? The losing conference record over the past five years?

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He was here for more than just five years, you know.

Look, I'm not trying to argue in favor of keeping him. I was fed up with Tedford by the middle of last season too (and pretty much apathetic to keeping him after 2009). I'm just saying that there ARE reasons for why the wealthier alums would have been okay with keeping him after last season.

This is the best news I've heard all season.

alarsuel;841963770 said:

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If that is the best we can do, perhaps those pumpers have been right.

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Kirby Smart or Pat Narduzzi, call me crazy. Do it.

mvargus;841963749 said:

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On defense, Cal plays a zone that is softer than a down pillow and has holes bigger than the federal deficit. Worse, the blitz packages we use rarely work. Teams that face Cal seem to have at least 2 blitzes a game where a LB or DB gets a clean rush at Maynard, and no one blocks him. This hasn't happened for Cal in the past 3 games. The LBs that do blitz are always picked up by blockers.

That is completely due to poor coaching and preparation.

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I don't think the defenses failure today was due to poor coaching/preparation but, execution. The middle of the defense is very young in class and experience: Sebastian(So)/Lowe(So) at S and Jefferson(Fr)/Forbes(So) at ILB. Sebastian and Lowe both excelled last year on ST but, injuries ended their seasons. This is the first significant PT for all four, over-pursuing I can expect, the DL unfortunately, has been under-performing as a stand alone unit. The blitzes today were effective, in-fact many of the players got through.

I attended a tailgate at the Ohio State game where I spoke with a bigger donor in the know, who told me without a doubt there is a donor or donors ready and willing to buy out the contract...that 4 and 1 not only pissed off the masses, but also many players from what I'm told.

As for a possible coach, forget about the big names...I was told we would be looking for a no name up and comer type from a conference like the MAC etc. I was reminded that many top level coaches came through that conference, including one of the attendees husband, Urban Meyer...