BERKELEY -- Greg Burns, who was part of Pete Carroll's staff on two national championship teams at USC and spent a year coaching in the NFL, has been hired as Cal's new defensive backs coach, a source confirmed.
The formal announcement could come as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Burns, 41, replaces Randy Stewart, who was fired last month in the wake of Cal's 1-11 season. The Bears' defense ranked among the worst in the country and allowed more points than any team in Cal history.
Coach Sonny Dykes hired Art Kaufman as the Bears' new defensive coordinator 2 1/2 weeks ago, and Burns' arrival will complete the staff.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Burns played at Washington State, graduating in 1995.
He has spent the past 17 seasons coaching football, all but one of them at the collegiate Division I level. Burns was on the Tampa Bay Bucaneers' staff in 2006.
Burns comes to Cal following a one-year stint at the University of Massachusetts. He was at Purdue in 2012 after four seasons at Arizona State.
He coached defensive backs, including All-American safety Troy Polamalu, at USC from 2002 through 2005. Other stops included Kansas State (2007), Louisville (1998-2001) and Idaho (1997)
The formal announcement could come as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Burns, 41, replaces Randy Stewart, who was fired last month in the wake of Cal's 1-11 season. The Bears' defense ranked among the worst in the country and allowed more points than any team in Cal history.
Coach Sonny Dykes hired Art Kaufman as the Bears' new defensive coordinator 2 1/2 weeks ago, and Burns' arrival will complete the staff.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Burns played at Washington State, graduating in 1995.
He has spent the past 17 seasons coaching football, all but one of them at the collegiate Division I level. Burns was on the Tampa Bay Bucaneers' staff in 2006.
Burns comes to Cal following a one-year stint at the University of Massachusetts. He was at Purdue in 2012 after four seasons at Arizona State.
He coached defensive backs, including All-American safety Troy Polamalu, at USC from 2002 through 2005. Other stops included Kansas State (2007), Louisville (1998-2001) and Idaho (1997)
