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Justin Wilcox Agrees To New Contract Through 2023

December 6, 2018
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BERKELEY – Cal head football coach Justin Wilcox, who will be leading the Golden Bears into the Cheez-It Bowl later this month, has signed a new five-year contract that will keep him with the school through the 2023 season.
 
Cal finished 7-5 overall during the 2018 regular season, and the Bears will next face TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 26 in Phoenix, Ariz., the team's first postseason appearance in three years.
 
"I want to thank Chancellor Christ and Jim Knowlton for their trust and confidence in me, as well as in our staff, to lead our team," Wilcox said. "They share our collective vision for Cal football, and together we are building a program that makes our university and greater Golden Bear community proud on and off the field. I am thrilled to be the head football coach at Cal and have the opportunity to work with quality student-athletes every day. I am excited about our future in Berkeley."
 
The new package extends an additional two seasons from Wilcox's original agreement signed in 2017 and includes increased compensation, as well as a larger assistant coach salary pool designed to aid with recruitment and retention of the football staff.
 
"Justin is a great representative of our University, and he is building a football program centered around character, purpose and developing the entire student-athlete," Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "We are seeing tremendous momentum and increased support and engagement among our faculty, alumni, students and fans. With the trajectory of the program, we believe it is important to show a continuing and strengthened commitment to Justin and his staff by providing additional resources. The results of his two years have generated incredible excitement, and we are enthusiastic about the future."
 
In his two years at the helm, Wilcox has transformed the Bears into a team that ranks among the conference and national leaders in nearly every defensive category. Cal is first in the Pac-12 in interceptions (17), turnovers gained (24) and team passing efficiency defense (112.70), as well as second in passing yards allowed (187.1 ypg), and third in scoring defense (21.2 ppg), total defense (319.4 ypg) and rushing defense (132.3 ypg). At the NCAA level, Cal is tied for fourth in defensive touchdowns (5) and tied for fifth in interceptions, while ranking among the top 35 in almost every defensive category.
 
On offense, Patrick Laird is on the verge of becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons and has 2,124 career rushing yards. He became the first Cal player since Marshawn Lynch to rush for over 100 yards twice in the Big Game. 
 
Cal has had several signature victories under Wilcox, including two wins against North Carolina, a home victory over Ole Miss and a road triumph at BYU as part of a 6-0 non-conference record. In Pac-12 action, the Bears defeated then-No. 8 Washington State, 37-3, in 2017 – Cal's first win over a top-10 team in 14 years – while this past fall, the Bears earned wins over then-No. 13 and eventual Pac-12 champion Washington (12-10 in Berkeley) and at USC (15-14) for Cal's first victory at the L.A. Coliseum since 2000.
 
During this past season, 11 football student-athletes were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic team, including first-team selections in Laird, Michael Saffell and Steven Coutts, while Jordan Kunaszyk was chosen first-team All-Pac-12 and Evan Weaver was voted to the second team. In addition, Laird, who sponsored a well-received summer reading challenge, was a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy given to the top player in the country who began his career as a walk-on. He is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and a member of the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team®. Kunaszyk was one of eight national semifinalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which honors a defensive player for character and performance. Kunaszyk (Sports Illustrated) and Weaver (Pro Football Focus) also earned second-team All-American honors.

Discussion from...

Justin Wilcox Agrees To New Contract Through 2023

15,057 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Yogi58
LunchTime
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Just reading through a take on the old contract again...

Quote:

Beat UCLA, USC or Oregon during the regular season, provided such team has at least 6 regular-season wins: $10,000 per win

Oof.
flylooper
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Good! Wilcox shows much promise as a head coach.

As a son of Oregon and one of the 49ers' best ever linebackers, Justin's got a heck of a pedigree.

Go Bears!
HungryCalBear
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This is awesome news. Thanks to Jim Knowlton and Carol Christ for their pro-active leadership and to Justin Wilcox for wanting to stay and build a championship program. I hope he's no longer at the bottom of the pay-scale for Pac-12 coaches.

Also awesome news of a bigger pool for assistant coaches. No more fear of Baldwin leaving :-)
DavisBear
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Great news!!
BearGreg
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Staff
Kudos to the donors, including more than on Bear Insider community member for helping to make this happen
tim94501
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Love the move. How much is Baldwin's buyout?
Trumpanzee
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What are the terms of the new contract?
71Bear
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Troll said:

What are the terms of the new contract?

We will find out once the Regents have approved it...
Yogi58
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Troll said:

What are the terms of the new contract?

https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/12/6/18129328/justin-wilcox-agrees-to-contract-extension-to-2023-california-golden-bears-football-knowlton
71Bear
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Yogi Bear said:

Troll said:

What are the terms of the new contract?

https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2018/12/6/18129328/justin-wilcox-agrees-to-contract-extension-to-2023-california-golden-bears-football-knowlton
"The devil is in the detail". We will find out all the particulars within the next couple of months.
Cal Strong!
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Cal Strong like Coach Wilcox.

Coach Wilcox NOT weak.

But Cal should never give extension to coach who no beat stanfurd. Beating stanfurd #1 priority every year. It also #1 criteria for being a strong coach at Cal.
okaydo
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Cal Strong! said:

Cal Strong like Coach Wilcox.

Coach Wilcox NOT weak.

But Cal should never give extension to coach who no beat stanfurd. Beating stanfurd #1 priority every year. It also #1 criteria for being a strong coach at Cal.

So we should just let Wilcox walk to a higher paying job because he hasn't beaten Stanford?
Cal Strong!
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okaydo said:

Cal Strong! said:

Cal Strong like Coach Wilcox.

Coach Wilcox NOT weak.

But Cal should never give extension to coach who no beat stanfurd. Beating stanfurd #1 priority every year. It also #1 criteria for being a strong coach at Cal.

So we should just let Wilcox walk to a higher paying job because he hasn't beaten Stanford?
He still under contract. Let him beat stanfurd first.
okaydo
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Cal Strong! said:

okaydo said:

Cal Strong! said:

Cal Strong like Coach Wilcox.

Coach Wilcox NOT weak.

But Cal should never give extension to coach who no beat stanfurd. Beating stanfurd #1 priority every year. It also #1 criteria for being a strong coach at Cal.

So we should just let Wilcox walk to a higher paying job because he hasn't beaten Stanford?
He still under contract. Let him beat stanfurd first.

Contracts don't meet bleep. Wilcox is now an intriguing head coaching candidate, when he wasn't two years ago. If he could turn Cal around in two years, imagine what he could do at another low-tier Power 5 program? If we wait until he beats Furd, then we'll be looking for another new coach.
Cal89
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It's all about the W, but the last two BGs were damn competitive. That had not been the case for quite a while...

We out-yarded them, got more first downs, out ran them (total and yards/carry), and even had fewer penalties. An impotent pass attack (not just against Stanford) and -2 on TOs did us in. It's super clear to me that Cal was a mistake or two away from winning, and it would have been a deserved victory.

A bad stretch of TOs was very contributory to our 3-game losing stretch.

In JW's first two seasons we beat arguably the best two teams in the conference (UW and the Cougs). Got that Southern Cal monkey off our backs, in LA too.

As bad as the offense has been in 2018, two games, even three, were on the brink of wins with better ball security.

It truly seems that we have the right guy in JW. I'm in full support of Cal putting more chips on the table...



heartofthebear
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I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
Yogi58
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heartofthebear said:

I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
DeRuyter is paid pretty darn well for an experienced defensive coordinator. I don't think we would (nor should) pay him like we're Alabama and he's Tosh, especially not with defense being Wilcox's strength.

At some point, he's gonna get poached by a blueblood school or get another shot at a head job.
71Bear
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Yogi Bear said:

heartofthebear said:

I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
DeRuyter is paid pretty darn well for an experienced defensive coordinator. I don't think we would (nor should) pay him like we're Alabama and he's Tosh, especially not with defense being Wilcox's strength.

At some point, he's gonna get poached by a blueblood school or get another shot at a head job.
Actually, he ranks #32 among P12 assistant coaches. Also, his salary ranks #202 among all college assistants. I would say that he is not well paid relative to other college assts. His salary is $415,000.

Jim Leavitt 1.7 million/year and Jim Lake 1.1 million/year are the highest paid assts in the P12
Yogi58
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71Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

heartofthebear said:

I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
DeRuyter is paid pretty darn well for an experienced defensive coordinator. I don't think we would (nor should) pay him like we're Alabama and he's Tosh, especially not with defense being Wilcox's strength.

At some point, he's gonna get poached by a blueblood school or get another shot at a head job.
Actually, he ranks #32 among P12 assistant coaches. Also, his salary ranks #202 among all college assistants. I would say that he is not well paid relative to other college assts. His salary is $415,000.

Jim Leavitt 1.7 million/year and Jim Lake 1.1 million/year are the highest paid assts in the P12
I would be interested to see where you get your figures for the other assistants.

Here is DeRuyter's contract:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2UY0a5NPPOvZ0VralhTUkswQ0k/view

Of interest:

Salary plus talent fee for this season is $390K. Talent fee increases next season to $257K, raising his salary to $507K. If he is defensive coordinator on August 1, he gets a $300K bonus, bringing him to $807K for the year.

There is a clause in Baldwin's contract about having to pay us back if he takes a coordinator job in the Pac 12 that is not present in DeRuyter's contract.
71Bear
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Yogi Bear said:

71Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

heartofthebear said:

I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
DeRuyter is paid pretty darn well for an experienced defensive coordinator. I don't think we would (nor should) pay him like we're Alabama and he's Tosh, especially not with defense being Wilcox's strength.

At some point, he's gonna get poached by a blueblood school or get another shot at a head job.
Actually, he ranks #32 among P12 assistant coaches. Also, his salary ranks #202 among all college assistants. I would say that he is not well paid relative to other college assts. His salary is $415,000.

Jim Leavitt 1.7 million/year and Jim Lake 1.1 million/year are the highest paid assts in the P12
I would be interested to see where you get your figures for the other assistants.

Here is DeRuyter's contract:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2UY0a5NPPOvZ0VralhTUkswQ0k/view

Of interest:

Salary plus talent fee for this season is $390K. Talent fee increases next season to $257K, raising his salary to $507K. If he is defensive coordinator on August 1, he gets a $300K bonus, bringing him to $807K for the year.

There is a clause in Baldwin's contract about having to pay us back if he takes a coordinator job in the Pac 12 that is not present in DeRuyter's contract.
http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/assistant

The definitive listing of all assistant coaches salaries....
Yogi58
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71Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

71Bear said:

Yogi Bear said:

heartofthebear said:

I hope Wilcox gives DeRuyter a healthy raise.
DeRuyter is paid pretty darn well for an experienced defensive coordinator. I don't think we would (nor should) pay him like we're Alabama and he's Tosh, especially not with defense being Wilcox's strength.

At some point, he's gonna get poached by a blueblood school or get another shot at a head job.
Actually, he ranks #32 among P12 assistant coaches. Also, his salary ranks #202 among all college assistants. I would say that he is not well paid relative to other college assts. His salary is $415,000.

Jim Leavitt 1.7 million/year and Jim Lake 1.1 million/year are the highest paid assts in the P12
I would be interested to see where you get your figures for the other assistants.

Here is DeRuyter's contract:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2UY0a5NPPOvZ0VralhTUkswQ0k/view

Of interest:

Salary plus talent fee for this season is $390K. Talent fee increases next season to $257K, raising his salary to $507K. If he is defensive coordinator on August 1, he gets a $300K bonus, bringing him to $807K for the year.

There is a clause in Baldwin's contract about having to pay us back if he takes a coordinator job in the Pac 12 that is not present in DeRuyter's contract.
http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/football/assistant

The definitive listing of all assistant coaches salaries....
Thanks for the link!

Assuming this list stayed static, which it won't.

By Total Pay, DeRuyter would rank 124th next year and 22nd in the conference. Add in the $300K (not sure that's fair, but not going to worry about it), he'd rank 5th, just ahead of the "I'm still wondering why the hell he's making so much" Marcus Arroyo.

Seeing now how Sirmon is one of the highest paid assistants in the conference is another assurance that the plan is for him to take over when DeRuyter gets that choice opportunity. And if not, we'd love to have him for longer. But if Sirmon is gonna make that much more and not be a coordinator, he better start pulling in some guys and more than just at LB. I'm fine with paying a coordinator that isn't a great recruiter a lot of money if they are very good coaching up players and strategizing (DeRuyter does this well, the much higher paid Baldwin doesn't), but everyone else needs to recruit if they want to be paid the big bucks. In that vein, I hope a good chunk of the assistant pool goes to Alexander and Ragle in particular, then to Tuoti. The other guys can get the steak knives.

HungryCalBear
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DeRuyter still receives payout from Fresno until end of next year. So whatever Cal pays him now doesn't really matter. It will just be offset from his Fresno payout, to a total of $1M+ I think. After next year then we will really need to ramp up his salary.
Yogi58
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HungryCalBear said:

DeRuyter still receives payout from Fresno until end of next year. So whatever Cal pays him now doesn't really matter. It will just be offset from his Fresno payout, to a total of $1M+ I think. After next year then we will really need to ramp up his salary.
It looks as though that ends at the end of this month.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/mwest/2016/10/23/tim-deruyter-dismissed-fresno-state/92646050/

DeRuyter will be owed more than $3.44 million as a buyout, according to agreements that were set to run through Dec. 31, 2018.
HungryCalBear
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Yogi Bear said:

HungryCalBear said:

DeRuyter still receives payout from Fresno until end of next year. So whatever Cal pays him now doesn't really matter. It will just be offset from his Fresno payout, to a total of $1M+ I think. After next year then we will really need to ramp up his salary.
It looks as though that ends at the end of this month.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/mwest/2016/10/23/tim-deruyter-dismissed-fresno-state/92646050/

DeRuyter will be owed more than $3.44 million as a buyout, according to agreements that were set to run through Dec. 31, 2018.
My bad - yeah his payout will be over end of this season. His income next year will be reduced from $1.5M (Fresno payout) down to about $500K (his current contract with Cal). Guess where the majority of that $600K pool will go to.

If Baldwin is fired Cal will have to come up with money for his payout too.
Trumpanzee
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I'll chip in 5 bucks.....
Bear19
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I'm amazed at the misers on BI who want to pay our football coaches as little as possible. The surest way to lose a good coaching staff is to wait until the team has a great season before doing anything. Losing Wilcox & his top assistants because of low pay would set the program back years, which would be far more expensive than getting the staff to the conference income middle tier.

If course, instead of paying our coaches, Cal could use that money to add additional speakers since the current ones haven't caused deafness yet in game attendees, while blaring rap & heavy metal thought the entire game non-stop. Think of all the potential ticket buyers who now won't come just to listen to the entertaining piped in rap & heavy metal while ignoring the team losing games with a new coaching staff each year.
Bear19
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tim94501 said:

Love the move. How much is Baldwin's buyout?
Wilcox's new contact has a clause that pays Baldwin an extra $2,500 for every BI post that calls for him to be fired.

Hahaha.
Goobear
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Bear19 said:

tim94501 said:

Love the move. How much is Baldwin's buyout?
Wilcox's new contact has a clause that pays Baldwin an extra $2,500 for every BI post that calls for him to be fired.

Hahaha.
Funny
calumnus
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Bear19 said:

tim94501 said:

Love the move. How much is Baldwin's buyout?
Wilcox's new contact has a clause that pays Baldwin an extra $2,500 for every BI post that calls for him to be fired.

Hahaha.


That would be ONE way to explain Baldwin's horrible decisions/results at Cal with the opinion of posters who think he is an offensive guru.
kjkbear
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Glad for this, and Cal Strong, you were kidding, right? Bruce Snyder was a great coach. He lost to Furd all five years, including when Cal beat Clemson and ended up No. 7.
Yogi58
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kjkbear said:

Glad for this, and Cal Strong, you were kidding, right? Bruce Snyder was a great coach. He lost to Furd all five years, including when Cal beat Clemson and ended up No. 7.
He did not lose to Stanford all 5 years.
Yogi58
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71Bear said:

Troll said:

What are the terms of the new contract?

We will find out once the Regents have approved it...
Of interest.

If Wilcox is fired, 100% of his contract (not including bonuses he obviously wouldn't reach) will be paid. Same deal Wyking Jone got. Considering that Chip Kelly has a $9 million reciprocal buyout in his contract, Knowlton blew it on this part of the contract as has every Cal AD before him.

If Wilcox leaves for another job, there is a declining buyout starting at $3.25M in Year 1 and decreasing to $1.5M in Year 5.

There are several end-of-year retention bonuses through the life of the deal.

Also, if Wilcox wins at least 8 games and the football team posts an APR score of 980 or higher (a mark they've never hit, though the last two years of Dykes were close), the university will open talks to renegotiate his contract.
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