The Next Cal Offensive Coordinator

19,452 Views | 111 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by calumnus
Cave Bear
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Assuming Baldwin moves on, who's on your short wish list and why?

Mine:

1. Mike McDaniel, 49ers Run Game Coordinator
I love the Niners offense and it's a perfect fit for what our team should be doing. McDaniel is a young guy (36) and has been with Shanahan the last 5 seasons. He's already in the Bay Area so a job that doesn't force him to relocate may be attractive. McDaniel is from a Pac-12 state (Colorado) and has spent a total of 5 years coaching in CA. He went to a tough college (Yale) so he should be able to relate with academic high achievers. I don't know much about his personality; his entire coaching career has been in the pros. Solid NFL experience is a big plus in my book but recruiting would be something of a question mark (as would his desire to switch to college).

Getting McDaniel would be a huge coup as he's quite an up-and-comer. Other NFL teams may pull the trigger on him for OC and if so I can't imagine he would have any interest in us, but if no NFL OC gig materializes for him maybe he would like to get a head start on building/running an entire offense without any training wheels. Don't know what he makes right now, but I imagine if he was even interested we'd have to pony up. This is my ideal pick, but it's probably not realistic given how his coaching profile is so high now.

2. Kellen Moore, Cowboys Offensive Coordinator
Obviously Moore's current job is well above our pay grade, but that entire staff might be replaced this offseason and Moore might not land another NFL OC gig just yet (he's 31). Moore came of age in the Pac-12 neighborhood, born in WA and played at Boise.

3. Justin Peelle, Eagles Tight Ends Coach
Peelle has a short coaching resume, with his current job being his only coaching gig to date, but he had a long NFL playing career and has been with the Eagles as TE coach since 2013. Peelle was a stud TE at Oregon and had an outstanding academic record as a student (4x 1st Academic Team All-Pac-10 selection). Peelle played with Wilcox at Oregon so I imagine they would have good chemistry.

4. Bush Hamdan, Washington Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
I love Chris Petersen's offenses and Hamdan has both coached and played for Petersen. Going from OC at UW to OC at Cal might look like a lateral move but like Zak Hill this would allow Hamdan to show his ability in building/running an offense without a great offensive HC looking over his shoulder. Pac-12 coaching experience at a successful program is a plus in my book.

5. Zak Hill, Boise State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Boise's offense would be great for us and this would be a nice promotion for Hill, not only going to a P5 school but also getting out of Harsin's shadow. Hill was at EWU with Baldwin so he must be familiar with a lot of the concepts in our current offense, which figures to help ease the transition. Hill has 10 years experience as OC at EWU, Hawaii and BSU.

6. Jeff Horton, SDSU Offensive Coordinator/RB Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Few college OCs can lay claim to being better qualified to build a power offense. Horton has NFL experience as well as 9 years experience coaching in CA. Horton wouldn't look like a big splash hire, but he's the definition of a solid coach and we'd be hard pressed to do better if Wilcox was willing to run a more conventional power offense.

7. Ken Whisenhunt, Ex-Chargers Offensive Coordinator
Whisenhunt was fired as Chargers OC during this season. That wouldn't recommend him to many, but being fired from an NFL job is not damning in my book. The big leagues are tough, and Whisenhunt has proven his chops over 16 years serving as either HC or OC of an NFL team. Of course it's completely uncertain whether Whisenhunt would be at all interested in our job, but it couldn't hurt to see if he has any interest particularly if no NFL team expresses interest in him for OC.

edited to include Justin Peelle who I forgot in the original list
edited to replace Vigen with Whisenhunt
going4roses
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Wilcox has some decisions to make
Tell someone you love them and try to have a good day
calumnus
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Interesting list, thanks. Wilcox was the DC at Boise State the entire time Hamadan played QB there, so they definitely know each other. Hamadan has another year on his contract. $300,000 base plus $400,000 "other " is about what we have been paying Baldwin. Paying UW a buyout would hurt.

Washington's offense was #52 last year and #56 this year, pretty much the same as OSU's under Jonathan Smith (and Washington was #21 in offense 3 years ago).



tequila4kapp
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My list starts and stops with Troy Taylor. Just have to hope the lure of coming home to the alma mater would matter enough to give up being a HC
Klindergoff
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I'm still waiting for someone to say "Ivan Fears".
tequila4kapp
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Klindergoff said:

I'm still waiting for someone to say "Ivan Fears".
He hasn't coached at the college level in 20 years and the only time he's coached west of the Mississippi is on road trips. Hard pass.
packawana
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calumnus said:

Interesting list, thanks. Wilcox was the DC at Boise State the entire time Hamadan played there, so they definitely know each other. Hamadan has another year on his contract. $300,000 base plus $400,000 "other " is about what we have been paying Baldwin.
If you're frustrated with the way our offense performs, I don't think you've met a Washington fan yet. They all want Hamdan's head at this point for how that offense has underperformed relative to its talent.
PaulCali
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Assuming Baldwin wants to stay, I think he will be retained.
calumnus
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packawana said:

calumnus said:

Interesting list, thanks. Wilcox was the DC at Boise State the entire time Hamadan played there, so they definitely know each other. Hamadan has another year on his contract. $300,000 base plus $400,000 "other " is about what we have been paying Baldwin.
If you're frustrated with the way our offense performs, I don't think you've met a Washington fan yet. They all want Hamdan's head at this point for how that offense has underperformed relative to its talent.


Yeah, I amended my comment. UW had the #10, #21 offense in 2016 and 2017 with Jonathan Smith as OC. He becomes the HC at OSU (with Hamadan becoming OC at UW) and now UW and OSU are equal in offense, despite one recruiting near the top of the league and the other near the bottom.
MilleniaBear
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Interesting list. I tend to target guys who have succeeded at places that don't traditionally succeed. Guys who have a history of making do. Frustrates me when I hear the refrain "we don't have the talent". BB has worked with 1 five star QB, one 4 star, n 3 3 star and can't get better than last place offensively. Design an offense for what you have
Lomiton
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If Baldwin were to leave (and I agree, it would be his call) I think you'd see the
Kellen Moore recruitment 2.0 as I think (and as mentioned by OP) that staff is done with anything less than a super bowl appearance.

Try these links from Moore recruit 1.0 on for size:



https://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/13819/recruiting-tales-detroit-lions-qb-kellen-moore&ved=2ahUKEwiL6f7os5bmAhVSu54KHTx_AZsQjjgwAnoECAMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Kuf9msxJym0ELbu6_txEn

calumnus
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Lomiton said:

If Baldwin were to leave (and I agree, it would be his call) I think you'd see the
Kellen Moore recruitment 2.0 as I think (and as mentioned by OP) that staff is done with anything less than a super bowl appearance.

Try these links from Moore recruit 1.0 on for size:



https://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/13819/recruiting-tales-detroit-lions-qb-kellen-moore&ved=2ahUKEwiL6f7os5bmAhVSu54KHTx_AZsQjjgwAnoECAMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Kuf9msxJym0ELbu6_txEn




So the story is Wilcox was the DC, trying to convince Chris Peterson what QB to recruit?
Lomiton
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"So the story is Wilcox was the DC, trying to convince Chris Peterson what QB to recruit?"

Cal-Al, that is the story. Moore started as red-shirt freshman (over Bush Hamdan) and in the end not only finished his career with a 50-3 record, he made everyone (Petersen, Wilcox, Hardin, et al) and everything (Boise State, Mountain West) he touched truck loads, upon truck loads of money.

calumnus
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Lomiton said:

"So the story is Wilcox was the DC, trying to convince Chris Peterson what QB to recruit?"

Cal-Al, that is the story. Moore started as red-shirt freshman (over Bush Hamdan) and in the end not only finished his career with a 50-3 record, he made everyone (Petersen, Wilcox, Hardin, et al) and everything (Boise State, Mountain West) he touched truck loads, upon truck loads of money.




Ok, thanks, read the linked story. Very cool. Hopefully the Cowboys fire him and the rest of his staff and will basically pay his salary at Cal once Wilcox makes the call.
Klindergoff
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tequila4kapp said:

Klindergoff said:

I'm still waiting for someone to say "Ivan Fears".
He hasn't coached at the college level in 20 years and the only time he's coached west of the Mississippi is on road trips. Hard pass.
It was a joke. There's someone here who is so high on Ivan Fears that I'm starting to think the person is Ivan Fears.
Cave Bear
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tequila4kapp said:

My list starts and stops with Troy Taylor. Just have to hope the lure of coming home to the alma mater would matter enough to give up being a HC
I'd love to see Troy return here. I didn't include him because I figured he's invested in being a HC now but if he was willing to OC again then yeah sign me up
okaydo
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Rich Rodriguez
PtownBear1
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There's a large contingent on another forum pushing for Zak Hill. His background does seem to make a lot of sense. I wonder if Wilcox knows him though. Wilcox strikes me as the type that would prefer candidates he knows personally.
CALiforniALUM
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MilleniaBear said:

Interesting list. I tend to target guys who have succeeded at places that don't traditionally succeed. Guys who have a history of making do. Frustrates me when I hear the refrain "we don't have the talent". BB has worked with 1 five star QB, one 4 star, n 3 3 star and can't get better than last place offensively. Design an offense for what you have


Except an offense runs on more than just a QB or the total number of stars they have.

While there is a natural interest to try and pin cause on a single element, the reality is that any particular part of a situation is rarely cause for the results. In trying to make a case for why the offense has been anemic (play calling), or point out reasons why it shouldn't be (5* players), what gets lost are the facts around injuries, quality of players irrespective of their ratings, the difference in a [insert star rating] player as a freshman vs as a senior, time required for some players to learn or grow into their position, the fact that most plays are a series of actions between players who each must execute their respective role in said play in order for it to be successful. Of course, there is the part where if everything else goes right the right play needs to be called to create mismatches with the opposing team. It seems all too often the rationals for why a coach should be fired or not are focused on a single cause or result, without context or respect for the process of building a team. Hitting the reset button too early is arguably as disruptive to team performance than potentially sticking with a situation. Cal football had experienced an unprecedented period of historically bad performance before Wilcox and company showed up. Is there a reality where it may take more than three years to build up the team to be something more respectable? Or is simply a change in coaching always the salvo to every team's problems? I would surmise that Cal's football problems are more than just a coaching change away from being fixed. I've seen progress with this team and coaching staff. I think they deserve at least one more year. We are a very young team. Soon we will have a more balanced distribution of upper and lower classmen on the team. I've heard many times that a player who is older, bigger, stronger, more experienced is usually better than a kid one year removed from playing high school ball.
DWM81
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This is an interesting thread. Thank you...

Troy Taylor is not returning to Cal for OC. He is earning ~500k as HC at CSUS (my neighbor is on the CSUS Compensation Committee). Troy is more committed to "coming home" (to Sacramento for 'quality of life") than he is returning to Cal.

IF Wilcox left Cal then Troy would be highly interested in the HC job. He would be a natural fit and the transition would be fairly seamless...
moonpod
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throw in Ted Gilmore whiskey co-oc or something. did time at USC so familiar with the west coast and Wilcox worked with him at whiskey

also the guy who is OC under Smith at OSU. ok lateral move, but to a place with more potential (maybe)
89Bear
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If Baldwin is gone, and I think he stays with a bowl win, then the new OC will obviously have to fit into what Wilcox is wanting. I think he wants a team that can run the ball in a tough way. I think he wants the offense to hold onto the ball for long possessions. Shorten the game, rely on a tough defense, and be really physical.
I don't know who fits into that role.
AlmaSecreta
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I'm not an expert by any means but Zak Hill has impressed me this season. He's been successful at EWU and BSU and I think being under Harsin, he's learned quite a bit from his success. They are down to their third string quarterback and all have performed well from what I saw. He also recruited Bachmeier to BSU.

Having worked under Baldwin should make an easy transition and would hopefully just build from now, but he might not want the job of his fired boss. Similar to how it seemed (to me) that Petersen didn't want to take his friend Tedford's job.

ColoradoBear
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DWM81 said:

This is an interesting thread. Thank you...

Troy Taylor is not returning to Cal for OC. He is earning ~500k as HC at CSUS (my neighbor is on the CSUS Compensation Committee). Troy is more committed to "coming home" (to Sacramento for 'quality of life") than he is returning to Cal.

IF Wilcox left Cal then Troy would be highly interested in the HC job. He would be a natural fit and the transition would be fairly seamless...


That salary number is not credible at all since it's been reported in multiple places that Taylor makes $240k/yr on a 7 year deal.

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/bob-dunning-sac-state-football-contract-is-taylor-made/

$500k is completely out of line with what any FCS school pays their HC. Baldwin made $212k at EWU. Dan Hawkins currently makes $262k at UC Davis.
Bobodeluxe
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Las Vegas (ray duhs, that is) OC will soon be job hunting!
Alkiadt
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tequila4kapp said:

My list starts and stops with Troy Taylor. Just have to hope the lure of coming home to the alma mater would matter enough to give up being a HC


Not happening.
Troy's next job if he ever takes one is a HC position at a larger program.
He's already coached here, and has already been a P5 OC.
going4roses
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What Oc comes without filling his own staff?
Tell someone you love them and try to have a good day
ColoradoBear
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Alkiadt said:

tequila4kapp said:

My list starts and stops with Troy Taylor. Just have to hope the lure of coming home to the alma mater would matter enough to give up being a HC


Not happening.
Troy's next job if he ever takes one is a HC position at a larger program.
He's already coached here, and has already been a P5 OC.


Larger than?

Not many make the jump from FCS to P5.

Other than Harbaugh (who played 14 years on the NFL and went to high school @ Paly), I can't think of any recently. All I remember is Paul Wulff a WSU.

And Craig Bohl at Wyoming, who is under 500 there, but left NDSU with multiple FCS championships.
TheSouseFamily
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There were only 3 FCS to FBS hires last year. Two of them were to Charlotte and East Carolina. The only one to go to a P5 school was Chris Klieman at Kansas State which, thus far, seems to be going well.
heartofthebear
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Cave Bear said:

Assuming Baldwin moves on, who's on your short wish list and why?

Mine:

1. Mike McDaniel, 49ers Run Game Coordinator
I love the Niners offense and it's a perfect fit for what our team should be doing. McDaniel is a young guy (36) and has been with Shanahan the last 5 seasons. He's already in the Bay Area so a job that doesn't force him to relocate may be attractive. McDaniel is from a Pac-12 state (Colorado) and has spent a total of 5 years coaching in CA. He went to a tough college (Yale) so he should be able to relate with academic high achievers. I don't know much about his personality; his entire coaching career has been in the pros. Solid NFL experience is a big plus in my book but recruiting would be something of a question mark (as would his desire to switch to college).

Getting McDaniel would be a huge coup as he's quite an up-and-comer. Other NFL teams may pull the trigger on him for OC and if so I can't imagine he would have any interest in us, but if no NFL OC gig materializes for him maybe he would like to get a head start on building/running an entire offense without any training wheels. Don't know what he makes right now, but I imagine if he was even interested we'd have to pony up. This is my ideal pick, but it's probably not realistic given how his coaching profile is so high now.

2. Kellen Moore, Cowboys Offensive Coordinator
Obviously Moore's current job is well above our pay grade, but that entire staff might be replaced this offseason and Moore might not land another NFL OC gig just yet (he's 31). Moore came of age in the Pac-12 neighborhood, born in WA and played at Boise.

3. Justin Peelle, Eagles Tight Ends Coach
Peelle has a short coaching resume, with his current job being his only coaching gig to date, but he had a long NFL playing career and has been with the Eagles as TE coach since 2013. Peelle was a stud TE at Oregon and had an outstanding academic record as a student (4x 1st Academic Team All-Pac-10 selection). Peelle played with Wilcox at Oregon so I imagine they would have good chemistry.

4. Bush Hamdan, Washington Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
I love Chris Petersen's offenses and Hamdan has both coached and played for Petersen. Going from OC at UW to OC at Cal might look like a lateral move but like Zak Hill this would allow Hamdan to show his ability in building/running an offense without a great offensive HC looking over his shoulder. Pac-12 coaching experience at a successful program is a plus in my book.

5. Zak Hill, Boise State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Boise's offense would be great for us and this would be a nice promotion for Hill, not only going to a P5 school but also getting out of Harsin's shadow. Hill was at EWU with Baldwin so he must be familiar with a lot of the concepts in our current offense, which figures to help ease the transition. Hill has 10 years experience as OC at EWU, Hawaii and BSU.

6. Jeff Horton, SDSU Offensive Coordinator/RB Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Few college OCs can lay claim to being better qualified to build a power offense. Horton has NFL experience as well as 9 years experience coaching in CA. Horton wouldn't look like a big splash hire, but he's the definition of a solid coach and we'd be hard pressed to do better if Wilcox was willing to run a more conventional power offense.

7. Ken Whisenhunt, Ex-Chargers Offensive Coordinator
Whisenhunt was fired as Chargers OC during this season. That wouldn't recommend him to many, but being fired from an NFL job is not damning in my book. The big leagues are tough, and Whisenhunt has proven his chops over 16 years serving as either HC or OC of an NFL team. Of course it's completely uncertain whether Whisenhunt would be at all interested in our job, but it couldn't hurt to see if he has any interest particularly if no NFL team expresses interest in him for OC.

edited to include Justin Peelle who I forgot in the original list
edited to replace Vigen with Whisenhunt


Regardless of who we go for we should do it this year. Baldwin's at the end of his contract IIRC and our offensive roster is more attractive than it has been since Dykes left.
We have a decent 2 deep good for 2 years.
going4roses
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Well Wilcox really has some management decisions now.
Tell someone you love them and try to have a good day
OneTopOneChickenApple
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I'm on the fence regarding Baldwin. Can go either way. I think we can all agree that Garbers has developed since last season and we would have at least one more win if he were healthy. If we were 8-4 or 9-3 in regular season, I don't think the calls for Baldwin leaving would be nearly as loud.
burritos
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Garbers, Remigio, Chris Brown are all sophomores. Polk is a Freshman. Our entire Oline are underclassmen. I think they have a strong chance of all improving.
SFCityBear
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Cave Bear said:

Assuming Baldwin moves on, who's on your short wish list and why?

Mine:

1. Mike McDaniel, 49ers Run Game Coordinator
I love the Niners offense and it's a perfect fit for what our team should be doing. McDaniel is a young guy (36) and has been with Shanahan the last 5 seasons. He's already in the Bay Area so a job that doesn't force him to relocate may be attractive. McDaniel is from a Pac-12 state (Colorado) and has spent a total of 5 years coaching in CA. He went to a tough college (Yale) so he should be able to relate with academic high achievers. I don't know much about his personality; his entire coaching career has been in the pros. Solid NFL experience is a big plus in my book but recruiting would be something of a question mark (as would his desire to switch to college).

Getting McDaniel would be a huge coup as he's quite an up-and-comer. Other NFL teams may pull the trigger on him for OC and if so I can't imagine he would have any interest in us, but if no NFL OC gig materializes for him maybe he would like to get a head start on building/running an entire offense without any training wheels. Don't know what he makes right now, but I imagine if he was even interested we'd have to pony up. This is my ideal pick, but it's probably not realistic given how his coaching profile is so high now.

2. Kellen Moore, Cowboys Offensive Coordinator
Obviously Moore's current job is well above our pay grade, but that entire staff might be replaced this offseason and Moore might not land another NFL OC gig just yet (he's 31). Moore came of age in the Pac-12 neighborhood, born in WA and played at Boise.

3. Justin Peelle, Eagles Tight Ends Coach
Peelle has a short coaching resume, with his current job being his only coaching gig to date, but he had a long NFL playing career and has been with the Eagles as TE coach since 2013. Peelle was a stud TE at Oregon and had an outstanding academic record as a student (4x 1st Academic Team All-Pac-10 selection). Peelle played with Wilcox at Oregon so I imagine they would have good chemistry.

4. Bush Hamdan, Washington Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
I love Chris Petersen's offenses and Hamdan has both coached and played for Petersen. Going from OC at UW to OC at Cal might look like a lateral move but like Zak Hill this would allow Hamdan to show his ability in building/running an offense without a great offensive HC looking over his shoulder. Pac-12 coaching experience at a successful program is a plus in my book.

5. Zak Hill, Boise State Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Boise's offense would be great for us and this would be a nice promotion for Hill, not only going to a P5 school but also getting out of Harsin's shadow. Hill was at EWU with Baldwin so he must be familiar with a lot of the concepts in our current offense, which figures to help ease the transition. Hill has 10 years experience as OC at EWU, Hawaii and BSU.

6. Jeff Horton, SDSU Offensive Coordinator/RB Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Few college OCs can lay claim to being better qualified to build a power offense. Horton has NFL experience as well as 9 years experience coaching in CA. Horton wouldn't look like a big splash hire, but he's the definition of a solid coach and we'd be hard pressed to do better if Wilcox was willing to run a more conventional power offense.

7. Ken Whisenhunt, Ex-Chargers Offensive Coordinator
Whisenhunt was fired as Chargers OC during this season. That wouldn't recommend him to many, but being fired from an NFL job is not damning in my book. The big leagues are tough, and Whisenhunt has proven his chops over 16 years serving as either HC or OC of an NFL team. Of course it's completely uncertain whether Whisenhunt would be at all interested in our job, but it couldn't hurt to see if he has any interest particularly if no NFL team expresses interest in him for OC.

edited to include Justin Peelle who I forgot in the original list
edited to replace Vigen with Whisenhunt
Aw, why this, and why now? With all due respect, doesn't this just pander to all those Cal fans who wanted Baldwin fired mid-season? Just when the rest of us Cal fans were beginning to enjoy this season with some of the O-line having returned, Garbers returning, the development of a promising wideout in Polk, the improvement in Remigio, the return of Brown and the running game to form, the nice win over WSU, the great win over Stanford in the Big Game, and a solid victory over arch-rival UCLA, and preparation for a trip to another bowl game, now we have to hear about all the coaches we want to replace Baldwin. If those calling for Baldwin's head had gotten their wish, and Cal fired him mid-season, do any of them honestly think Cal could have hired a new coordinator, put in a new offensive system, and had enough time to practice all the plays in time to have all the success Cal had at the end of the season? Fat chance. Cal would have likely been 5-7 or worse, and staying home for the holidays and not gone bowling. Again with all due respect, it just makes no sense. Why not have this conversation after the season is over? I want to enjoy this bowl game, without having to pick over every play to find how I think Baldwin could have done better, or how some other coach could have done better. And I think there might be some fans who feel the same way.
71Bear
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OneTopOneChickenApple said:

I'm on the fence regarding Baldwin. Can go either way. I think we can all agree that Garbers has developed since last season and we would have at least one more win if he were healthy. If we were 8-4 or 9-3 in regular season, I don't think the calls for Baldwin leaving would be nearly as loud.
Well, I think of one poster who doesn't think Garbers has improved this season....

Of course, he has had the knives out for BB for over a year now.....

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