justin has some work to do. replacing our oc and our ol coaches. he will need some input and hopefully make some good decisions to keep the program going in the right direction.
Photo by Mike Wondolowski - KLC fotos
Cal Football
"Steve Greatwood is one of the best offensive line coaches in the history of our game and an even better person," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "I have the utmost respect for coach Wood and the work he has done over the last four decades. He was the first person I hired at Cal three years ago. The impact he made both on and off the field in the lives of our young men and his fellow coaches during his three seasons with our program will have a positive influence on our program for many years to come. I wish we could keep him around longer because he will be very difficult to replace, but he has built a tremendous foundation for our offensive line unit to build upon in the years ahead. If anyone has earned the right to enjoy his retirement and enjoy life, it's coach Wood."
Greatwood's turned a Cal offensive line unit with nearly no collegiate experience when he arrived in 2017 into a group that has made 118 career starts under his tutelage among eight Golden Bears heading into the Redbox Bowl on Monday with all slated to return in 2020. Third-year starters Jake Curhan (37), Valentino Daltoso (32) and Michael Saffell (18) lead the way with a combined 87 starts between them while five others – Matthew Cindric (12), McKade Mettauer (11), Henry Bazakas (3), Gentle Williams (3), Will Craig (1) and Erick Nisich (1) – have combined for an additional 31.
Despite losing a pair of starters (Craig, Williams) before game two of the 2019 season and having two others (Daltoso, Saffell) each miss a pair of games, Greatwood helped this year's offensive line stay together through those injuries and play its best football of the campaign in the November to help the Bears won three of four games in the final month of the regular season. With Daltoso and Saffell both back in action for the final four games of the regular season, Cal's offense had its most productive month of the campaign by averaging 420.7 yards of total offense and 172.3 rushing yards per game in the team's three victories.
Greatwood's first two offensive lines at Cal in 2017 and 2018 helped pave the way for running back Patrick Laird, who finished his collegiate career with 2153 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground. After compiling 1127 rushing yards in 2017, the former walk-on rushed for another 961 in 2018 to finish just 39 yards short of becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1000-yard rushing seasons and joining Marshawn Lynch and Russell White in the elite group.
Greatwood produced some of the top offensive lines in college football history over his 40 seasons as a football coach that included 32 campaigns over a pair of stints at his alma mater Oregon. During his three-plus decades of coaching in his hometown, the Eugene native was instrumental to Oregon's tremendous success. Greatwood, who spent 25 of his 32 seasons at Oregon as the school's offensive line coach, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for a pair of seasons with the Ducks (1980-81) before a 13-year run (1982-94) in his first stint as the school's offensive line coach that concluded with a Rose Bowl berth.
Steve Greatwood Announces Retirement
BERKELEY – Legendary offensive line coach Steve Greatwood announced his retirement Saturday after 40 seasons of coaching college football and the NFL. The 61-year-old Greatwood will coach his final game in Cal's Redbox Bowl matchup with Illinois at Levi's Stadium this Monday, Dec. 30 (FOX, 1 pm PT).
"I've had the pleasure of doing what I love to do for my entire adult life," Greatwood said. "I've been a pretty lucky guy in that respect and maybe even luckier to have been able to spend so much time with so many tremendous people. It's tough to leave this job that I love so much and a program that is on such an upswing under the leadership of Justin Wilcox, but there comes a time when you know it's just right to move on and that's where I'm at in my life. It's been an unbelievable job for the last 40 years and I'll cherish all of the memories forever."
"Steve Greatwood is one of the best offensive line coaches in the history of our game and an even better person," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "I have the utmost respect for coach Wood and the work he has done over the last four decades. He was the first person I hired at Cal three years ago. The impact he made both on and off the field in the lives of our young men and his fellow coaches during his three seasons with our program will have a positive influence on our program for many years to come. I wish we could keep him around longer because he will be very difficult to replace, but he has built a tremendous foundation for our offensive line unit to build upon in the years ahead. If anyone has earned the right to enjoy his retirement and enjoy life, it's coach Wood."
Greatwood's turned a Cal offensive line unit with nearly no collegiate experience when he arrived in 2017 into a group that has made 118 career starts under his tutelage among eight Golden Bears heading into the Redbox Bowl on Monday with all slated to return in 2020. Third-year starters Jake Curhan (37), Valentino Daltoso (32) and Michael Saffell (18) lead the way with a combined 87 starts between them while five others – Matthew Cindric (12), McKade Mettauer (11), Henry Bazakas (3), Gentle Williams (3), Will Craig (1) and Erick Nisich (1) – have combined for an additional 31.
Despite losing a pair of starters (Craig, Williams) before game two of the 2019 season and having two others (Daltoso, Saffell) each miss a pair of games, Greatwood helped this year's offensive line stay together through those injuries and play its best football of the campaign in the November to help the Bears won three of four games in the final month of the regular season. With Daltoso and Saffell both back in action for the final four games of the regular season, Cal's offense had its most productive month of the campaign by averaging 420.7 yards of total offense and 172.3 rushing yards per game in the team's three victories.
Greatwood's first two offensive lines at Cal in 2017 and 2018 helped pave the way for running back Patrick Laird, who finished his collegiate career with 2153 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground. After compiling 1127 rushing yards in 2017, the former walk-on rushed for another 961 in 2018 to finish just 39 yards short of becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1000-yard rushing seasons and joining Marshawn Lynch and Russell White in the elite group.
Greatwood produced some of the top offensive lines in college football history over his 40 seasons as a football coach that included 32 campaigns over a pair of stints at his alma mater Oregon. During his three-plus decades of coaching in his hometown, the Eugene native was instrumental to Oregon's tremendous success. Greatwood, who spent 25 of his 32 seasons at Oregon as the school's offensive line coach, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for a pair of seasons with the Ducks (1980-81) before a 13-year run (1982-94) in his first stint as the school's offensive line coach that concluded with a Rose Bowl berth.
After two seasons with the NFL's St. Louis Rams (1995-96), he returned to collegiate coaching at Maryland (1997) before spending two campaigns at USC (1998-99).
Greatwood returned to Eugene as the Ducks' defensive line coach for five seasons (2000-04) before his second stint as the team's offensive line coach (2005-16). He added the title of running game coordinator in 2009 and retained it for his final eight campaigns in Eugene.
During his second stint as Oregon's offensive line coach the Ducks reached a pair of national championship games (2010, '14), won four Pac-10/12 titles (2009, '10, '11, '14), piled up 10 or more victories eight times, played in 11 bowl games and posted winning records in each of the first 11 of those 12 campaigns as Oregon compiled a 119-38 (.758) record during the run. Greatwood was the architect of the team's successful run game that claimed 10 consecutive conference rushing titles (2006-15), ranked in the top 10 in the nation eight times in his final decade with the Ducks, and established single-season school rushing records on four occasions over his last nine campaigns. Oregon led the nation in scoring offense (47.0 ppg) and total offense (530.7 ypg) in 2010 when Greatwood earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors from Football Scoop.com. He was also the AFCA's National Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2008.
CURRENT CAL OFFENSIVE LINEMEN ON COACH WOOD
"Coach Wood has been extremely influential to my football career. He has coached me every year I have played at Cal and has taught me how to slow down and understand the game. He has also watched me and helped me mature into the young man I am today. Wherever football or life takes me, coach Wood has had a substantial role in helping me get there." – junior Jake Curhan
"Coach Wood has been a great teacher and mentor to all of us on the offensive line. I will always be grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to play football out of high school first at Oregon and later at Cal. I wouldn't be where I am today without him." – junior Valentino Daltoso
"I always wanted to play for and be taught by coach Wood. I wanted to be part of all the years of great players that he led to become better players and greater men. He has taught our offensive line to be technicians and, more importantly, how to be great teammates and inspire each other in challenging times. We have learned how to become brothers even though we all come from different backgrounds and think differently. My future will be better because I got a chance to be play for coach Wood. The game, offensive line play in general and all the players he crafted into men will miss his mentorship." – junior Michael Saffell
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