if Brennan does take the U of A job good for him, imo he will never get the credit he deserves for the job he did at SJSU, takes absolute will power to try and win there
Exactly. Yet on one of the other boards, the moderators won't even allow people to suggest Oregon never offered Wilcox. I can't for the life of me understand why Cal fans are so eager to believe programs want Wilcox and so hostile to the suggestion that his agent is playing us?
I thought it was basically settled that they offered him, but the offer included stipulations that he wouldn’t get full control over the program and would effectively be babysat. So basically, it was an offer that no coach in their right mind would take. A real offer that wasn’t really a serious offer.
This is what I heard as well. Sure, he was “offered” the gig, but with others having oversight into his hires, specifically on offense. Which is technically an offer, but……..
Was there a single news story that named a single source of this information? No.
The first story cited an anonymous "source close to the situation," and then all the outlets copied that and ran with it. One would be a fool to think that source is anyone other than Wilcox's agent.
Why on earth would one of the best programs in the country offer a guy with a losing record?
His agent likely planted that story just like he is doing now.
Seems more likely what happened is just what people say happened. There were some former Oregon players openly pushing for Wilcox too.
Aside from it being a shitty offer.. to add my speculation, I wouldnt doubt it caught Wilcox off guard and he didnt expect to get the offer and might've gotten cold feet. I think that spotlight is too bright for him, and he's comfortable with the profile and expectations at Cal, but wisely leveraged that offer to his credit.
Playing the devils advocate here, why would an agent plant a story with the explanation of why his client turned the job down being that the school did not actually have full confidence in his ability to run the program on his own? Seems like even an decent agent could come up with something that reflected better on his client.
Knowlton needs to work for a living and not take the easy way out. Clean house. Wilcox is over-rated. We need an offensive minded head coach that young QBs want to flock to.
That's a joke? He has no coaching experience. Just because a guy played and was world class doesn't mean he can coach. He only played one position. He could probably teach that position but could he teach ILB's, or even defensive strategy? I doubt it.
But what have we got? Mediocrity. Crist and Knowlton were asleep at the switch with the P12 downfall and are fine with whatever unfolds. How about making things happen and pushing for better results?
Classic JW. Such an attention hound. :) Seriously, my hope is that JW is angling for more resources, but that hasn’t been his M.O. to date, which probably means it’s credible. I can’t bear the thought of JK making a hire, so I will hope and pray it falls through and that JW doesn’t get a prohibitively lengthy extension in the process.
I’m unmoved by the buzz. They could hire Belicheck or Saban tomorrow and nothing would change until we get the donkeys out of the chancellor’s and AD’s offices.
There are exceptions but it seems like there's a natural limit to how long a football coach's tenure is, in both college and the NFL. Some of that may come from built up irritation between the coach and those above him. And some might come from any individual's need for a change of scenery and environment. Perhaps Wilcox is just kinda ready to move on while he has options to do so. Bring back Sonny!
It's likely that many, if not all, of the asst coaches as well as the nice transfer class, who would have 30 days to re-enter the portal, would also leave.
Obviously just my opinion, but I think Wilcox's main motivation is building something successful rather than getting a few more bucks or being able to afford a bigger house.
If he's using this to get more administrative support from Cal, then I'm fine with it. If he's really interested in moving to AZ, I think he's nuts - Fisch is going to take his best players and assistants with him, and that job will be a full rebuild, at a BB school in a financial crisis.
This tells me that Wilcox knows or believes that Knowlton will be gone sometime this year. A new AD will more than likely want to hire his own person, especially if Wilcox goes 5-7 or 6-7 next season.
Truth is JW is probably on the hot seat with our w/o JK. No bowl next year, no JW. A new AD, who may actually be an advocate for the football program, might be more of a gain for him than otherwise even though he’ll be put under a microscope.
There will be job openings next year though, and he'll be better set up for a good job/contract if he can get 7, 8 or 9 wins (which is much more likely next year than the long shot this year was)
That’s a big ask for him to get 7, 8 or 9 wins. He hasn’t won’t more than 6 games since 2019. The ACC, on paper seems easier but travel will be an issue as west coast teams traveling east always struggle.
Also, we added OSU as our 4th OOC game so that isn’t a guaranteed win.
I noted elsewhere that we jumped 17 spots in FPI from 2022 to 2023 due to coaching changes and upgrades through the portal. We are in the middle of making similar portal upgrades -- mostly just lost depth or bench guys (minus the 3 starters) and 5 of our 11 transfers are 4* guys. The QB situation will be far better right off the bat.
Meanwhile in the ACC, the hardest SOS was 33rd (ours was 24th and Washington had the hardest in the country). Our FPI (54th) would give us 6 or 7 wins in the ACC... But if we make another jump in quality of play (which I think is likely from the roster moves) then we'll get more wins.
If we can't beat 2024's OSU then it'll be a long season.
You’d love a total cupcake, but it really wasn’t an option given our finances for a buy game, plus the ACC’s desire for that 4th to be legit.
I’m more worried about opening the 2025 season AT Reser…they’ll be fired up. We should absolutely beat the Beavers at home next year.
Not surprisingly, I agree with Golden…while the schedule should absolutely be easier than this past season, Wilcox has always struggled to win on the road, even when the P12 was down. It’s just another unfortunate example of where he struggles as the CEO of a program. Combine it with Sirmon’s declining defense, plus the questions surrounding Bloesch as OC/Gilbert’s passing game, I’m just not seeing this program ready to win 8 or 9.
They should absolutely bowl, though, which would be another successful year. 6-7 wins, minimum. Start stacking bowl games, and continue to build from there.
Sure, but his road record remains under .500, despite some historically bad years for the Conference.
Recency bias notwithstanding, hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
And given the schedule, I would not be surprised if Wilcox went >4-4 in the ACC…just not expecting it yet. But a winning record and a bowl is the expectation.
Yeah and now we have lost Spav so it is a question on how good the new OC will be. Defense continues to regress it doesn’t look like any changes will be made on the side of the ball.
Special teams continues to be neglected by Wilcox.
I still think 6 to 7 wins is his ceiling next season in the ACC.
Wilcox has lost to very underwhelming teams in the past, Colorado in 22, Arizona in 21. It isn’t out of the question he could lose to a highly motivated OSU team.
But we didn't have one of those losses this year - the closest we got to one was a win vs ASU - and I think that the Portal (plus Spav/Bloesch) had an impact there. Bloesch is still here and the portal is going well so far.
IF this happens, I’d feel no Ill will towards Wilcox. I think his time at Cal has sorta run its course and him getting another job instead of getting canned is fine with me. Hire Coach Ken from UCLA and let’s run the triple option!
The triple option is an offense of the past. It can be used occasionally, but not as the main offense. What would really help this year would be putting in a defense similar to what UCLA used. Sending "dogs" on almost every down. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
One (Wilcox) would need to change his staff for this new found defense...honestly, my lone interest during this offseason is waiting on the word that Wilcox has fired 2 - 3 defensive staffers.
It makes no sense for this site to advocate publicly on Twitter to pay Wilcox MORE MONEY. Absolutely crazy. Don't give Knowlton any justification for the mindless things he does!
Well if he can leverage into getting more institutional support for the team and staff that would be great. If that comes with a raise, that's fine too. I would be against an extension and I hope he doesn't get it.
I'm a lot more pessimistic than you, Jimmy. We have incompetent negotiators in charge. Wilcox has a bunch of apologizers. Even Avi: 'slight pay raise WITH an extension'? Huh? Just idiotic. I'd give him a pay raise but only if he agrees to REDUCE the term by years. Alternatively, extend but reduce the buyout by millions.
I doubt Arizona is seriously considering hiring the guy who was so inept that Arizona beat to end their 20 game losing streak.
If some how they do hire Wilcox, I expect Wilcox will do well for a couple of seasons largely due to Fisch being able to recruit well but once those recruits cycle through or transfer out he will revert to 5-7 and 6-6 with his own staff and recruits.
This is exactly right. Knowlton is the only person on earth (except Cal message board posters) dumb enough to think Justin Wilcox is a competent head coach worth considering.
Brent Brennan has apparently been offered the U of A job…was a finalist when Fisch got the gig.
This should end the Wilcox speculation nonsense.
if Brennan does take the U of A job good for him, imo he will never get the credit he deserves for the job he did at SJSU, takes absolute will power to try and win there
Lol lifetime contract for Wilcox incoming from Knowlton and Christ. Does Jim sit, shake, and roll over as soon as Wilcox’s agent walks in the room?
Arizona is not stupid enough to have even the slightest interest in, much less arrange an interview with Justin Wilcox.
Who would be dumb enough to believe this rumor? Especially after the fake story of Oregon offering him twice?
I was wondering when Cal Strong would make his way to this site. Did u get kicked out of BI?
be strong like Cal, Stanfurd weak (why u no speak like Cal Strong, be strong not weak).
It really makes no sense, other than a ploy by his agent.
Exactly. Yet on one of the other boards, the moderators won't even allow people to suggest Oregon never offered Wilcox. I can't for the life of me understand why Cal fans are so eager to believe programs want Wilcox and so hostile to the suggestion that his agent is playing us?
https://ibb.co/pwXqZr0
https://ibb.co/gMHSGCD
I thought it was basically settled that they offered him, but the offer included stipulations that he wouldn’t get full control over the program and would effectively be babysat. So basically, it was an offer that no coach in their right mind would take. A real offer that wasn’t really a serious offer.
He was but this has been Cal Strong's schtick for years over on BI.
This is what I heard as well. Sure, he was “offered” the gig, but with others having oversight into his hires, specifically on offense. Which is technically an offer, but……..
Was there a single news story that named a single source of this information? No.
The first story cited an anonymous "source close to the situation," and then all the outlets copied that and ran with it. One would be a fool to think that source is anyone other than Wilcox's agent.
Why on earth would one of the best programs in the country offer a guy with a losing record?
His agent likely planted that story just like he is doing now.
eh it seems a little far fetched his agent would go to the lengths of concocting a story that he positively got the job offer, etc. and effectively got John Canzano to collude with him (https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2021/12/canzano-a-twist-justin-wilcox-turned-down-the-oregon-ducks.html)
Seems more likely what happened is just what people say happened. There were some former Oregon players openly pushing for Wilcox too.
Aside from it being a shitty offer.. to add my speculation, I wouldnt doubt it caught Wilcox off guard and he didnt expect to get the offer and might've gotten cold feet. I think that spotlight is too bright for him, and he's comfortable with the profile and expectations at Cal, but wisely leveraged that offer to his credit.
Playing the devils advocate here, why would an agent plant a story with the explanation of why his client turned the job down being that the school did not actually have full confidence in his ability to run the program on his own? Seems like even an decent agent could come up with something that reflected better on his client.
Yes, this.
Cal67
Knowlton needs to work for a living and not take the easy way out. Clean house. Wilcox is over-rated. We need an offensive minded head coach that young QBs want to flock to.
Marshawn Lynch for HC
That's a joke? He has no coaching experience. Just because a guy played and was world class doesn't mean he can coach. He only played one position. He could probably teach that position but could he teach ILB's, or even defensive strategy? I doubt it.
He doesn't need to coach ILBs. And it's obviously a joke.
He'll be like Deion or Larry Bird. Manage the program and hire good assistant coaches to do the day to day coaching.
While that sounds great I worry that Cal would not be able to find such..... Why would anyone with a good reputation want to come to Berkeley?
But what have we got? Mediocrity. Crist and Knowlton were asleep at the switch with the P12 downfall and are fine with whatever unfolds. How about making things happen and pushing for better results?
Ah, but mediocrity by design.
Classic JW. Such an attention hound. :) Seriously, my hope is that JW is angling for more resources, but that hasn’t been his M.O. to date, which probably means it’s credible. I can’t bear the thought of JK making a hire, so I will hope and pray it falls through and that JW doesn’t get a prohibitively lengthy extension in the process.
Honestly, the more I think about it, if the rumor IS true that he actually interviewed in the first place, then to hell with him. That’d be two…
I’m unmoved by the buzz. They could hire Belicheck or Saban tomorrow and nothing would change until we get the donkeys out of the chancellor’s and AD’s offices.
Still not convinced he was ever even in contact with U of A.
There are exceptions but it seems like there's a natural limit to how long a football coach's tenure is, in both college and the NFL. Some of that may come from built up irritation between the coach and those above him. And some might come from any individual's need for a change of scenery and environment. Perhaps Wilcox is just kinda ready to move on while he has options to do so. Bring back Sonny!
Wilcox 's tenure is the same length as Ray Willsey's was (7 years). Similar results, too, though I think Willsey may have had more winning seasons.
It's long past time to call it a day. If Wilcox gets an offer from Arizona, I hope Knowlton tells him to take it.
Sonny would bolt Cal for Texas State
It's likely that many, if not all, of the asst coaches as well as the nice transfer class, who would have 30 days to re-enter the portal, would also leave.
Quick, extend Wilcox for another ten years.
/sarcasm font
Cue Michael Scott “No! God! Please No” gif….
Wilcox. The go to unexpected, last minute empty seat filler should the host or hostess need a full dinner party.
He is definitely on the C list for a wedding invite.
Obviously just my opinion, but I think Wilcox's main motivation is building something successful rather than getting a few more bucks or being able to afford a bigger house.
If he's using this to get more administrative support from Cal, then I'm fine with it. If he's really interested in moving to AZ, I think he's nuts - Fisch is going to take his best players and assistants with him, and that job will be a full rebuild, at a BB school in a financial crisis.
This tells me that Wilcox knows or believes that Knowlton will be gone sometime this year. A new AD will more than likely want to hire his own person, especially if Wilcox goes 5-7 or 6-7 next season.
Truth is JW is probably on the hot seat with our w/o JK. No bowl next year, no JW. A new AD, who may actually be an advocate for the football program, might be more of a gain for him than otherwise even though he’ll be put under a microscope.
There will be job openings next year though, and he'll be better set up for a good job/contract if he can get 7, 8 or 9 wins (which is much more likely next year than the long shot this year was)
7,8,9 wins over how many years?
one
yeah, I knew that; shoulda added the sarcasm font
That’s a big ask for him to get 7, 8 or 9 wins. He hasn’t won’t more than 6 games since 2019. The ACC, on paper seems easier but travel will be an issue as west coast teams traveling east always struggle.
Also, we added OSU as our 4th OOC game so that isn’t a guaranteed win.
I noted elsewhere that we jumped 17 spots in FPI from 2022 to 2023 due to coaching changes and upgrades through the portal. We are in the middle of making similar portal upgrades -- mostly just lost depth or bench guys (minus the 3 starters) and 5 of our 11 transfers are 4* guys. The QB situation will be far better right off the bat.
Meanwhile in the ACC, the hardest SOS was 33rd (ours was 24th and Washington had the hardest in the country). Our FPI (54th) would give us 6 or 7 wins in the ACC... But if we make another jump in quality of play (which I think is likely from the roster moves) then we'll get more wins.
If we can't beat 2024's OSU then it'll be a long season.
You’d love a total cupcake, but it really wasn’t an option given our finances for a buy game, plus the ACC’s desire for that 4th to be legit.
I’m more worried about opening the 2025 season AT Reser…they’ll be fired up. We should absolutely beat the Beavers at home next year.
Not surprisingly, I agree with Golden…while the schedule should absolutely be easier than this past season, Wilcox has always struggled to win on the road, even when the P12 was down. It’s just another unfortunate example of where he struggles as the CEO of a program. Combine it with Sirmon’s declining defense, plus the questions surrounding Bloesch as OC/Gilbert’s passing game, I’m just not seeing this program ready to win 8 or 9.
They should absolutely bowl, though, which would be another successful year. 6-7 wins, minimum. Start stacking bowl games, and continue to build from there.
TBF we won 3 of our 6 road games last year, including 2 rivalry games (our road losses were pretty well expected)
Stanford and ucla aren’t really intimidating places to play. I’m fairly sure Cal fans outnumbered Stanford and ucla fans in those games.
Sure, but his road record remains under .500, despite some historically bad years for the Conference.
Recency bias notwithstanding, hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
And given the schedule, I would not be surprised if Wilcox went >4-4 in the ACC…just not expecting it yet. But a winning record and a bowl is the expectation.
Yeah and now we have lost Spav so it is a question on how good the new OC will be. Defense continues to regress it doesn’t look like any changes will be made on the side of the ball.
Special teams continues to be neglected by Wilcox.
I still think 6 to 7 wins is his ceiling next season in the ACC.
Wilcox has lost to very underwhelming teams in the past, Colorado in 22, Arizona in 21. It isn’t out of the question he could lose to a highly motivated OSU team.
There were extenuating circumstances with the Arizona loss...
Yep, like not preparing a backup QB in his previous 5 seasons at Cal.
Yeah, like not preparing backup QB
But we didn't have one of those losses this year - the closest we got to one was a win vs ASU - and I think that the Portal (plus Spav/Bloesch) had an impact there. Bloesch is still here and the portal is going well so far.
Auburn was a bad loss.
IF this happens, I’d feel no Ill will towards Wilcox. I think his time at Cal has sorta run its course and him getting another job instead of getting canned is fine with me. Hire Coach Ken from UCLA and let’s run the triple option!
Or keep Wilcox and let’s go
The triple option is an offense of the past. It can be used occasionally, but not as the main offense. What would really help this year would be putting in a defense similar to what UCLA used. Sending "dogs" on almost every down. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
One (Wilcox) would need to change his staff for this new found defense...honestly, my lone interest during this offseason is waiting on the word that Wilcox has fired 2 - 3 defensive staffers.
I'm still waiting....
If Zona wants to take him off our books, sure. If not, we play out the string. We do NOT extend him now.
Mixed feelings.
But watch him take AZ to the CFP.
Coaches seem to always do better...after Cal.
Unless he’s inheriting a roster full of NFL draft picks like Sonny did, the chances are pretty slim! ;-)
It makes no sense for this site to advocate publicly on Twitter to pay Wilcox MORE MONEY. Absolutely crazy. Don't give Knowlton any justification for the mindless things he does!
No one is advocating for a raise or extending Wilcox.
From Avinash's twitter:
"My prediction is that Jim Knowlton approves a short bridge extension that keeps Justin Wilcox at Cal through 2029 or 2030, with a slight pay raise.
Given all that he's accomplished this year that seems like an appropriate response and I think most Cal fans agree."
he since's posted a "clarifying" tweet. I'd delete the original, don't let one of Knowlton's underlings show this to him.
Don't take Avi seriously. That would be a huge mistake.
I see. Okay.
Well if he can leverage into getting more institutional support for the team and staff that would be great. If that comes with a raise, that's fine too. I would be against an extension and I hope he doesn't get it.
LOL.
Yeah, no.
Is there a more California phrase?
Would be shocked if Knowlton received approval to give Wilcox another dime.
I'm a lot more pessimistic than you, Jimmy. We have incompetent negotiators in charge. Wilcox has a bunch of apologizers. Even Avi: 'slight pay raise WITH an extension'? Huh? Just idiotic. I'd give him a pay raise but only if he agrees to REDUCE the term by years. Alternatively, extend but reduce the buyout by millions.
I think this is all Justin’s agent.
I doubt Arizona is seriously considering hiring the guy who was so inept that Arizona beat to end their 20 game losing streak.
If some how they do hire Wilcox, I expect Wilcox will do well for a couple of seasons largely due to Fisch being able to recruit well but once those recruits cycle through or transfer out he will revert to 5-7 and 6-6 with his own staff and recruits.
This is exactly right. Knowlton is the only person on earth (except Cal message board posters) dumb enough to think Justin Wilcox is a competent head coach worth considering.
your dumb
Whose dumb?
their all dumb