Cal Football Hires Vikings Safeties Coach Michael Hutchings as Defensive Coordinator
Tosh Lupoi continues to poach the NFL for coordinator talent.
Youth, upside, and receiving W2s from the NFL seems to be the initial set of requirements Tosh Lupoi has put in place for his coordinator hires. New Cal defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings fulfills all three. The news was first reported by Jordan Schultz.
At 30 years old, Hutchings has a fully fleshed-out 247Sports page, starting as a 2013 four-star linebacker recruit from De La Salle High in Concord (Lupoi’s alma mater) who chose to go to USC, culminating as captain of their 2016 Rose Bowl squad. His coaching upside sparked with a quick rise from his alma mater, first as a graduate assistant for the linebackers in 2018-19, then defensive quality control in 2020. He spent brief stints at Oregon as a defensive analyst in 2021 (pre-Tosh) and a year as outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky in 2022. He’s been in the league the last three seasons as a positional coach for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is considered one of the best DCs in the NFL by the players, per the NFLPA.
As an NFL-level safeties coach who coached both a 14-year NFL veteran in All-Pro Harrison Smith and molded Cal alum Camryn Bynum into one of the best starting safeties in the league, Hutchings showcased an ability to adapt and learn at the top level of the profession. This is a skill necessary for the defensive coordinator position, where all position groups are your position groups.
Schematically, Brian Flores’ scheme is one of my favorites to watch and study but also a monster even for the NFL level. It’d be exciting if Hutchings were to bring these concepts into our Cal defense for next season. Ted Nguyen and Alec Lewis were streets ahead of me and broke it down here in one of the best football channels out there, Thinking Football:
This continues a pattern of aggressive lead hires by Lupoi, with now two relative unknowns with no playcalling experience as the leaders of his offense and defense. This is a stark contrast to Justin Wilcox, who favored prior experience as a coordinator in making these type of hires. With Hutchings, he can at least collaborate with Lupoi for defensive coordinating input, the same way offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville can do with quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich. It appears Lupoi is rolling the dice on young up-and-comers who have gained praise for their tactical acumen with the fire to recruit—both skills will be needed for the upcoming transfer portal period from January 2-16.
Welcome to Cal Coach Hutchings!
I like the fact that he’s also a Bay Area guy. He won’t be pining for some other state/region. Lessens the chances that he will leave. Promising that he has been in the NFL under a highly regarded DC. Recruits respond to coaches who have recent NFL experience. Looks promising! Welcome back to the Bay and to Bear Territory!!!
Looks like everyone has a "mentor." Hutchings has Tosh. Somerville has Rolo. Tosh has Rolo (and Ron). And so on down the tree.
Hard to predict how this all will go, but it does seem like there's a plan. NCAA and NFL are becoming more similar so it's as good a time as any to have a true reboot from different professional backgrounds. Seems like we're trying to be a good landing spot for senior transfers. Hoping we can still properly develop young players, though, and not go late Tedford and drown people with the playbook.