30 Comments

A Bear through and through.

Congratulations!

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He must be the youngest full-time assistant coach at Cal football ever. A lot younger than Lupoi was.

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Can we just go with Voldermort on that last one?????

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Dec 10, 2023·edited Dec 10, 2023

Are the rumors on Sterling Gilbert true, WFC?

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author

weve seen nothing so far to indicate otherwise but will reserve until more official stuff in addition to Rittenburg comes in. Our responses on social media have been.......less than thrilling

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Based on how much I'm seeing it I'd be surprised if it was false. It's not exactly the type of scoop you'd expect misinformation from.

But, FWIW, everyone is referring back to FootballScoop and I haven't seen anyone claim "independent confirmation."

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His Wikipedia already says he coaches at Cal

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Saw that and came here to post as well. I assume we'll hear an announcement soon. He and Bloesch go back. Also spent time in the ACC.

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opinions on reddit are that he's awful (not that that means anything)

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Indeed, it sounds like a lot of the criticism came from his performance as offensive coordinator at multiple stops.

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He's still young but has charisma and intelligence. TE and OL are related so a promotion isn't a surprise. Hope he does great!

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THERE IS NO TEAM I'D RATHER BEAT THAN STANFURD, USC, OR, ANY OTHE TEAM FROM TEXAS, IN THAT ORDER! WE WERE UNDERDOGS WITH UCLA AND, ONCE AGIN WE ARE UNDERDOGS WITH TEXAS TECH, BUT, MAYBE WE'L DO JUST AS WELL OR EVEN BETER THAN WHAT WE DID WITH UCLA. "THE BEAR NEVER DIES!" I JUST HOPE MY BLUE AND GOLD TEAM PERSIVERS AND BEATS TEXAS TECH. THAT WAY I CAN, EVEN BETER THAN EVER, LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER YEAR WITH MY GOLDEN BEARS !! GERBEAR

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Why are you yelling at me?????? : )

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Cal has had some luck vs Texas teams lately. I’d love to have another Texas win in my Xmas stocking this year. Will make up for the 2004 debacle that I had the misfortune to see in person.

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Congrats to the young man!

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If he ever hangs up the coaching shoes, I’d like to see him in the broadcast booth as an analyst.

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Seems like another nepotism hire by Wilcox. Not impressive and Wilcox hasn't learned from his past hiring mistakes. I doubt any D1 team needing a TE coach would hire Saffell right now. Saffell got his start w/ Angus McClure who was a terrible coach, how much could Saffell learn from McClure? Not much.

Weak hire, regardless how much of a fan fav Saffell is.

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What a myopic take! We get it, you don't like Wilcox, but this is a great hire. Saffell was a proven lineman before injuries forced him to retire. He learned plenty about playing OL before working under McClure, and he got to see the difference in OL performance this year under Bloesch. He's an excellent recruiter and a great ambassador for his alma mater.

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It is on record that I was the first and, at the time, the major supporter of the Wilcox hire here at WFC. So, appears you have no idea of who I am and whom I've supported for years!

Saffell an excellent recruiter? GAs are allowed to recruit, tell all? Saffell has a short "coaching" career. Hasn't coached at any level prior to landing the GA at Cal. If you feel other programs had Saffell on their short list for TE coach than we happen to disagree. I get it he's a fan favorite. If you think he is on the level of Plough who coached for years and was an OC then again we disagree. I don't think this is a good hire. Toler will likely teach the TE's route concepts and route running. Saffell will aid Bloesch with the OL.

I agree Saffell bleeds blue and gold, that doesn't make him a good coach or recruiter no matter how much you love Saffell.

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Dec 10, 2023·edited Dec 10, 2023

You may have been a Wilcox supporter at one time, but from my recollection for some time now you've been down on him, calling him a pussy and a poor leader. If I'm wrong about that, I apologize.

So what if Saffell wasn't on other coaches'radar. Wilcox has worked with him for years as a player and a GA, and has had an opportunity to see how players respond to him.

And yes, GAs are allowed to recruit. From my sources within the department, Saffell is great at it. He's a young guy who recruits can relate to.

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yeah u are wrong on several counts.

Have a good weekend.

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Hmm. What makes you an expert on whether a coach is good or not on the specific positions he is hired to coach? Have you ever coached a position in football and the intricacies involved in that particular position?

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yup, I have coached. I coached for years starting with LL baseball all the way up through HS football and rugby. I competed on Cal's rugby team and continued competing in other sports throughout my life. I know coaching and have been around it and coaches most of my life.

My comment is grounded in the fact that Wilcox has a poor hiring history only surpassed by his inability to recognize his mistakes and fix them. His proclivity for nepotism is again on display.

I hope Saffell has a long coaching career and a happy life, but Wilcox could have done better methinks. No doubt Saffell is a Cal man and no one has questioned THAT.

Lastly, I never claimed to be an expert. But during my years here I think I have had an abundance of meaningful and relative insight.

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Well shoot, that's a hot take. I get your points but am more optimistic than that. I'm a nonprofit leader and in my work often have to hire the best athlete. I can't pay what others pay, but I have a better eye for talent than some. If Saffell has the promise that Bloesch and Wilcox see in him, we should have faith. Forget McClure. This is Bloesch's offense now. You can't teach height, and you can't teach brains, and Saffell has brains and Cal spirit in abundance. In my view we are very lucky to have him. Go Bears coach Saffell! Let's go beat Texas Tech!

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Wilcox has a 7 year history of making poor hiring decisions followed by the inability to recognize his errors and fix them quickly. So, if Wilcox sees promise in Saffell, welp Wilcox's C-level management has been consistently below average. Per history.

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Here's an example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Melvin -- Played offensive line at SFSU; then coached TE's at NAU during his first coaching position; has been the TE coach for the Kansas City Chiefs for the last 25 years. It's very common.. if you google "tight ends coach" you'll find most of them played OL during their playing career.

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Thanks for the primer on TE coaches. I thought it made sense to have an OL background, but I had no idea that that is actually the most common path for these coaches.

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“If you can coach the offensive line, you can coach anything." - Andy Reid

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Started and sold a couple of channel partner businesses, then joined Nutanix when it was still a small startup and helped build past the IPO.

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