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If Wilcox doesn't get the Oregon job and stays at Cal, has he screwed himself? Will players and recruits (and potential coaches on his staff) now see him and the program differently, that he has one foot out the door? I guess he'd be able to claim that Oregon was a very unique opportunity and that Oregon-aside, he's very committed to Cal.

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No, he has now shown that an elite program has considered him. Everyone in the coaching world knows how hard it is to succeed at CAL. His stock is going up.

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ItтАЩs his alma mater and he grew up down the street from the campus. I think itтАЩs less he was looking for another job and more being willing to hear what your former school and team you grew up cheering for has to say.

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All true...but you want plausible deniability, which he no longer has...recruits now know he was interviewing with a Conference rival during an f-ing crucial recruiting window and they & their parents don't give a schitt that Justin Wilcox grew up in the shadow of Autzen.

It's a bad look all around for Cal right now, any way you slice it. Hopefully Knowlton is working the phones, tho he's probably not...

Love your books, BTW ;-)

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Ha, Knowlton. As if...

Side story: the night that Dykes visited Max Gilliam in his family home -- that very night after recruiting the QB to come to Cal, Dykes was on a plane to interview for the Mizzou job.

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I feel like he does have plausible deniability and cover because it is Oregon. He attended, played, graduated and coached at Oregon which gives him a compelling reason to listen to them.

This isnтАЩt like Kelly to LSU or Lincoln Riley out of nowhere territory.

Like I said in DBDs today, does Oregon even interview him if he didnтАЩt attend, play, and coach at Oregon? Probably not.

They arenтАЩt interviewing other coaches with losing record and coming off a 5-7 season.

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No, of course Wilcox and his 15-25 P12 record do not get a call from UO if he's not a legacy...but the fact that the whole world knows he actually interviewed with them is nonetheless a bad look for Cal, especially in light of the exodus of commits from this class and the totally-not-unexpected parade of grad transfers.

Somehow I'd just feel better if his actually interviewing with the Ducks was "speculation"...I dunno.....

Either way, it seems a rough time to be a Cal fan....

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aside from rugby, water polo, infrequent swimming & rowing successes, when is it ever NOT a tough time to be a Cal fan? See my comment on another post about double-dipping as a lifelong Lions fan.

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Oh man...heart goes out to you...beating Zimmer was nice tho! And agreed, there are too few days where itтАЩs great to be a Cal fan. Sigh.

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Nah, he's screwed...whether he stays or goes, he can't walk this back.

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