Cal Hires Viane Talamaivao as Offensive Tackles Coach, Run Game Coordinator

The California Golden Bears continue to stack up their assistant coaching staff.

Jan 03, 2026

The California Golden Bears are bolstering their coaching staff with an offensive line assistant. Former Stanford co-offensive line coach Viane Talamaivao is joining Cal as an offensive tackles coach and run game coordinator.

Matt Zenitz@mzenitz

Cal is hiring Viane Talamaivao as offensive tackles coach and run game coordinator, sources tell @CBSSports. The former USC standout offensive lineman was most recently co-offensive line coach at Stanford. Before that, he was an assistant offensive line coach at Oregon and USC.

8:12 PM · Jan 3, 2026 · 22.2K Views

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Talamaivao is connected with Tosh Lupoi from his time as Oregon, where he served as an offensive graduate assistant in 2022. Talamaivao was previously a grad assistant and quality control assistant with his alma mater USC from 2019-21, where he was an All Pac-12 Honorable Mention/Freshman All-American. He helped develop future NFL linemen Austin Jackson and Alijah-Vera Tucker during his time at Troy. He spent two years at Stanford as a co-offensive line coach with Al Netter in 2023-24. There was a parting of ways with the Farm in the summer of 2025.

As with many of the new Cal coaches, Talamaivao was heavily involved in recruiting. 2025 offensive line starters Khalil House and Emeka Ugorji were both recruited by Talamaivao. Ugorji entered the portal today.

There are some concerns in terms of development — Stanford’s offensive lines were not particularly good in either run blocking or pass blocking metrics — but portal restrictions during his time there have hamstrung the Cardinal program from landing top targets and kept the Cardinal from realizing its potential. Even now, Stanford seems to be behind the eight ball, having not hired any assistants.

Alex Simon@AlexSimonSports

As the college football transfer portal opens today, Stanford still doesn't have any assistant coaches, and a spokesperson told @SFGate no hiring announcements are coming today. Story on the Cardinal:

sfgate.com

Questions mount surrounding Stanford's new football coaching staff

10:23 PM · Jan 2, 2026 · 30.5K Views

5 Replies · 11 Reposts · 40 Likes

With Talamaivao in charge of offensive tackles, that means there is likely a second offensive line coach on the way. Could it be current offensive line coach Famika Anae? There are encouraging signs that a deal might be coming.