For me this is kind of a make-or-break season for Wilcox. He gradually improved the team from 2017-2019, so I don't think there was any good reason to make a change yet. Then COVID hit, so it was hard to know what to make of those seasons, given the circumstances.
This year there's no real excuse. He's had a chance to recruit and put his staff together. If we can't, at minimum, hit the 8-win mark we hit in 2019 then I think it's time to look at other options. I thought the Arizona game was evidence that we were seeing a breakout. WSU put those thoughts away, but maybe they can show that it was just a blip.
Absolutely nothing in that press conference we didn't already know he would say. The positive is that he's no Mike Leach. The negative is no expectation of changes or improvements since we've seen the same things for years. We may look OK in beating CO and Furd, and lose horribly to the good teams in the Pac. Rinse and repeat. This offseason will be the real test.
Yeah, last week was really the first glimpse of the kind of excitement we used to have regularly with the special play of Ott, it seems like in many many years. Sure we've had many good wins, but Ott (supported by the entire team) displayed the kind of multi-faceted talent we haven't had in recent years. I was looking up how much success Sonny Dykes has had down at SMU and now at TCU and felt good for him but too bad he couldn't get it done here.
Welp, expecting him to change horses midstream is not realistic. Loyalty and perseverance are JW's great hallmark. I like that he seeks to work through problems and not throw people under the bus, because this can build trust and confidence amongst both players and staff.
Our problem is that it's been about the same middling on this long road since Tedford's apex. With Tedford, we saw that Cal could be a national contender, but that elated expectation has been dying by middling, since. And it's frustrating as we not so patiently await the second coming of the Tedford Era.
The conference scenario is similar to the Tedford years. At the beginning, the only team to get past was $C. Cal was contending, but Tedford only beat them once. The conference then strengthened and we ended up in the middle. With Wilcox we started out in the middle of a weaker conference. Now that everyone except ‘furd, ASU, and Colorado are stronger, where are we going to end up?
I agree with him about not needing more consultants. It would be a quite rare situation that could be remedied by hiring a consultant as opposed to just replacing the coach.
I wanna see Prune Ball break out with Colorado and who cares if we're revealing these wrinkles to the rest of our games - heck, we need the practice to iron those wrinkles out for WA, SC, etc.
I'm tired of being (sometimes) a negabear and harping on this or that, but as fans that's a prerogative we have. The loyalty and commitment Wilcox shows is great. I hope he is nothing but successful and stays at Cal for a long time. But it's hard to make the emotional investment and see underwhelming results. Anyway, as an old blue now time keeps passing and that Rose Bowl (or heck, Sun Bowl) remains elusive...
I like everything about Wilcox except for the annual win totals.
Not needing 8-10 per year, but 6+ consistently would make him the perfect Cal fit.
In the meantime, I’ll just continue to carry around this piece of cake.
For me this is kind of a make-or-break season for Wilcox. He gradually improved the team from 2017-2019, so I don't think there was any good reason to make a change yet. Then COVID hit, so it was hard to know what to make of those seasons, given the circumstances.
This year there's no real excuse. He's had a chance to recruit and put his staff together. If we can't, at minimum, hit the 8-win mark we hit in 2019 then I think it's time to look at other options. I thought the Arizona game was evidence that we were seeing a breakout. WSU put those thoughts away, but maybe they can show that it was just a blip.
Absolutely nothing in that press conference we didn't already know he would say. The positive is that he's no Mike Leach. The negative is no expectation of changes or improvements since we've seen the same things for years. We may look OK in beating CO and Furd, and lose horribly to the good teams in the Pac. Rinse and repeat. This offseason will be the real test.
Yeah, last week was really the first glimpse of the kind of excitement we used to have regularly with the special play of Ott, it seems like in many many years. Sure we've had many good wins, but Ott (supported by the entire team) displayed the kind of multi-faceted talent we haven't had in recent years. I was looking up how much success Sonny Dykes has had down at SMU and now at TCU and felt good for him but too bad he couldn't get it done here.
Welp, expecting him to change horses midstream is not realistic. Loyalty and perseverance are JW's great hallmark. I like that he seeks to work through problems and not throw people under the bus, because this can build trust and confidence amongst both players and staff.
Our problem is that it's been about the same middling on this long road since Tedford's apex. With Tedford, we saw that Cal could be a national contender, but that elated expectation has been dying by middling, since. And it's frustrating as we not so patiently await the second coming of the Tedford Era.
The conference scenario is similar to the Tedford years. At the beginning, the only team to get past was $C. Cal was contending, but Tedford only beat them once. The conference then strengthened and we ended up in the middle. With Wilcox we started out in the middle of a weaker conference. Now that everyone except ‘furd, ASU, and Colorado are stronger, where are we going to end up?
I agree with him about not needing more consultants. It would be a quite rare situation that could be remedied by hiring a consultant as opposed to just replacing the coach.
"We should have wrinkles as well."
I wanna see Prune Ball break out with Colorado and who cares if we're revealing these wrinkles to the rest of our games - heck, we need the practice to iron those wrinkles out for WA, SC, etc.
Here’s to a solid BYE week and a focused effort in an absolutely must win at altitude next week….
I'm tired of being (sometimes) a negabear and harping on this or that, but as fans that's a prerogative we have. The loyalty and commitment Wilcox shows is great. I hope he is nothing but successful and stays at Cal for a long time. But it's hard to make the emotional investment and see underwhelming results. Anyway, as an old blue now time keeps passing and that Rose Bowl (or heck, Sun Bowl) remains elusive...