Wilcox and Harsin need to be relieved of their duties by first thing Monday morning. Enough is enough; time is of the essence. Ron must act ASAP before the coaching carousel gets even crazier.
Let Rolo coach the SMU game and whatever mediocre bowl we're relegated to. In the meantime, line up interviews with Tosh, Sean Lewis (SDSU), GJ Kinne (Texas St), Brent Vigen (Montana St), Tim Plough (UC Davis), Will Stein (Oregon OC), and any other viable promising candidates (G5/FCS HCs or P5 OCs).
The important thing here is understanding you're competing against the Trees for the same candidate pool, since they are obviously in the market for a coach. That means making a decision on Wilcox's future needs to happen sooner rather than later.
I don’t think the names available are particularly inspiring, but you have to get rid of Wilcox ASAP as a show of good faith that you have any kind of expectations for the program.
Serious question: In 1986 it was announced with two games left that Kapp wouldn't be retained, but he coached the last two games (result: 1-1) as a lame duck. This doesn't seem to be done anymore, but as long as they make the announcement now, what would be the real difference between having Wilcox coach the last two games or having Rolovich coach them?
Maybe this will be the final straw for any Cal alums that were still holding out hope for Wilcox. If this embarrassing loss doesn’t cause action, then nothing will. I mean come on, if the sight of Luck celebrating wildly again and again doesn’t cause you to wretch, then you’re not human.
If we had beaten Furd convincingly and gotten at least a respectable loss against SMU I think Wilcox might have been retained. After replaying the San Diego State game yesterday? No.
The Louisville W likely bought him the full year, which is a mistake.
After yesterday’s disaster, a message needs to be sent to donors and recruits that the previous status quo is not good enough. Plus the more time a notoriously slow department/administration has to do the process the better, even if it’s only a week. Be proactive, assertive, aggressive.
Technically, a W v SMU & the bowl is a 8-wins, but….
It is nearly 10 am the day after an embarrassing loss to our arch rival, in a season of embarrassing losses, lucky wins and one legitimate win against a quality opponent.
As an alumnus of Harvard and Berkeley, that was a bad, bad Saturday. A big letdown in the rivalry game comes down to coaching. My feeling about Wilcox has been that he’s a pretty good coach who somehow has had trouble hiring and retaining assistants, but ultimately that’s on him. Cal should be looking for a head coach who’ll assemble a great staff, and should be prepared to pay the assistant coaches well.
Cal needs to increase its financial commitment to all levels of the football coaching staff, and not simply to a high priced Head Coach, to build an effective, modern college football program.
Remembering these are 18-22 year old kids; their coaches are essentially their teachers, they’re not unlike my 3rd graders before a challenge.
When my kids face a big assessment, I gotta have them ready.
For their part, Wilcox & his coaches did not. They failed their kids last night In their game prep, but also in failing—again—to take care of the intangibles that can win the games on the margins. Again, it’s not unlike the small things of routine I need to do with my own students…
Still, also want to know, and I don’t want to blame Kendrick Raphael for being who he is, but I wish Bryan Harsin would be forced to answer why he felt that the likes of a runner like Raphael could replace Jaydn Orr or Javion Thomas.
Again, it’s not Raphael’s fault, because I know he’s trying, but WTF was Harsin thinking in chasing off the old running back room to replace them with a group that makes former Cal RB Christopher Brooks’ speed almost akin to Jahvid Best? The inability to break runs for longer gains made every Cal offensive drive an excruciating experience.
Then there’s the fumbling, and not just last night, Ron Gould would have benched Raphael’s ass.
Finally, what did Mason Mini do to find his role diminish to where he merely became a trick play QB?
I believe in Kendrick Raphael. I think he's a competent P4 back and his one cut style and surprising physicality generates positive yardage despite piss poor run blocking. I think Harsin completely whiffed on recruiting everyone else in that room.
Mini’s entire extended family was at the game. Huge tailgate, Mini jerseys galore. It was his 20th birthday. Kid had to have been amped up. And he plays virtually no role in the game??
We saw them before the UVa game. It was awesome to see them show out, especially for that wonderful trick play pass to Raphael for the TD.
Since then, he’s essentially has disappeared from the receiver rotation, other than having him running option plays. But King has also vanished from the pass plays. Not to take anything away from DeJesus, but we’ve been running the entire offense through him and it’s wholly predictable. And that’s not even accounting for his decision to reverse field on the play that resulted in his devastating fumble that got Furd into the game.
Wrong headline, should be "Cal Shi*ts the bed in Palo Alto, as Justin Wilcox sets up the Golden Bears for another 6-6 season: fans give up all hope of more than mediocrity"
" 'Justin Wilcox fired as Cal head coach' is the headline you were looking for and thought for a moment this might be it, because we aren't above a little click baiting here and that's ok "
I’ve often wondered why our head coach writes so many notes during the games and if the notes repeatedly begin with, “Note to self…”
I love my Alma mater and this football program. Season ticket holder since ‘07. I frankly don’t know how we move forward under Wilcox unless someone with a lot more authority than I surmises that we are okay with mediocrity at best and misery such as last night’s debacle
We have no pass rush, our linemen can’t figure out when the ball is snapped, we have no deep threats at receiver, we can’t catch the ball with any consistency, our kickers are mediocre at best, etc, etc, etc…
Collectively, the above is endemic of leadership and mindset. We appear to have neither at the moment.
Wow. I planned to watch the game broadcast, instead spent a lovely fall afternoon with my wife and friends at a Lodi CA winery. Am I glad I did.
Reading this and other WFC emails and comments about yesterday's BG, I agree with all that change is needed, and fast. It’s not the athletes; you don’t win 6 games at Division I level with poor athletes. No, if your team consistently commits errors, penalties (13!!), turnovers, and loses discipline, you’ve got to look hard at the coaching.
In some respects this feels like the Holmoe years, a lot of let downs by a coached who was liked personally, but couldn’t deliver on the field of a play. Somewhere out there is a “Jeff Tedford” kind of coach, now Cal & RR need to find him.
I am SO GLAD that a last minute change of plans forced me to miss this game.
I have seen expressed a sentiment that JW is not so bad bc his teams’ records are roughly .500 and are nothing like the Holmoecaust. That is misleading. JW’s teams start out 3-0 against donkey OOC competition and then have a miserable conf record full of humiliating beat downs but eek out just enough wins against the worst of the worst and manage to be 5-7 or 6-6 which only looks decent if you weren’t paying attention.
There are so many fun things to do in the Bay Area. Unless we actually take a shot at having a winning team I am totally fine leaving Cal football off the list of things to spend my hard earned money and preciously small amounts of free time on….
My thought process is the sooner you make the move, the sooner you can get the wasteful Cal bureaucratic machine moving and time is of the essence with the portal opening Jan 2.
Not being an alumni, I shouldn’t care. But, since we’re no longer really talking about college sports, this game should be it for Wilcox. What an embarrassment. And, by the way, it’s tiresome to hear a “ school” is “ bowl eligible “, as if anyone gives a f**k about the Wheaties Bowl
well written. its gotta be done. this entire football culture needs a restart overhaul whatever you want to call it. been an alum for yrs and its just too embarrassing at such a great school
Wilcox and Harsin need to be relieved of their duties by first thing Monday morning. Enough is enough; time is of the essence. Ron must act ASAP before the coaching carousel gets even crazier.
Let Rolo coach the SMU game and whatever mediocre bowl we're relegated to. In the meantime, line up interviews with Tosh, Sean Lewis (SDSU), GJ Kinne (Texas St), Brent Vigen (Montana St), Tim Plough (UC Davis), Will Stein (Oregon OC), and any other viable promising candidates (G5/FCS HCs or P5 OCs).
Agreed, this is the only course of action at this point. There is no benefit to letting SMU and bowl game play out.
We all liked Wilcox. Wanted him to succeed. But it's time to part ways.
Well said.
The important thing here is understanding you're competing against the Trees for the same candidate pool, since they are obviously in the market for a coach. That means making a decision on Wilcox's future needs to happen sooner rather than later.
I don’t think the names available are particularly inspiring, but you have to get rid of Wilcox ASAP as a show of good faith that you have any kind of expectations for the program.
Mora. No one else would touch him, because the floor is low.
Brian Callahan from our backyard
Serious question: In 1986 it was announced with two games left that Kapp wouldn't be retained, but he coached the last two games (result: 1-1) as a lame duck. This doesn't seem to be done anymore, but as long as they make the announcement now, what would be the real difference between having Wilcox coach the last two games or having Rolovich coach them?
Different times for sure. Plus Kapp was and is an all timer.
One thing these coaches have in common: liked by their players.
Maybe this will be the final straw for any Cal alums that were still holding out hope for Wilcox. If this embarrassing loss doesn’t cause action, then nothing will. I mean come on, if the sight of Luck celebrating wildly again and again doesn’t cause you to wretch, then you’re not human.
If we had beaten Furd convincingly and gotten at least a respectable loss against SMU I think Wilcox might have been retained. After replaying the San Diego State game yesterday? No.
This was one of the worst performances by Cal in 40 years especially considering how bad Stanford is.
I woke up and disappointed to see Wilcox has not been fired yet
Yup, I was expecting an early headline.
The Louisville W likely bought him the full year, which is a mistake.
After yesterday’s disaster, a message needs to be sent to donors and recruits that the previous status quo is not good enough. Plus the more time a notoriously slow department/administration has to do the process the better, even if it’s only a week. Be proactive, assertive, aggressive.
Technically, a W v SMU & the bowl is a 8-wins, but….
It is nearly 10 am the day after an embarrassing loss to our arch rival, in a season of embarrassing losses, lucky wins and one legitimate win against a quality opponent.
Why has Wilcox not been fired yet?
As an alumnus of Harvard and Berkeley, that was a bad, bad Saturday. A big letdown in the rivalry game comes down to coaching. My feeling about Wilcox has been that he’s a pretty good coach who somehow has had trouble hiring and retaining assistants, but ultimately that’s on him. Cal should be looking for a head coach who’ll assemble a great staff, and should be prepared to pay the assistant coaches well.
Cal needs to increase its financial commitment to all levels of the football coaching staff, and not simply to a high priced Head Coach, to build an effective, modern college football program.
Wilcox fought and got an increase in budget for the coaching staff. That's how we have many coaches and analysts this year.
Same. Not a great day. At least the crimson may have a future this season.
There are dozens of us!
Embarassing.
Remembering these are 18-22 year old kids; their coaches are essentially their teachers, they’re not unlike my 3rd graders before a challenge.
When my kids face a big assessment, I gotta have them ready.
For their part, Wilcox & his coaches did not. They failed their kids last night In their game prep, but also in failing—again—to take care of the intangibles that can win the games on the margins. Again, it’s not unlike the small things of routine I need to do with my own students…
Still, also want to know, and I don’t want to blame Kendrick Raphael for being who he is, but I wish Bryan Harsin would be forced to answer why he felt that the likes of a runner like Raphael could replace Jaydn Orr or Javion Thomas.
Again, it’s not Raphael’s fault, because I know he’s trying, but WTF was Harsin thinking in chasing off the old running back room to replace them with a group that makes former Cal RB Christopher Brooks’ speed almost akin to Jahvid Best? The inability to break runs for longer gains made every Cal offensive drive an excruciating experience.
Then there’s the fumbling, and not just last night, Ron Gould would have benched Raphael’s ass.
Finally, what did Mason Mini do to find his role diminish to where he merely became a trick play QB?
I believe in Kendrick Raphael. I think he's a competent P4 back and his one cut style and surprising physicality generates positive yardage despite piss poor run blocking. I think Harsin completely whiffed on recruiting everyone else in that room.
Mini’s entire extended family was at the game. Huge tailgate, Mini jerseys galore. It was his 20th birthday. Kid had to have been amped up. And he plays virtually no role in the game??
We saw them before the UVa game. It was awesome to see them show out, especially for that wonderful trick play pass to Raphael for the TD.
Since then, he’s essentially has disappeared from the receiver rotation, other than having him running option plays. But King has also vanished from the pass plays. Not to take anything away from DeJesus, but we’ve been running the entire offense through him and it’s wholly predictable. And that’s not even accounting for his decision to reverse field on the play that resulted in his devastating fumble that got Furd into the game.
He was banged up, came off the field limping at one point
He has a pitch count
Wrong headline, should be "Cal Shi*ts the bed in Palo Alto, as Justin Wilcox sets up the Golden Bears for another 6-6 season: fans give up all hope of more than mediocrity"
the headline should've been:
" 'Justin Wilcox fired as Cal head coach' is the headline you were looking for and thought for a moment this might be it, because we aren't above a little click baiting here and that's ok "
Well, your headline has been my hope for 2 years, so at this point it would be too repetitive...
I’ve often wondered why our head coach writes so many notes during the games and if the notes repeatedly begin with, “Note to self…”
I love my Alma mater and this football program. Season ticket holder since ‘07. I frankly don’t know how we move forward under Wilcox unless someone with a lot more authority than I surmises that we are okay with mediocrity at best and misery such as last night’s debacle
We have no pass rush, our linemen can’t figure out when the ball is snapped, we have no deep threats at receiver, we can’t catch the ball with any consistency, our kickers are mediocre at best, etc, etc, etc…
Collectively, the above is endemic of leadership and mindset. We appear to have neither at the moment.
Wow. I planned to watch the game broadcast, instead spent a lovely fall afternoon with my wife and friends at a Lodi CA winery. Am I glad I did.
Reading this and other WFC emails and comments about yesterday's BG, I agree with all that change is needed, and fast. It’s not the athletes; you don’t win 6 games at Division I level with poor athletes. No, if your team consistently commits errors, penalties (13!!), turnovers, and loses discipline, you’ve got to look hard at the coaching.
In some respects this feels like the Holmoe years, a lot of let downs by a coached who was liked personally, but couldn’t deliver on the field of a play. Somewhere out there is a “Jeff Tedford” kind of coach, now Cal & RR need to find him.
Those of you who somehow decided to skip seeing the game, I envy you.
End of an era loss.
End of an error
I am SO GLAD that a last minute change of plans forced me to miss this game.
I have seen expressed a sentiment that JW is not so bad bc his teams’ records are roughly .500 and are nothing like the Holmoecaust. That is misleading. JW’s teams start out 3-0 against donkey OOC competition and then have a miserable conf record full of humiliating beat downs but eek out just enough wins against the worst of the worst and manage to be 5-7 or 6-6 which only looks decent if you weren’t paying attention.
There are so many fun things to do in the Bay Area. Unless we actually take a shot at having a winning team I am totally fine leaving Cal football off the list of things to spend my hard earned money and preciously small amounts of free time on….
Great headline.
Every day Wilcox remains employed is another day wasted.
I’d wait until after we get beat by an SMU team playing for a slot into the ACC championship.
Under no circumstances should Wilcox coach the bowl game though.
My thought process is the sooner you make the move, the sooner you can get the wasteful Cal bureaucratic machine moving and time is of the essence with the portal opening Jan 2.
Not being an alumni, I shouldn’t care. But, since we’re no longer really talking about college sports, this game should be it for Wilcox. What an embarrassment. And, by the way, it’s tiresome to hear a “ school” is “ bowl eligible “, as if anyone gives a f**k about the Wheaties Bowl
it's like the bottom wildcards in baseball
well written. its gotta be done. this entire football culture needs a restart overhaul whatever you want to call it. been an alum for yrs and its just too embarrassing at such a great school