Peter Sirmon the new Saints LB coach, opening the Cal defensive coordinator position
The California Golden Bears have a huge hole to fill in their coaching staff.
In a very late move in the college football coaching cycle, the California Golden Bears will have to find a new defensive coordinator. Peter Sirmon is off to the NFL, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. He will be taking a position coach role with the New Orleans Saints as a linebackers coach.
Sirmon started at Cal in 2018 as the inside linebackers coach before adding co-defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator duties to his role in 2019. He also served as the recruiting coordinator for three seasons from 2019-21. He assumed full defensive coordinator responsibilities in 2021 after the departure of Tim DeRuyter. After good results with DeRuyter, Sirmon’s defenses varied from good in 2024 (40th) to underachieving in 2023 (84th) and average in 2021 (52nd in SP+) and 2022 (59th).
Sirmon did also help develop some very good inside linebackers at Cal, including Jordan Kunaszyk, Evan Weaver, Jackson Sirmon, Teddye Buchanan and Cade Uluave. This will be a tough loss for Justin Wilcox, who has coached with Sirmon from Tennessee to Washington to USC.
Cal’s current defensive staff now looks like:
Andrew Browning (defensive line coach)
Terrence Brown (defensive backs coach + passing game coordinator)
Vic So’oto (outside linebackers, special teams coach)
There’s a big hole at the top to fill. Can someone step in and help lead this new look defense?
Now Cal has a chance at stopping 3rd and longs and 4th downs
Thanks to Sirmon for his years helping our Bears. Met his family at a WSU game and they are football folks through and through. Best wishes to him.
Come on Wilcox, bring in another great hire on defense. I never felt Sirmon was the type to get his guys to run through brick walls for him. With Rivera on crew, I suspect they will both look for someone who motivates guys to play smart and with their hair on fire.