The last sentence is, whatever else we think about Cal football, a perfect ending to this blog from a literary perspective. Truly. That sentence is just...chef's kiss. As for the overall account, I completely agree with it, particularly re: what happened in Seattle re: Finley's interceptions and how long it took to put Jackson in, etc. The coaching for last week's game re: quarterback as the game unfolded was a complete mystery to me.
"The coaching for last week's game re: quarterback as the game unfolded was a complete mystery to me."
Unless, you already know that this game will be a "L" and you want to save your more explosive and fragile QB for a more winnable game later in the season, when the power teams are winnowed down with starters out. Of course, that presupposes that your team wins the winnable games between now and then, but it might be a proposition bet that injuries will occur to the contender teams' starters and give our team an advantage down the road. Dunno.'
In the end, whoever our coach is. Whatever our roster is. The only way to compete in modern CFB is with an elite QB. We have only had Rodgers and Goff, and those were the only two periods of light in modern Cal history. Even if Goff's ceiling was 8 wins, it *should* have been more if not for a historically disastrous defense.
The only way to compete for conference titles and a CFB playoff spot, yes that is true. However, we have seen schools succeed and win with slightly above average QB play. We even win 8 games with Garbers and if Wilcox hired a better OL coach and OC, Garbers could have easily won 8-9 games in 2021.
Mostly agree. My one quibble is that in the points per drive calculation, a 3 and out that ends in a field goal should count as 0, not 3.
It wasn't an issue for this game, but I would count any TD drive that starts inside the defensive team's 30 as 4 points instead of 7 because the offense is already in FG range. Obviously you can make a more precise calculation of expected points based on field position, but I think the 30 yard line would work for a quick and dirty calculation like this one.
Does anyone who might be far more plugged-into all of this than me know how the donors are actually allowing all of this to continue? Wilcox’s extension was unconscionable. Knowlton’s extension, while far cheaper, was also insane. Christ and Knowlton don’t operate in bubbles do they? One would think they need donor approval to fund this nonsense and who in God’s name that is donating money to fund this trainwreck is actually singing off on all this? Who do knowlton and Wilcox have pictures of in compromising positions? That is about my only remaining explanation.
Simple answer here without going into details that i have no idea of is, we have bigger issues rn like the ACC move, and the added fact were paying a buyout for a MBB coach rn too.
Yeah, I totally get that paying Wilcox’s buyout right now is completely unrealistic. I’m just wondering how it got here in the first place? Like who thought that extension was a good idea? I assume knowlton had to sell it to someone? Ugh and to think we almost had a gift in oregon taking him off our hands (assuming it was true and not masterful work by Wilcox’s agent).
All coaches talk about the need to play well in all THREE phases of the game: offense, defense, and SPECIAL TEAMS. Why do we not hired an experienced special teams coordinator just like we have an OC and DC?
Another comment. This time on WRs. Did you notice how Penix threw to covered receivers? He has the ability to throw into tight windows and the receivers to make contested catches. Jackson won't throw into tight windows although he has the receivers to make contested catches. Finley will throw to covered receivers and, for example, Hunter caught a TD. It isn't that our receivers can't get open, it is all about the windows are smaller. Especially given the talent of DBs in this conference. Albeit in practice, Nando will also throw tight windows and for a young QB does a good job going through progressions. I would like to see how he does in a game.
Receivers have to create separation or find the open grass - a QB can't live by constantly throwing into tight windows, this isn't the NFL (and even in the NFL QBs throw to the back shoulder or low and away or high and hard for a reason). Toler should stay with recruiting since he has done nothing to improve Cal's receiver's skills (in fact he's a crappy recruiting coordinator as well - legacy can be trap and in this case it was)
Funny you should mention Toler cuz I was thinking the same thing. What has he done for us lately? Hell one of our top talents ~ Grizzell ~ is a walk on for christ sake!! He'll probably get some NIL money and transfer at the end of the year.
I agree WRs can do more but at this level 1/2 a step or 1 step is about all you will get unless the DB falls or misses their assignment. I have found that Cal QBs mostly throw the ball late. There was one exception to that during the fall practices I attended, the JC kid from across the Bay who is no longer w/ the team as far as I know.
Re. SJV...see bullet pass TD vs Idaho in double coverage (b/c someone ran the wrong route) where only Hunter could get it. See TD vs UW in tight coverage a dime where Grizzell could only get it. IMO Finley's passes are soft lobs where the D has a better chance to make a play on the ball as oppossed to SJV bullet passes...see Grizzell's dropped pass for what should have been a TD in Idaho game.
So funny you should mention "soft lobs". Both Pawlawski and Spav have commented, separately, that JV needs to learn to throw the ball with more "air" (i.e. loft). Hey but what do they know, right? Not every tight window requires a bullet pass. Sometimes it is to the back shoulder other times it could be over the DB but short of the safety. Or the QB throws the receiver open which often requires some "air" aka loft.
WHOEVER READS THIS...PLEASE CINVEYWHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ TO THE HEAD AND SPECIAL TEAMS COACHES FOR CAL: THE ELEVEN MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE ALL PUT TO WAT I CONSIDER THE WORSE US WHEHBFACING A PUNT BY THE OPPOSITION BECAUSE THE ODDS ARE EXTRODINARILY LOW FOR BLOCKING A PUNT AND IF THESE SAME GUYS WERE DEPLOYED IN A BETTER FORMATION THEN, AT LEAST, SIX OF THEM WOULD BE SET UP TO, UPON A PUNT, TO IMMEDIATELY RETURN TO PROTECTING THE PUNT RECEIVER INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BLOCK A PUNT. THIS ALLSIPLY COMES DOWN TO THE PROPER, (LOGICAL) USE OF NUMBERS INRUNNING A FOOTBALL TEAM. NOW, DAMN IT, DO IT!!!!! GERBEAR CAL'51
There really isn't a QB controversy. Neither of them is all that good. Wilcox doesn't have the luxury of developing a QB, or any other position for that matter, his time is on a short leash getting shorter and shorter by each game.
While the QB position is obvious for all to see the issue at hand is the below average OL. This has been consistent for 7 years. As the undersigned has posted ad nauseum, the problem occurred on day one when Wilcox hired Greatwood. This hire, IMO, was a worse hire than any of the OCs Wilcox has tried and failed. Greatwood was in his twilight years and his recruiting was a failure. Frankly his development wasn't that great either although several lads made it to the League.
Wilcox by any measure is an old school coach. How he has missed on the basic tenet of football ~ the line of scrimmage ~ for seven years is a complete mystery turned into an abject failure. Additionally, his reluctance to fire people (it's just not in his nature) in a timely fashion ~ in this industry ~ sets u back years, not days or months. He has been too loyal to his own detriment. Even a win or 2 against ASU/furd won't change Wilcox's core beliefs and management style. Hell even Saban a defensive minded coach YEARS AGO understood the changing landscape of football and surrounded himself with offensive minded coaches. Wilcox is trying that this year w/ Spav but it ain't working. Why? cuz the OL isn't at P5 standards.
Fans can lament the QB situation all year but neither QB is the answer within Spav's system.
Lastly, our best chance to win is with either Finley or Nando. By win I mean games outside of ASU / furd (any of the 3 QBs should be able to beat those 2 teams). But to have a chance against OSU or WSU, I'd go with Finley or Nando. Weeks ago I penned that the on the job training with Jackson would soon come to an end come conference play and it has. Wilcox needs to win and win now, he can't wait 2 years for Jackson to "develop" if he even does develop.
With respect to special teams, Wilcox should have his entire staff read the book written by former VT coach Frank Beamer, it goes for $20 on Amazon. Nuff said.
Agree with you on Finley. Those three interceptions might just well bench him for the season, but there were times in the first half when that offense was moving the way that Spav probably intended when he agreed to come to Cal. The problem is that Finley needs a clean pocket to operate, and he ain't going to get it against the talented teams in the conference.
Greatwood was a good hire on paper but I agree that his results were a bit underwhelming. Greatwoods tenure only looks good in retrospect when compared to the dumpster fire hire of Angus McClure.
Inexperienced, mediocre talent / subpar performances / sub-average coaches / failed recruiting / clueless, no-nothing administrators who are more focused on creating a new name and image than creating winning programs / an emasculated, gutless athletic director and a staff that is a diversity alphabet showcase (LGBTQIA2S+) but basically inept / empty coffers / disinterested, disconnected student body / discouraged alumni fan base ---- What a bonanza!!! Lookout ACC, here come the Cal Berkeley Golden Bottom Feeders!
I think the reason you have seen Wilcox struggle since 2019 is due to the upgrade in the quality of coaches in the Pac12.
USC upgraded from Helton to Riley
UW upgraded from Lake to Deboer
OSU upgraded from Andersen to Smith
Chip Kelly is a better coach than Wilcox.
Oregon has better talent and coaches that are probably on par or slightly better than Wilcox.
Whittingham is a better coach than Wilcox.
Wilcox is the second longest tenured head coach in the Pac12 but he would probably be ranked in the bottom third in terms of coaching talent, only ahead of HCs at ASU and UofA.
Now that most of us agree Wilcox has to go, the new guy needs to be from the offensive side of the tree. The three best Cal coaches in the last 50 years were offensive coordinators - Mike, White, Bruce Snyder and Jeff Tedford. Being at least good on offense is kind of in the genetic DNA of Cal football and sort of explains why most of us are so appalled by what we are seeing right now under Wilcox. Somewhere in the MWC or maybe even the MAC is a brilliant offensive mind who will maybe bring his stud quarterback and a few other guys with him. Look what happened to Washington State when Cam Ward, Robert Ferrel and OC Eric Morris came over in a package deal from Incarnate Word.
Just a little piss in the soup, here, but Sonny Dykes was extremely offense-oriented and look at what happened? We need a balance. Even, now, almost every TCU game is a shoot out- sound familiar?
Steve: You are absolutely right to point out how offensively challenged Cal has been under Wilcox but don't forget that one of the reasons he was hired was because Sonny Dykes played ZERO defense! Sure, we had some exciting wins (swept Texas) but his defenses couldn't stop a sneeze. We would sometimes end up winning (see 60-59 win over Wazzu) but mostly losing (see 49-45 loss to Arizona on a last second hail-Mary) ridiculously high scoring games but the long-term trend was never pointing up under Dykes. Whoever takes over has to pay attention to ALL THREE PHASES OF THE GAME!
Being down 14-0 without the other team even running an offensive play was very Holmoe-esque. (Actually worse, as IIRC our special teams were usually good, with Deltha, Nick Harris, etc)
The real problem with Wilcox now is this is the first time I thought he behaved like a lame duck coach starting Finley over Jackson. If Wilcox thinks he’s coaching for his job this year he will prioritize the short term over the medium and long term health of the program.
If you think starting Finley increases your chances of winning by 10 percent and you are worried about your job, you start him. If you are thinking about next year and beyond you go with a raw talent like Jackson and let the sophomore take his lumps.
Along those lines I bet if we go 4-8 this year, the money will be found, we will have a new coach next year. We are all in on football now there is no turning back.
If Knowlton and Wilcox are back next year, we might as well scrap the whole department because it is a tacit admission that despite the ACC invite, Cal refuses to acknowledge and embrace the value football and basketball bring from a revenue perspective. So WTF are we even doing here, really.
Getting into the ACC was never about starting fresh, it was the least disruptive way for Christ to keep her wraparound porch of 30 varsity sports at Cal
Another problem is if I’m a rich alum there is NO WAY I’m letting Knowlton negotiate the buyout and next hire. If I’m paying for a buyout AND another round of NIL money, I’d want a completely new administration next year.
There’s definitely some conflicts of interests here but another 4-8 seasons makes the pressure for change too great to keep the status quo.
Oh for sure. I think Knowlton is toast for other reasons as well (eg McKeever). But the new Christ needs to hire the new Knowlton and so on. I think Christ is not stepping down until after this school year so we have one more year of JW in store
The last sentence is, whatever else we think about Cal football, a perfect ending to this blog from a literary perspective. Truly. That sentence is just...chef's kiss. As for the overall account, I completely agree with it, particularly re: what happened in Seattle re: Finley's interceptions and how long it took to put Jackson in, etc. The coaching for last week's game re: quarterback as the game unfolded was a complete mystery to me.
"The coaching for last week's game re: quarterback as the game unfolded was a complete mystery to me."
Unless, you already know that this game will be a "L" and you want to save your more explosive and fragile QB for a more winnable game later in the season, when the power teams are winnowed down with starters out. Of course, that presupposes that your team wins the winnable games between now and then, but it might be a proposition bet that injuries will occur to the contender teams' starters and give our team an advantage down the road. Dunno.'
In the end, whoever our coach is. Whatever our roster is. The only way to compete in modern CFB is with an elite QB. We have only had Rodgers and Goff, and those were the only two periods of light in modern Cal history. Even if Goff's ceiling was 8 wins, it *should* have been more if not for a historically disastrous defense.
The only way to compete for conference titles and a CFB playoff spot, yes that is true. However, we have seen schools succeed and win with slightly above average QB play. We even win 8 games with Garbers and if Wilcox hired a better OL coach and OC, Garbers could have easily won 8-9 games in 2021.
Against a bad Pac-12. We can't just hope that the other teams will suck.
Well, good thing for Wilcox the Pac12 won’t exist after this season.
Mostly agree. My one quibble is that in the points per drive calculation, a 3 and out that ends in a field goal should count as 0, not 3.
It wasn't an issue for this game, but I would count any TD drive that starts inside the defensive team's 30 as 4 points instead of 7 because the offense is already in FG range. Obviously you can make a more precise calculation of expected points based on field position, but I think the 30 yard line would work for a quick and dirty calculation like this one.
Does anyone who might be far more plugged-into all of this than me know how the donors are actually allowing all of this to continue? Wilcox’s extension was unconscionable. Knowlton’s extension, while far cheaper, was also insane. Christ and Knowlton don’t operate in bubbles do they? One would think they need donor approval to fund this nonsense and who in God’s name that is donating money to fund this trainwreck is actually singing off on all this? Who do knowlton and Wilcox have pictures of in compromising positions? That is about my only remaining explanation.
Simple answer here without going into details that i have no idea of is, we have bigger issues rn like the ACC move, and the added fact were paying a buyout for a MBB coach rn too.
Yeah, I totally get that paying Wilcox’s buyout right now is completely unrealistic. I’m just wondering how it got here in the first place? Like who thought that extension was a good idea? I assume knowlton had to sell it to someone? Ugh and to think we almost had a gift in oregon taking him off our hands (assuming it was true and not masterful work by Wilcox’s agent).
Almost like a market manipulation, right?
Straw dog offer to Wilcox, spooks Cal AD into long term marriage contract.
One or more people at Oregon has/have a laugh at both Wilcox and us.
Not sure, but something hinky went on.
All coaches talk about the need to play well in all THREE phases of the game: offense, defense, and SPECIAL TEAMS. Why do we not hired an experienced special teams coordinator just like we have an OC and DC?
It shows that Wilcox doesn't value the performance of the special teams as much as he does for the offense and defense.
Another comment. This time on WRs. Did you notice how Penix threw to covered receivers? He has the ability to throw into tight windows and the receivers to make contested catches. Jackson won't throw into tight windows although he has the receivers to make contested catches. Finley will throw to covered receivers and, for example, Hunter caught a TD. It isn't that our receivers can't get open, it is all about the windows are smaller. Especially given the talent of DBs in this conference. Albeit in practice, Nando will also throw tight windows and for a young QB does a good job going through progressions. I would like to see how he does in a game.
Receivers have to create separation or find the open grass - a QB can't live by constantly throwing into tight windows, this isn't the NFL (and even in the NFL QBs throw to the back shoulder or low and away or high and hard for a reason). Toler should stay with recruiting since he has done nothing to improve Cal's receiver's skills (in fact he's a crappy recruiting coordinator as well - legacy can be trap and in this case it was)
Funny you should mention Toler cuz I was thinking the same thing. What has he done for us lately? Hell one of our top talents ~ Grizzell ~ is a walk on for christ sake!! He'll probably get some NIL money and transfer at the end of the year.
I agree WRs can do more but at this level 1/2 a step or 1 step is about all you will get unless the DB falls or misses their assignment. I have found that Cal QBs mostly throw the ball late. There was one exception to that during the fall practices I attended, the JC kid from across the Bay who is no longer w/ the team as far as I know.
Throwing the ball late is a passing game cardinal sin.
Re. SJV...see bullet pass TD vs Idaho in double coverage (b/c someone ran the wrong route) where only Hunter could get it. See TD vs UW in tight coverage a dime where Grizzell could only get it. IMO Finley's passes are soft lobs where the D has a better chance to make a play on the ball as oppossed to SJV bullet passes...see Grizzell's dropped pass for what should have been a TD in Idaho game.
So funny you should mention "soft lobs". Both Pawlawski and Spav have commented, separately, that JV needs to learn to throw the ball with more "air" (i.e. loft). Hey but what do they know, right? Not every tight window requires a bullet pass. Sometimes it is to the back shoulder other times it could be over the DB but short of the safety. Or the QB throws the receiver open which often requires some "air" aka loft.
WHOEVER READS THIS...PLEASE CINVEYWHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ TO THE HEAD AND SPECIAL TEAMS COACHES FOR CAL: THE ELEVEN MEMBERS OF THE TEAM ARE ALL PUT TO WAT I CONSIDER THE WORSE US WHEHBFACING A PUNT BY THE OPPOSITION BECAUSE THE ODDS ARE EXTRODINARILY LOW FOR BLOCKING A PUNT AND IF THESE SAME GUYS WERE DEPLOYED IN A BETTER FORMATION THEN, AT LEAST, SIX OF THEM WOULD BE SET UP TO, UPON A PUNT, TO IMMEDIATELY RETURN TO PROTECTING THE PUNT RECEIVER INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BLOCK A PUNT. THIS ALLSIPLY COMES DOWN TO THE PROPER, (LOGICAL) USE OF NUMBERS INRUNNING A FOOTBALL TEAM. NOW, DAMN IT, DO IT!!!!! GERBEAR CAL'51
The only problem can be a punt fake. Oregon just did one against Colorado.
And GERBEAR, you’re awesome!
GER!
There really isn't a QB controversy. Neither of them is all that good. Wilcox doesn't have the luxury of developing a QB, or any other position for that matter, his time is on a short leash getting shorter and shorter by each game.
While the QB position is obvious for all to see the issue at hand is the below average OL. This has been consistent for 7 years. As the undersigned has posted ad nauseum, the problem occurred on day one when Wilcox hired Greatwood. This hire, IMO, was a worse hire than any of the OCs Wilcox has tried and failed. Greatwood was in his twilight years and his recruiting was a failure. Frankly his development wasn't that great either although several lads made it to the League.
Wilcox by any measure is an old school coach. How he has missed on the basic tenet of football ~ the line of scrimmage ~ for seven years is a complete mystery turned into an abject failure. Additionally, his reluctance to fire people (it's just not in his nature) in a timely fashion ~ in this industry ~ sets u back years, not days or months. He has been too loyal to his own detriment. Even a win or 2 against ASU/furd won't change Wilcox's core beliefs and management style. Hell even Saban a defensive minded coach YEARS AGO understood the changing landscape of football and surrounded himself with offensive minded coaches. Wilcox is trying that this year w/ Spav but it ain't working. Why? cuz the OL isn't at P5 standards.
Fans can lament the QB situation all year but neither QB is the answer within Spav's system.
Lastly, our best chance to win is with either Finley or Nando. By win I mean games outside of ASU / furd (any of the 3 QBs should be able to beat those 2 teams). But to have a chance against OSU or WSU, I'd go with Finley or Nando. Weeks ago I penned that the on the job training with Jackson would soon come to an end come conference play and it has. Wilcox needs to win and win now, he can't wait 2 years for Jackson to "develop" if he even does develop.
With respect to special teams, Wilcox should have his entire staff read the book written by former VT coach Frank Beamer, it goes for $20 on Amazon. Nuff said.
There's more than one title.
Not a book, but this, too, caught my eye.
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Beamer-Special-Teams-Createspace/dp/B006JQCZ2U/ref=sr_1_4?crid=30BBRHAJ4CYDU&keywords=Frank+Beamer&qid=1695759955&sprefix=frank+beamer%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-4
Why would any elite talent QB choose to go to Cal?
Cal has a pretty good recent history of putting QBs in the league.
Agree with you on Finley. Those three interceptions might just well bench him for the season, but there were times in the first half when that offense was moving the way that Spav probably intended when he agreed to come to Cal. The problem is that Finley needs a clean pocket to operate, and he ain't going to get it against the talented teams in the conference.
Greatwood was a good hire on paper but I agree that his results were a bit underwhelming. Greatwoods tenure only looks good in retrospect when compared to the dumpster fire hire of Angus McClure.
Anyone open to the idea of going for 2 every single time...
it's baffling we can't even make extra points consistently.
Inexperienced, mediocre talent / subpar performances / sub-average coaches / failed recruiting / clueless, no-nothing administrators who are more focused on creating a new name and image than creating winning programs / an emasculated, gutless athletic director and a staff that is a diversity alphabet showcase (LGBTQIA2S+) but basically inept / empty coffers / disinterested, disconnected student body / discouraged alumni fan base ---- What a bonanza!!! Lookout ACC, here come the Cal Berkeley Golden Bottom Feeders!
Spoiler alert: Wilcox can't turn it around.
He is completely overmatched running a program.
He was/is an excellent DC. Kind of like Spav, better coordinator than HC.
Brilliant as always, Nick. Echo your Wilcox thoughts 'multiplied by infinity, taken to the depths of forever'...
Is a second round of Tedford even a possibility? Would he come back? And would he be the right guy for it if he did?
Yeah and no.
Whatever problems that led to his decline might still be there, however, he seems to be doing well at FSU
I think the reason you have seen Wilcox struggle since 2019 is due to the upgrade in the quality of coaches in the Pac12.
USC upgraded from Helton to Riley
UW upgraded from Lake to Deboer
OSU upgraded from Andersen to Smith
Chip Kelly is a better coach than Wilcox.
Oregon has better talent and coaches that are probably on par or slightly better than Wilcox.
Whittingham is a better coach than Wilcox.
Wilcox is the second longest tenured head coach in the Pac12 but he would probably be ranked in the bottom third in terms of coaching talent, only ahead of HCs at ASU and UofA.
I would take Dillington over Wilcox any day of the week
Dillingham was a great hire.
Now that most of us agree Wilcox has to go, the new guy needs to be from the offensive side of the tree. The three best Cal coaches in the last 50 years were offensive coordinators - Mike, White, Bruce Snyder and Jeff Tedford. Being at least good on offense is kind of in the genetic DNA of Cal football and sort of explains why most of us are so appalled by what we are seeing right now under Wilcox. Somewhere in the MWC or maybe even the MAC is a brilliant offensive mind who will maybe bring his stud quarterback and a few other guys with him. Look what happened to Washington State when Cam Ward, Robert Ferrel and OC Eric Morris came over in a package deal from Incarnate Word.
Just a little piss in the soup, here, but Sonny Dykes was extremely offense-oriented and look at what happened? We need a balance. Even, now, almost every TCU game is a shoot out- sound familiar?
Steve: You are absolutely right to point out how offensively challenged Cal has been under Wilcox but don't forget that one of the reasons he was hired was because Sonny Dykes played ZERO defense! Sure, we had some exciting wins (swept Texas) but his defenses couldn't stop a sneeze. We would sometimes end up winning (see 60-59 win over Wazzu) but mostly losing (see 49-45 loss to Arizona on a last second hail-Mary) ridiculously high scoring games but the long-term trend was never pointing up under Dykes. Whoever takes over has to pay attention to ALL THREE PHASES OF THE GAME!
OOps. I should have read this first. ^^This, too.
Being down 14-0 without the other team even running an offensive play was very Holmoe-esque. (Actually worse, as IIRC our special teams were usually good, with Deltha, Nick Harris, etc)
Btw if 97-01 was the Holmoecaust, does that make the current era the WilPox?
Maybe Wilcovid era?
Wilvid or Wilco...
The real problem with Wilcox now is this is the first time I thought he behaved like a lame duck coach starting Finley over Jackson. If Wilcox thinks he’s coaching for his job this year he will prioritize the short term over the medium and long term health of the program.
If you think starting Finley increases your chances of winning by 10 percent and you are worried about your job, you start him. If you are thinking about next year and beyond you go with a raw talent like Jackson and let the sophomore take his lumps.
Along those lines I bet if we go 4-8 this year, the money will be found, we will have a new coach next year. We are all in on football now there is no turning back.
If Knowlton and Wilcox are back next year, we might as well scrap the whole department because it is a tacit admission that despite the ACC invite, Cal refuses to acknowledge and embrace the value football and basketball bring from a revenue perspective. So WTF are we even doing here, really.
Getting into the ACC was never about starting fresh, it was the least disruptive way for Christ to keep her wraparound porch of 30 varsity sports at Cal
"We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"
I agree but I find it odd because with his buy out, I feel like he isn’t in any jeopardy of losing his job.
Present and future donor $ will go to buy out, not NIL.
Another problem is if I’m a rich alum there is NO WAY I’m letting Knowlton negotiate the buyout and next hire. If I’m paying for a buyout AND another round of NIL money, I’d want a completely new administration next year.
There’s definitely some conflicts of interests here but another 4-8 seasons makes the pressure for change too great to keep the status quo.
Personally, I'm not giving another dime to Cal Football so long as Wilcox remains.
Oh for sure. I think Knowlton is toast for other reasons as well (eg McKeever). But the new Christ needs to hire the new Knowlton and so on. I think Christ is not stepping down until after this school year so we have one more year of JW in store
Cal football upgrades for 2024 will be a new ST coach and some sweet Cal Berkeley helmets! 😀
/sarcasm/
😂