Tosh Lupoi Introduction and Press Conference
The prodigal son returns
The growing calls from the Cal fanbase for a coaching change ebbed and flowed throughout the 2025 season, and reached a fever pitch in the hours after the team’s stunning 31-10 loss to Stanford in the 128th Big Game. With an opening at Head Coach, the voice of the fanbase coagulated into one cohesive unit, with one name; Tosh Lupoi. Just under two weeks later, the official announcement came down that they got their wish.
This morning, in front of a Field Club full of athletic department personnel, press, former players, and boosters, Ron Rivera laughed as he introduced the return of Cal’s prodigal son, joking with the fanbase “You guys didn’t help, just so you know, cause the emails, the text messages…you took away our leverage.”
The day began in earnest as Lupoi and his family touched down at Oakland International Airport, greeted by Rivera, the Cal Band, and a Cal themed 1955 Thunderbird. Between then and his introductory press conference, Lupoi had the opportunity to speak with the current Cal roster.
During the course of the introduction and the press conference to follow, themes of alignment between the school, athletic department, and football program were stressed repeatedly, with the Chancellor, General Manager, and Head Coach, all having received their undergraduate degree from Cal. Lupoi opened his statements with his appreciation for the program that helped make him who he is today, “People say this too much, but this is a dream job for me, the place I’ve put the sweat, the blood, literally, into the bucket.”
Sketching out his vision for the program, Lupoi placed an emphasis on talent acquisition permeating all processes. “I’m not going to stand up here and guarantee, and talk about how many games we’re gonna win…that will ultimately be the result of the process that we put in place here.” There was a weight given to the theme of relentlessness, “I’d rather not share the details of that relentlessness because I don’t want any mothers to have fear in here.”
There are also clear ideas about what the team will not be. “One thing we’re not going to be, is we’re not going to change our themes and our culture and make t-shirts every week about what we’re gonna be. We’re gonna create an identity.” explained Lupoi.
Cal was not the only program with an interest in making Lupoi their Head Coach. He made it clear to all interested parties that he intended to finish out the year as the defensive coordinator of the Oregon Ducks, a position he stood firm on that took some schools out of the running.
Nevertheless, the new Head Coach is ready to get to work. He explained himself, “Every minute I keep talking here is a minute I’m not on FaceTime with someone who can help us.”
So begins the Tosh Lupoi era in Berkeley.