Cal Football: Could A Big Season Cost the Bears Coach Justin Wilcox?

Analyst Yogi Roth doesn't believe Wilcox would be eager to leave Berkeley

Justin Wilcox had been Cal’s head coach for just one season when already the rumors began. In December 2017 he reportedly was a candidate for the vacancy at Oregon, which happens to be his alma mater.

Did Oregon ever offer the job to Wilcox? We’ll probably never know for sure.

What we do know is the Ducks chose assistant Mario Cristobal, a move that has worked out well for Oregon and Cal.

Fast forward to this December and imagine the following scenario: The college football season somehow was conducted and Cal enjoyed its best season since the days of Jeff Tedford.

Maybe nine victories . . . maybe more?

And the rumor mill cranks into high gear with speculation and reports that schools across the country are pursuing Wilcox to run their program.

Would he leave for, say, a plum job in the Big Ten Conference?

Yogi Roth, analyst for the Pac-12 Networks, does not believe that would necessarily be the case, as he explains in the video above.

“A lot of teams wanted Justin Wilcox to be their head coach after Year 1,” Roth told me. “A lot of teams wanted him after Year 2. It’s never going to stop with him.

“The thing that Cal fans should be excited about is that Justin understands the landscape of major college football. He understands what it’s like to go coach in the SEC . . . he did it at Tennessee.

“He understands what it’s like to be in other footprints around the country and be the face of a state, let alone a region. I think for him, he loves where he is.”

Roth believes Wilcox enjoys the relative anonymity the Bay Area affords him, compared to many college-oriented markets in the country. He can go out to dinner and coach football and not be otherwise bothered. Beyond that, Roth is convinced Wilcox is comfortable with the kind of student-athletes he can recruit and develop at Cal.

“Justin Wilcox is not the guy that’s going to run to another job,” Roth said. “They’re going to be presented, and if they’re ridiculous opportunities he’d be foolish not to think about them.

“But I also believe from all my dialogue with him that he knows Cal is a great opportunity. He knows they can win there. He sees how close they are.

“If they have the season that is subtly being projected, if they win 10 games, why wouldn’t the top quarterback in California go to Cal?”

While Cal fans were constantly convinced that former coach Sonny Dykes had one foot out the door, looking at other jobs (especially in his home state of Texas), Roth believes Old Blues see a quality of loyalty in Wilcox, set to begin his fourth season.

Said Roth, “For Justin, that’s just who he is.”

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*** Our two previous interview segments with Yogi Roth: 

- Part 1: Will there be a 2020 college football season?

- Part 2: Can the Bears score enough point to become elite this fall?

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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