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Ron Rivera, Cal Fire Coach Justin Wilcox After Nine Seasons
For the first time since 2017, Cal will be looking for a new head football coach.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday that the university has decided to fire coach Justin Wilcox one day after the Golden Bears’ 31–10 loss to rival Stanford in Week 13. The loss dropped Cal to 6–5 this season.
Lots of things are changing in college football, but this remains the same: losing by three touchdowns to your arch rival in a game you're favored to win is still bad for job security. https://t.co/w3gcIz7hel
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) November 23, 2025
Cal assistant Nick Rolovich is expected to serve as the interim coach.
It is the first significant move for Cal football general manager Ron Rivera, the former NFL coach who was hired back in March.
Cal will now join a flurry of college football programs looking to hire a new head coach this offseason, a list that includes LSU, Penn State, Florida, Auburn and Oklahoma State.
Cal hired Wilcox ahead of the 2017 season after firing Sonny Dykes. At the time of his hiring, Wilcox was coming off a season as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator in which the Badgers finished with a top-10 defense.
Over nine seasons at the helm in the Bay Area, Wilcox logged a 48–55 record. The Golden Bears never finished with a better record than 8-5 in 2019, a season that ended with a win over Illinois in the Redbox Bowl.
Justin Wilcox’s head coaching career
YEAR | SCHOOL | RECORD | BOWL |
|---|---|---|---|
2017 | California | 5–7 | |
2018 | California | 7–6 | Cheez-It Bowl (L) |
2019 | California | 8–5 | Redbox Bowl (W) |
2020 | California | 1–3 | |
2021 | California | 5–7 | |
2022 | California | 4–8 | |
2023 | California | 6–7 | Independence Bowl (L) |
2024 | California | 6–7 | LA Bowl (L) |
2025 | California | 6–5 | |
TOTAL | 48–55 |
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Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.