Cal Sports Report

Cal Assistant, Ex-Cal Star Mentioned as Head Coach Candidates

Recent head coaching firings at Colorado State and Oregon State leads to speculation about their replacements, and a Cal assistant coach and a former Cal star are named
Jake Curtis|
Bryan Harsin when he was Boise State's head coach in 2019
Bryan Harsin when he was Boise State's head coach in 2019 | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

It’s midway through the college football season, which means it’s time for head coaching firings and speculation about their replacements. Among the many names being tossed about as possible head coaching replacements this time around are Cal offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and, believe it or not, former Cal star DeSean Jackson.

Oregon State and Colorado State recently fired their head football coaches, creating vacancies when the season ends.

The Athletic (via the New York Times) listed 11 “potential candidates to watch” to be the next Colorado State head coach after Jay Norvell was fired this week. And one of those 11 potential candidates mentioned was Bryan Harsin.

Pete Nakos of On3 also mentioned Harsin as a possible candidate for the Rams head-coaching job

But it’s not just Colorado State officials that might be interested in Harsin.  Harsin reportedly was a serious candidate to become the Oregon State head coach when the job went to Trent Bray in November 2023, and Oregonlive.com (the online arm of the Oregonian) listed Harsin as one of the top six candidates for the Beavers’ head coaching job this time around.

Here is what oregonlive.com said about Harsin:

Bryan Harsin (OC, California)

The Beavers witnessed Harsin’s offensive prowess firsthand in the season opener, when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and the Bears carved them to pieces from the opening whistle. Much of that falls on OSU and its preparedness, but still.

Harsin was the longtime head coach at Boise State who went 69-19 with the Broncos but flamed out as the head coach at Auburn in less than two seasons. His is a name that has been floated to lead the Beavers and reset his career.

Harsin has a track record of success at Boise, but OSU would have a lot to answer for making this hire. Harsin’s tenure at Auburn was marred by significant recruiting failures, and former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix described his time playing for Harsin as “miserable.”

Nix wasn’t alone in that assessment. There was an inquiry into the Auburn program under Harsin, with one former player saying he “treated us like dogs.” That, along with Harsin occasionally wading into politically controversial topics, could make this a tough sell.

Back on September 18, SI.com offered a the names of a few people who might be in line for head coaching jobs, and Harsin was one of them, with this comment:

Bryan Harsin, Cal offensive coordinator

Harsin’s name came up for a few Group of 5 jobs after he got fired from Auburn but might garner some more Power 4 interest with the way he’s led the Bears to a surprising start this season and turned Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele into a must-see freshman quarterback. 

However, that report was posted when Cal was 3-0, and since then Cal’s offense and Sagapolutele have been less effective. Whether that affects Harsin’s head-coaching possibilities is hard to say.

Harsin was unsuccessful at his most recent head coaching stop at Auburn, but he had considerable success as Boise State’s head coach before that. And he would know the competition in what will be the Pac-12 next year when many of the Mountain West teams, including Boise State and Colorado State, will join Oregon State and Washington State in the restructured Pac-12.

That leads to some intriguing speculation from the Denver Post, which suggests that former Cal and NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson might be considered for the Colorado State head-coaching vacancy.  Jackson is in his first season as a college head coach at Delaware State, an FCS school that has a 4-3 record with wins over Albany, Bowie State, St. Francis and Southern Connecticut State. In the 70-23 victory over Division II Southern Connecticut State, Delware State rolled up 781 yards of offense.

The Post provided this comment on Jackson and possible Colorado State interest in him:

DeSean Jackson, Delaware State coach: Want NFL star power? Want ESPN to pay attention to the Rams? Want Deion Sanders to feel a little jealous? It’s a Hail Mary, sure. But ask Rick George how those can pay off.

The difference with Sanders is that Sanders turned Jackson State into an FBC powerhouse in just three years on the job. Hiring Jackson would give the Colorado State football program some national publicity, though.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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