Report: Northwestern Looking to Add Cal RB Coach Aristotle Thompson to Its Staff

Thompson has been Cal's running backs coach the past five years but he may be off to the Big Ten as the Bears' offensive staff may change again

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Aristotle Thompson, Cal's running backs coach the past five years and one of the Bears' few remaining offensive assistant coaches from the past season, is being targeted to become Northwestern's running backs coach, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Thamel's tweet suggests Thompson will be hired by Northwestern in the near future.

Sources: Northwestern is targeting Cal running back coach Aristotle Thompson to the school’s new running backs coach. The deal is expected to come together in the near future. He’s worked at Cal the last five years and at Cal Poly for 11 years. He recruited and developed… pic.twitter.com/0OHOcAvG9N

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 22, 2025

Cal has already made significant changes to its coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball since the end of the 2024 season. Bryan Harsin has been named the Bears' new offensive coordinator. Kyle Cefalo has been named Cal's new receivers coach. Famika Anae is the the Bears' new offensive line coach, and Nick Rolovich has been hired as Cal's senior offensive assistant.

Cal ranked 14th in the 17-team ACC in scoring offense in 2024, averaging 25.1 points, and the Bears scored just 19 points in their final two games combined. Cal ranked 14th in the ACC in rushing offense, and averaged 3.6 yards per carry.

Northwestern ranked 17th in the 18-team Big Ten in rushing in 2024, averaging 98.5 yards on the ground per game. The Wildcats averaged 3.3 yards per carry and finished the season with a 4-8 record.

Follow California Golden Bears on SI on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport