Ron Rivera Envisions Big Things for Cal Football

The Cal football season opens one week from today and all eyes will be on two pivotal figures: Coach Tosh Lupoi in his debut season and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in his second year as the Bears’ starting quarterback.

Ron Rivera, Cal’s general manager and athletic director for football, likes what he sees from both in the lead up to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 5.

“I think one of the things about Tosh’s leadership style,” Rivera said this week, "is from the beginning you know one thing: He’s all in and he’s focused on one thing, and that’s getting this program to an elite level, to win football games and training the developing the players.”

Rivera likened the mindset of the Bears’ first-time head coach to that of Cal Chancellor Rich Lyons.

“We want to get as many things done as we can. If we can get this done and do these things the right way, yes, we’re going to do these things,” Rivera said.

“I like that approach. We’re trying to get away from a `no’ culture. And I think this is the road that starts it. You have a guy who wants it and wants it now.”

Rivera talks in the video about the energy and vibe he has seen in practice.

Sagapolutele was a revelation as a freshman, passing for at least 200 yards in every game and evolving as a leader on the team. Rivera expects the left-hander from Hawaii to take the next step this fall.

“I think the biggest thing is just seeing the growth in terms of the ease in which he’s around his teammates has been tremendous,” Rivera said. “His skill set continues to grow and get better.”

The Bears seemingly also have surrounded Sagapolutele with a better supporting cast. They added wide receivers Chase Hendricks and Ian Strong, running back Adam Mohammed, tight end Dorian Thomas and have strengthened the offensive line.

Rivera stops short of projecting a win total for this team, but he also doesn’t put a limit on what he believes the Bears can achieve.

“There’s no number. It’s about winning,” he said. “We can win 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 games, get ourselves in the playoffs. That’s it — just win.”

The Bears, picked to finish 12th in the preseason ACC media poll, were 7-6 last year in Justin Wilcox’s final season and haven’t won as many as eight games in a season since 2019.

Rivera talked about his time as head coach of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, where in 2014 — his fourth season — the team went 7-8-1 but won the NFC South.

He argued that capturing the division title superseded the win-loss record.

“Winning — that’s all that matters.”

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