Cal Sports Report

TCU to Hire Cal Defensive Backs Coach Tre Watson

Watson shared the task of coaching the Bears' secondary with Terrence Brown
Jake Curtis|
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Another change is being made to the Cal coaching staff, but this time it's on the defensive side.

TCU is in the process of hiring Cal defensive backs coach Tre Watson, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.

Cal has overhauled its offensive coaching staff, but this will be the first notable change in the defensive coaching group.

Watson is expected to coach safeties and nickel backs at TCU as well as being the the Horned Frogs' defensive pass-game coordinator. TCU finished with a 9-4 record in 2024. TCU's head coach is Sonny Dykes, who was Cal's head coach until he was fired following the 2016 season and replaced by Justin Wilcox.

Watson was on the Bears' coaching staff for four seasons, and the secondary was effective in the past few years, particularly in 2024. Watson was on the UNLV staff before being hired by Cal in 2021.

How Wilcox will replace Watson on the Cal coaching staff remains to be seen. Over the past three seasons Watson and Terrence Brown shared the responsiblity of coaching the defensive backs, with both overseeing the progress of both the safeties and cornerbacks.

It's possible Wilcox may decide to hire another defensive backs coach to share the role with Brown, since Watson and Brown did a good job of coaching Cal's defensive backs, who were probably the strength of the team in 2024. Cornerback Nohl Williams was an All-American this season, and cornerback Marcus Harris and safety Craig Woodson are playing in postseason all-star games with the hope of getting taken in the upcoming NFL draft.

Wilcox could also let Brown handle all the defensive backs coaching on his own -- assuming Brown remains on the staff -- and hire another coach for a different position group.

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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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