Tosh Lupoi on Why He is Comfortable With His First-Time Coordinators

Cal coach Tosh Lupoi’s offensive and defensive coordinators are both 30 years old without previous experience as coordinators at any level.

But Jordan Somerville and Michael Hutchings have the full confidence of Cal’s rookie head coach heading into the Bears’ first spring practice on Wednesday.

Lupoi talked Tuesday about his habit of keeping track over the years of coaches he would pursue when he someday landed a head-coaching job. He wanted them to have “an NFL pedigree,” as either a former player or coach in the league, or both.

Somerville and Hutchings went through an extensive vetting and interview process, but Lupoi acknowledged, “I’m going to put a lot more value into guys I feel really strong toward and really have the behavior and habits that I believe would be successful in those roles.”

Somerville comes to Berkeley following three seasons as assistant quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he worked with two-time Pro Bowl selection Baker Mayfield. Previously, Somerville gained experience in the college ranks coaching at Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona State.

Hutchings, a Bay Area native who played at De La Salle High School and USC, spent the past three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, the latter two campaigns as safeties coach. His college resume includes stops at USC, Oregon and Western Kentucky.

Lupoi did not make quick, cold hires. He explained that throughout his career, with an eye on someday becoming a head coach, he kept a list of coaches he expected to eventually hire to his staff.

“Those were the guys who were at the top of the list,” he said.

He got feedback from others but said his own instincts about the two made him comfortable hiring them.

“It’s more so the faith and belief in what those guys are capable of and from a work-ethic standpoint, certainly an intelligence standpoint, running the rooms they did in the NFL,” Lupoi said.

“That always gets reaffirmed during the hiring process when a bunch of other NFL teams are trying to hire them as the coordinator. Regardless of that, those are the guys that I wanted, that I felt would represent this university the right way.”

Somerville, who also coached Bo Nix at Oregon, is a native of Tempe, Ariz., and a graduate of Arizona State. He is excited about the chance to work with Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who passed for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall as a freshman starter.

“Person first, everything that is said about him is 100 percent accurate. He is awesome to be around,” Somerville said. “Obviously, super-talented young man. His competitive edge is one thing you get a feel for more being around him.”

Somerville will work side by side with Cal associate head coach and quarterbacks Nick Rolovich, who last season developed a strong bond with Sagapolutele and became the Bears’ acting head coach when Justin Wilcox was dismissed after the Big Game.

Rolovich, 47, has an extensive coaching background, including as the head coach at Washington State for two seasons. Somerville said he will be a valuable resource.

“Rolo has been awesome. Just a wealth of knowledge and information to sit in the room and lean on,” Somerville said. “I haven’t been a coordinator before. Don’t be naive to the fact that I haven’t done it before.

“So to surround myself and the whole unit with wisdom, so to speak, and guys with a lot of experience (is) critical to our future going forward.”

Hutchings said he has been influenced by all of his previous coaches, but echoed the notion that having easy access to Lupoi — most recently the defensive coordinator at Oregon — will be a bonus.

“I think anytime you’re doing something for the first time, you know there’s always going to be a learning curve,” Hutchings said. “But at the same time, you’ve got Tosh in the room. He’s led a top defense the last three or four years and obviously that’s going to be a huge help.

“There’s some stuff you can’t simulate or replicate when you’re not in that seat. So, really leaning on Tosh, asking about his time coming back from the NFL, going into college coordinating, what were his challenges? He’s an open door and we’ve had plenty of great conversations about that and how we’re going to go forward.”

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