Cal Football: New OC Bill Musgrave Says Offense Will Change 'Significantly'

New offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave did not hide the fact that Cal's offense will look considerably different in 2020 than it did in 2019.

"I'd say significantly," Musgrave said Wednesday in the video above when asked how much the offense will change with him calling the shots. "Different language. Different approach."

Head coach Justin Wilcox also said the offense will look different, all of which sounds like a pretty dramatic change. And you would expect the Bears to go in a different direction after finishing last in the Pac-12 in scoring offense each of the past two seasons.

Wednesday was national signing day, but since the Bears had completed all their player signings in the early signing period in December, the focus was on the four new assistant coaches, who were made available to the media for the first time on Wednesday.

Musgrave believes the players will embrace the change in offensive philosophy, although any significant alteration in approach could bring problems until players learn the system and become comfortable it. How well the current personnel fits the new system remains to be seen.

Of course, the player most directly affected will be quarterback Chase Garbers, who will return as the starting quarterback after a solid 2019 season in which the Bears finished 8-5 overall but were 7-0 in games in which Garbers played more than one half. Musgrave is also Cal's quarterbacks coach, taking over both roles that Beau Baldwin held the past three seasons before leaving to become the head coach at Cal Poly.

Wilcox is embracing the change.

"The style of play might look a little bit different," Wilcox said Wednesday in the video below. "Some of the run game might look a little bit different. Some of the play-action game might look a little bit different. So there's enough, in terms of style of play, that will be a change, but football is football."

Wilcox noted the Bears might sometimes use a fullback, a nearly forgotten position these days.

He also made a point of saying the Bears will continue to stretch the field with downfield throws. That is perhaps a response to the fact that Musgrave is a disciple of the West Coast offense, which emphasizes a short-passing game.

Musgrave acknowledged that he favors his variation of the West Coast offense (more accurately called the Bill Walsh offense).

"Definitely," Musgrave said. "That's the offense I played in predominantly under coach [Mike] Shanahan, coach [Paul] Holmgren."

One of the strengths of the Bill Walsh offense is that it can present a running game or a passing game, depending on what the defense shows.

"It is a system that has stood the test of time," Musgrave said.

Nearly all of Musgrave's coaching experience has come at the NFL level. He has been an offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. His lone coaching experience at the college level came as the offensive coordinator at Virginia in 2001 and 2002.

As a quarterback at Oregon from 1987 to 1990, Musgrave lost two of three games against Cal in which he was the starting quarterback. In his last meeting against the Bears in 1990, he was knocked out of the game in the second quarter and Cal upset the 20th-ranked Ducks 28-3.