Peter Sirmon, Jackson Sirmon: Cal's Father-and-Son Linebacker Combo
Linebacker Jackson Sirmon had finished just his second practice at Cal since transferring from Washington, but he already had a comfort level with his position coach.
"Yeah, I got a pretty good relationship with the linebackers coach," Sirmon deadpanned on Friday following the Bears' second spring practice. "I've known him for a while."
It's like he has known the linebackers coach all his life. That's because he has. Cal defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Peter Sirmon is Jackson Sirmon's father. Now he is also Jackson Sirmon's position coach, which means Peter Sirmon is giving direct instruction to his son for much of a practice.
"Right now, He's No. 8 on the field," Peter Sirmon said. "It's great being around him. You have the coach-player relationship, and when that's off you have family around."
Technically this is not the first time Peter Sirmon has coached his son. When Jackson was in second grade, Peter coached his son's flag-football team in Nashville, Tenn., when Peter was playing for the Titans.
However, this is a little different, and there are some logistical issues to address, such as what does Peter Sirmon call his son on the field?
"Jack, hey you, eight," said Peter Sirmon, providing three options. "I try to call everyone by their names. Unless I get really upset I call everyone by their name."
And what does Jackson Sirmon call his father on the field?
"Coach Dad," he joked. "Nah, just Coach or Dad or something like that. I don't really think about it too much."
Having a coordinator be his son's position coach might be a touchy situation if Jackson Sirmon were battling for playing time. But he has already established himself as one of the best inside linebackers in the Pac-12.
"He's a talented player, a significant amount of experience, so we're looking for him to help the team," Peter Sirmon said.
He should slide right into a starting spot that is so vital to Cal's defensive success, occupying the position that made Jordan Kunaszyk and Evan Weaver stars at Cal in recent years.
Jackson Sirmon finished fifth in the Pac-12 in tackles last season, and Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell is the only Pac-12 player returning in 2022 who had more tackles than Sirmon in 2021.
Jackson Sirmon's 92 tackles last season were 37 more than any Cal linebacker had last season. and one tackle in particular was significant in Washington's 31-24 overtime win over Cal last season.
After the Huskies scored a touchdown on their first possession of overtime of that Sept. 25 game in Seattle, Cal had the ball with a first down at the Washington 2-yard line. Damien Moore ran the ball to within inches of the goal-line but was stopped short by Jackson Sirmon. Moore fumbled on the play, Washington recovered and Cal lost. Moore also said he suffered an injury on the play, his shoulder coming out of joint.
Now Moore and Sirmon are teammates, but they have not discussed that play in great detail.
Damien Moore on the Washington game:
"Not yet," Moore said. "He knows, we both know, we kind of joke about it now. I'm glad he's on our side this season."
Sirmon speaks about the play in the abstract.
"Something happened, we ended up winning," said Sirmon before admitting he made the tackle. "It's come up, but I don't think about it very much honestly. To me it's not a big deal."
Jackson Sirmon on that Washington game:
Jackson is pleased be on the Golden Bears' side now, saying things just "aligned" for him to make the move from Seattle to Berkeley. He has no reservations about playing for his dad.
"No," he said. "I'm super excited. He's a great coach. It's cool that he's my dad, but I know he's a great linebackers coach. I'm going to learn a lot of things about football."
And Peter Sirmon now gets to watch his son play games, something he rarely got the opportunity to do since he has been an assistant coach at eight colleges over the past 14 years. He will see him every Saturday this fall, plus review sessions on film. That's a lot of father-and-son time.
Cover photo is Jackson Sirmon
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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