Cal Football: One-on-One Interview With Coach Justin Wilcox

In Part 1 of our midseason interview with Cal coach Justin Wilcox, we asked him about the self-scout process during a bye week and for an evaluation of what the Bears have done well and where they have fallen short this season.

As the Bears (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) look toward their home matchup vs. USC a week from Saturday, Wilcox has a seven-year record of 33-40, including 18-35 in Pac-12 play. The Bears have not enjoyed a winning season since 2019.

We talked with Wilcox about how he stays on task while dealing with frustration, whether he affords himself any down time to clear his head, how conversations with athletic director Jim Knowlton are going, his reaction to angry fans on social media and what he envisions for the Bears the rest of this season.

Here is Part 2 of our interview:

— I know your Dad, the late Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Wilcox, came from modest beginnings and worked hard to build a great life. I’m wondering what lessons you learned from him that you’re able to lean on when things are challenging?

“I’m sitting here in my office and I’m looking at his picture . . . him and John Brodie after they beat the Raiders and he’s smoking a cigar.

“I lean on lessons from him all the time. Conviction in what you’re doing. Are you doing the right things, in my case to help the players? Are we working as hard as we possibly can to do the best job we possibly can for the players?

“Things get hard and it does get frustrating at times and you don’t want the frustrations to cloud the mission. It doesn’t mean emotions aren’t valid. It’s an emotional game and we’re competitive people and it should hurt and it should sting when you lose.

“I would be lying if I said I don’t feel those things because I do. I have to do a better job of having to move on from that but I guess I don’t apologize for emotions. You’ve got to make sure you use them in the right way. I have to make sure of that, our team has to make sure of that. We come out of one of these games and you’re angry, you’re frustrated because we lost.

"So let’s figure our what could we have done to win? You look at the Auburn game and there’s a couple real easy solutions for here’s how you can win. You come out of that (with a win) and you feel a lot better. I would argue even the darn Oregon State game. Even this past week (at Utah).

“It should be emotional and create a little anger and frustration if it doesn’t go right. So what are we doing to try to be better? If people are working at improving and owning their role and doing everything they can so they can help the team, that’s really all we can ask for. I think if we do that, we’ll see some more success.”

— Have you taken any time for yourself to exhale even for a minute? Does that help or is there no time for it?

“Honestly, I think there’s people that do that well, better than I do it, who have the ability when they walk out the door kind of leave it. I know coaches that can do that. They could be undefeated or they could be O-fer and they can do that.

“That’s very, very difficult for me. I maybe wish I was better (at that). I’ve tried. It’s just very, very difficult for me. I cannot do that during the season. It kind of just consumes every waking hour and there’s a lot of awake hours. You just want to feel like you’re doing everything you possibly can to help the players, help the team perform better.”

— Have you and Jim Knowlton had conversations about how the season is going and what he’s thinking?

“We talk at least a couple times a week. He expects us to win like I do. I understand that. That’s our duty and that’s my job, to help our team win. I understand exactly where he’s coming from. He has a job and a role and my job is to coach the football team and I answer to him and the chancellor.

“The conversations are good, but he’s my boss. We have to do better — I know that. I’m aiming in every way to help the team and program to do better so we can win more games.”

— There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction out there with some fans, especially on social media. Do you hear from any of them and how do you react to their unhappiness?

“Shoot, they should be (unhappy). Everybody wants to win, obviously. I understand that — that comes with the job. I’ve been doing this long enough now to know that. People want wins. They go to games and cheer on the team. Every fan base wants and deserves wins.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t done that enough. I don’t spent time on (social media) it because it doesn’t necessarily help the team play better. But I understand it’s out there and it’s part of the college football ether, and right now if we’re not winning enough games that’s what it’s going to be. That’s just the reality of the profession at this level.”

— You have five regular-season games left, many of them against very good teams. How do you view the opportunity your team has?

“You hit the nail on the head with that word — it’s an unbelievable opportunity. The league is exceptional this year. Not even close in our time here, the talent in the league is really, really good.

“We get to line up and compete against SC next weekend. They’ve got the returning Heisman Trophy winner (Caleb Williams), they’ve got some amazing talent on both sides of the ball. That’s an amazing opportunity for us.

"I expect our guys to prepare really well during the week and complete like crazy on Saturday.”

Cover photo of Cal coach Justin Wilcox by Robert Edwards, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo