Honestly, this probably needed to happen years earlier.
A very vocal part of the Cal fan base has sure felt that way, as Justin Wilcox posted five straight losing seasons entering this one. In nine years with the program, his peak was going 8-5 in 2019 and winning the Redbox Bowl. He’s never once posted a winning record in conference play.
Coaches just don’t last this long with those results these days. Wilcox is a good guy, Cal is viewed as a hard place to win and the school seemed content to avoid having to pay him a buyout in years past while just rolling things over to the next year.
But this 2025 season was more of the same for a coach who has struggled throughout his tenure to win close games or avoid bad losses. Every time the fans thought their Bears — and impressive freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — might be onto something, the latest disappointment dashed that optimism.
Cal was 3-0 when it went to San Diego State and lost 34-0, looking thoroughly unprepared and outcoached.
The Bears were a middling 5-4 when they went to Louisville and upset the then-No. 15-ranked Cardinals, 29-26, in overtime. Suddenly at 6-4, with reeling rival Stanford next and then a big opportunity vs. SMU, there was renewed hope that this season could be potentially be looked back on as a step forward after all.
Nope, the Bears went to Stanford on Saturday and got blown out 31-10 by a 3-7 Cardinal team that hadn’t beaten any opponent with a winning record.
It was clear after that this would be yet another uninspiring mediocre season for Wilcox and that it was time — still time, for that matter — to make a change.
Former NFL head coach and Cal alum Ron Rivera, who is now the general manager for the Bears and taking a hands-on role with the football program this season, made the call Sunday, firing Wilcox after a 48-55 record over nine years (26-47 in conference play).
“I want to thank Justin for all of his contributions to our football program, our athletic department and our university,” Rivera said in a statement. “He has always comported himself with class and professionalism. After careful consideration, we believe the time has come for new leadership. We wish Justin the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
So who should Cal look to hire as it resets the program moving forward? Here are some names to consider.
Potential Coaching Candidates For Cal
Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald
When it comes to coaches who have proven they can win in historically tough situations at strong academic universities, look no further than Fitzgerald.
He went 110-101 over 17 years at Northwestern, posting three 10-win seasons, two 9-win seasons and earning national recognition with the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award for leading the Wildcats to a 7-2 mark and a Big Ten championship game appearance in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Fitzgerald was fired in July 2023 after an investigation concluded he was aware of hazing routines conducted by older players on freshman teammates, but he sued the school in a $130 million wrongful termination suit and received a settlement in August with terms not disclosed. Fitzgerald told ESPN he felt “fully vindicated” by the outcome while Northwestern put out a statement reiterating that “inappropriate conduct in the football program did occur” but that “the evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing.”
Fitzgerald has expressed his desire to return to coaching next year, and it seems likely he’ll get his shot. If Cal finds a comfort level with Fitzgerald’s innocence in the Northwestern scandal, he may be the best hire it could make.
Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi
This is an obvious connection to make as Lupoi was a defensive lineman at Cal from 2000-05 and got his coaching start with the Bears as defensive line coach from 2008-11.
Lupoi spent five years grooming under Nick Saban at Alabama, ultimately serving as co-defensive coordinator and defensive coordinator his last two years in 2017-18. After three years in the NFL, Lupoi joined Dan Lanning’s staff at Oregon as defensive coordinator and is now primed to be considered for his first head coaching job.
Lupoi may feel a special pull to be the one to resurrect his alma mater’s football program.
San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis
Again, Cal got a first-hand look in that 34-0 loss in September at the work Lewis is doing at San Diego State where the Aztecs are 9-2 in his second season.
Lewis went 24-31 in five seasons as head coach at Kent State, and was the youngest FBS head coach when he took over at 31 years old, and while the overall results were not notable he produced prolific offenses there. He left Kent State to be the offensive coordinator at Colorado in 2023 and was surprisingly demoted late in the season by head coach Deion Sanders, but that has been a routine for Sanders and his coordinators in Boulder, and it didn’t deter San Diego State from hiring Lewis as head coach after that season.
The nine wins this season come on the heels of a 4-8 finish by former coach Brady Hoke and a 3-9 mark in Lewis’ first year, so he’s elevated the program back to its former heights in short order.
Lewis could be a compelling enough hire to keep Sagapolutele from transferring out of the program.
New Mexico coach Jason Eck
Most likely, Cal is going to have roll the dice on a first-time head coach with a strong coordinator background (like Lupoi) or poach a young head coach from the Group of Five level who sees the Cal job as notable step up the career ladder.
If going that direction, Eck should be high on the list.
It took Eck more than 20 years of working his way up the profession to get his first head coaching opportunity at Idaho, where he went 26-13 in three seasons there, with three FCS playoff appearances. He then took the New Mexico job and is 8-3 in his first season with notable wins over UCLA and UNLV (and one of those losses to Michigan).
Eck’s background is as an offensive line coach.
Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb
If the Bears want to prioritize offense and build around Sagapolutele, who did show a lot of promise in his freshman season, Grubb would be a very intriguing hire.
He was the offensive coordinator on that 2023 Washington team that reached the national championship game with coach Kalen DeBoer and star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. ,and he then followed DeBoer to Alabama where Ty Simpson has been a Heisman candidate in his first season as a starter.
Grubb was also with DeBoer from 2017-21 at Fresno State, so he has some ties to the areas Cal recruits.
Interim head coach Nick Rolovich
With Wilcox out, Rivera named senior offensive assistant Nick Rolovich as Cal’s interim head coach, but don’t be surprised if Rolovich is considered for the full-time job.
He was once a coach on the rise, going 18-11 his last two years of a four-year tenure at Hawaii with a 10-5 season in 2019. That landed him the job at Washington State, replacing Mike Leach, but the timing couldn’t have been worse — for Rolovich, at least.
His first year was the COVID-shortened 2020 season in which the Cougars went 1-3. He then refused to comply with Washington State’s mandate for state employees to get the COVID vaccine and was fired midway through his second season after a 4-3 start. That also made him a tough hire for other schools, so he didn’t resurface until Cal hired him last December.
It remains to be seen what the interest level will be for the Cal job among established head coaches. The Bears are in a tough spot geographically as a member of the ACC having to make cross-country trips for conference games, and it remains to be seen if the program can win big in the NIL/revenue-sharing era.
If the coaching search shows that the Cal job is tough sell to preferred candidates, Rolovich may not only be the convenient choice but a sensible one and provide the stability/continuity to keep Sagapolutele in the program.