Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox will reportedly be the next head coach of the California Golden Bears in the Pac-12.
The California Golden Bears were one of the last teams to get on the coaching carousel this cycle. After four seasons under Sonny Dykes, Cal fired its head coach after he failed to get the Golden Bears to a bowl for the third time in four seasons.
It seems that Golden Bears have found their new head coach. According to FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman, “Cal [is] in negotiations with Wisconsin DC Justin Wilcox to make him Bears’ new head coach.”
SOURCE: #Cal in contract negotiations with #Wisconsin DC Justin Wilcox to make him Bears new head coach.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 13, 2017
Wilcox quickly emerged as a finalist for the Cal job along with interim head coach Jake Spavital. However, it seems that the Golden Bears athletic department wanted to go with a defensive-minded coach over former offensive coordinator Spavital.
Wilcox served on Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin staff in 2016. Before that, Wilcox had been a defensive coordinator in major college football since 2006. He was on Chris Petersen’s Boise State Broncos staff (2006-09), Derek Dooley’s Tennessee Volunteers staff (2010-11), and Steve Sarkisian’s staffs with both the Washington Huskies (2012-13) and the USC Trojans (2015-16).
Getting back to the Pac-12 was probably what Wilcox wanted the most out of the Golden Bears gig. He played his college ball for the division rival Oregon Ducks as a safety for Mike Bellotti from 1996 to 1999.
The coaching trees that Wilcox has been a part of is mind-boggling for a guy that just turned 40 years old in November. The job that he did for the 2016 Wisconsin defense did not go unnoticed. Wisconsin won the Big Ten West and were a top-10 team for most of the season.
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Cal may have its issues in getting the best players to Berkeley due to strict academic standards, but the Golden Bears have just made themselves on outstanding head coaching hire in prying Wilcox away from Wisconsin.