Toasty Buns: 10 college football coaches on the hot seat entering 2023
By John Buhler
Justin Wilcox is probably the quietest head coach on the hot seat for Cal reasons
And now we find ourselves at the last head coach who is on the hot seat, but not really. Justin Wilcox’s California Golden Bears showed signs of promise at times last year, but they still ended up with a dismal 4-8 record. Cal has not achieved bowl eligibility since COVID. While it remains to be seen how committed Cal is to athletics now that the Pac-12 is cooked, keep an eye on Wilcox.
Of the four remaining Pac-12 holders, Wilcox has the least support of its four other head coaches. Jonathan Smith is outstanding at his alma mater of Oregon State. Jake Dickert has commanded the respect of college football fans everywhere taking over for the buffoon in the rain that was Nick Rolovich over at Washington State. Troy Taylor is a new face taking over the Stanford team.
Apathy could be a blessing in disguise for Wilcox. If people don’t care, he could still be getting them checks. However, we have seen Cal kick ass not all that long ago. There was a time when it was the No. 2 program out west behind only Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans. For now, Wilcox’s Golden Bears will need to hold their own vs. the bottom-feeders of a dying league in order to maybe stay afloat.
A bowl game appearance keeps Wilcox safe, but another disappointing year could be troublesome.