[Griffins78]

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespor...e-to-this/

Pretty thoughtful article about Tedford and the demise of the Golden Bears Football team which points to his lack of leadership and executive role managing the organization and its culture vs. diving into the weeds.

[Griffins78]

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespor...e-to-this/

Pretty thoughtful article about Tedford and the demise of the Golden Bears Football team which points to his lack of leadership and executive role managing the organization and its culture vs. diving into the weeds.

[Farm93]

Like many of Wilner's articles I thought it went deeper by using assumptions rather than fact.  I thought it was probably close enough to true.

Could not help but wonder if a coach calls the same plays over 11 years would they actually be competitive in the same conference for 6-10 years?  Jeff tried to change it up a bit to keep the play calling fresh, but it did not work out in years 9-11.  Easy enough to blame the decline on that lack of play calling philosophy, but he likely lasted 11 years because he was willing to spice it up and keep conference opponents guessing a bit.

[Farm93]

Like many of Wilner's articles I thought it went deeper by using assumptions rather than fact.  I thought it was probably close enough to true.

Could not help but wonder if a coach calls the same plays over 11 years would they actually be competitive in the same conference for 6-10 years?  Jeff tried to change it up a bit to keep the play calling fresh, but it did not work out in years 9-11.  Easy enough to blame the decline on that lack of play calling philosophy, but he likely lasted 11 years because he was willing to spice it up and keep conference opponents guessing a bit.

[yvonne]

Reading the coaching speculation under the article got me thinking about what happens to Cal coaches after they leave.

In the last 25 years:

Kapp - became general manager of the BC Lions; fired after 11 games
Snyder - coached Arizona State for nine seasons with a to58-45 record (40-32 in conference), including appearances in the Rose (loss), Sun (victory), and Aloha Bowls (two losses).
Gilbertson - bounced around in positions with Seattle Seahawks and the University of Washington; 7-16 in his only subsequent head coaching job, at UW; currently a scout with the Cleveland Browns
Mariucci - Spent nine years as an NFL coach, earning a .518 regular season and .429 post-season record, best season was his first season, which ended in a loss in the NFC championship game
Holmoe - became an associate athletic director at his alma mater and was then promoted to athletic director
Tedford - ??

Only Mariucci and maybe Snyder had a modicum of success. Now, this is a case where correlation doesn't equal causality; the bad coaches didn't end up moving on to better careers. On the other hand, that record does create a perception. Coaches don't go from Cal to better positions, so potential coaches may not perceive the job as a stepping stone or positive career move.

In that same time period, Stanford has had two coaches move to the NFL, one coach go on to a more prestigious NCAA position. One of the losing coaches had already become an NFL legend following an earlier stint at Stanford, and even one of the abject failures is now a successful coach at a lower level.

[yvonne]

Reading the coaching speculation under the article got me thinking about what happens to Cal coaches after they leave.

In the last 25 years:

Kapp - became general manager of the BC Lions; fired after 11 games
Snyder - coached Arizona State for nine seasons with a to58-45 record (40-32 in conference), including appearances in the Rose (loss), Sun (victory), and Aloha Bowls (two losses).
Gilbertson - bounced around in positions with Seattle Seahawks and the University of Washington; 7-16 in his only subsequent head coaching job, at UW; currently a scout with the Cleveland Browns
Mariucci - Spent nine years as an NFL coach, earning a .518 regular season and .429 post-season record, best season was his first season, which ended in a loss in the NFC championship game
Holmoe - became an associate athletic director at his alma mater and was then promoted to athletic director
Tedford - ??

Only Mariucci and maybe Snyder had a modicum of success. Now, this is a case where correlation doesn't equal causality; the bad coaches didn't end up moving on to better careers. On the other hand, that record does create a perception. Coaches don't go from Cal to better positions, so potential coaches may not perceive the job as a stepping stone or positive career move.

In that same time period, Stanford has had two coaches move to the NFL, one coach go on to a more prestigious NCAA position. One of the losing coaches had already become an NFL legend following an earlier stint at Stanford, and even one of the abject failures is now a successful coach at a lower level.

[JohnOlenchalk]

Actually, Turner never should have been a head coach, Tedford's just become an ineffectual one.  But what about the quality of recruit and his inability to control his locker room?  Wilner gives him a pass on that I guess.

[JohnOlenchalk]

Actually, Turner never should have been a head coach, Tedford's just become an ineffectual one.  But what about the quality of recruit and his inability to control his locker room?  Wilner gives him a pass on that I guess.

[washingtonismoney]

The recruiting gurus will say that Tosh Lupoi increased the caliber of player available to Jeff, and that seems accurate when they actually try hard (for example, the first 2.5 quarters against Oregon, I said, "wow...where did all these good 59ers come from?"). So if they hire a good coach, you could see a quick turnaround job like what Mora's doing at UCLA, assuming Zach Kline is anything like as good as kal fans are hoping for.

BTW, Bruce Feldman speculated last week that they'd be interested in Fresno State's Tim DeRuyter.

[washingtonismoney]

The recruiting gurus will say that Tosh Lupoi increased the caliber of player available to Jeff, and that seems accurate when they actually try hard (for example, the first 2.5 quarters against Oregon, I said, "wow...where did all these good 59ers come from?"). So if they hire a good coach, you could see a quick turnaround job like what Mora's doing at UCLA, assuming Zach Kline is anything like as good as kal fans are hoping for.

BTW, Bruce Feldman speculated last week that they'd be interested in Fresno State's Tim DeRuyter.

[estephan500]

I find Wilner's article to be excellently focused and educational.

This phrase strikes a giant chord and I've seen it in the professional world, in various contexts, also:

"T.edford's focus on tactics, at the expense of chemistry..."

That's the thing about sports. Like other complex domains, it is not a technical realm like physics. It is a mental realm, about community, identity, and philosophy.  You can dream up a a great technical plan but you can't simply upload it into a group of guys that don't have a shared identity. Has to run deeper than that.

[estephan500]

I find Wilner's article to be excellently focused and educational.

This phrase strikes a giant chord and I've seen it in the professional world, in various contexts, also:

"T.edford's focus on tactics, at the expense of chemistry..."

That's the thing about sports. Like other complex domains, it is not a technical realm like physics. It is a mental realm, about community, identity, and philosophy.  You can dream up a a great technical plan but you can't simply upload it into a group of guys that don't have a shared identity. Has to run deeper than that.

[OutsiderFan]

The reality is there is no point trying to understand what went wrong now.  California fans have been seeing many examples of failure for years.  Tedford's record speaks for itself and the guy needs to go.  All the focus, including any articles by guys like Wilner should be on who the next coach is going to be.

[OutsiderFan]

The reality is there is no point trying to understand what went wrong now.  California fans have been seeing many examples of failure for years.  Tedford's record speaks for itself and the guy needs to go.  All the focus, including any articles by guys like Wilner should be on who the next coach is going to be.

[Kathy]

What is T.edford's buyout amount? Can the weenies (or the taxpayers) afford it?

[Kathy]

What is T.edford's buyout amount? Can the weenies (or the taxpayers) afford it?

[OutsiderFan]

What is T.edford's buyout amount? Can the weenies (or the taxpayers) afford it?

It seems the money for his contract was put in escrow, as a condition to approve Tedford's contract extension.  if this is indeed the case, the issue isn't whether the money is available to buy out his contract (about $7 million), so much as it is how much is available to bring in another coach.  That remains to be seen.  I would expect a public announcement on Tedford's future, i.e. that he's gone, no later than Monday.

[OutsiderFan]

What is T.edford's buyout amount? Can the weenies (or the taxpayers) afford it?

It seems the money for his contract was put in escrow, as a condition to approve Tedford's contract extension.  if this is indeed the case, the issue isn't whether the money is available to buy out his contract (about $7 million), so much as it is how much is available to bring in another coach.  That remains to be seen.  I would expect a public announcement on Tedford's future, i.e. that he's gone, no later than Monday.

[yvonne]

It seems?

[yvonne]

It seems?

[washingtonismoney]

Interestingly, Kevin Gemmell thinks ol' Teddy's getting One. More. Year.: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/i...in-gemmell

EDIT: Interestingly, Wilner has the exact same rationale: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespor...n-edition/

Hmm......hmmmmmmmmmmm

[washingtonismoney]

Interestingly, Kevin Gemmell thinks ol' Teddy's getting One. More. Year.: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/i...in-gemmell

EDIT: Interestingly, Wilner has the exact same rationale: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespor...n-edition/

Hmm......hmmmmmmmmmmm