[OutsiderFan]

The thing about SD is he really seems to know the right questions and what the important issues are for building a successful football team.  He underscores as important similar things David Shaw does; toughness and competitiveness, team before self, and though not a UC grad he holds the education UC offers in high regard and believes it is a strength that should be embraced.

Cal stuck with Tedford so much longer than any other school would allow, so things were so bad that Tedford's incompetence carried over into the new coach's first year.  Usually you see the coach who goes 1-11 get fired, but the rot was so deep in 2013 that the whole program had to be razed and started from scratch essentially.  But this went on SD's resume, not Tedford's.

The players now seem to be bigger and stronger, there does seem to be a team before self mindset, and all the bad apples have been removed.  Though he did make a big mistake with Buh as DC to start, it's not like the team was going to win many more games with even Derek Mason as DC.  Recruiting has not yet suggested improvement, buthis really can't until on-field results improve.  So essentially this is really the first year of SD's regime, but he's got that ugly 0-11 against FBS teams on his resume that will be used against him, and if he goes 3-9 in 2014 there could be a groundswell to remove him. 

Like 71Bear said, the buyout (Cal did learn a lesson and include one) is relatively small, so it could happen, but it seems likely 2015 will be the year major improvement is seen, so it could be a mistake to can him after this year if he wins at least 2 games, provided the team is more competitive and shows improvement.  It's still the youngest team in the conference with one of the toughest schedules in the country.

[OutsiderFan]

The thing about SD is he really seems to know the right questions and what the important issues are for building a successful football team.  He underscores as important similar things David Shaw does; toughness and competitiveness, team before self, and though not a UC grad he holds the education UC offers in high regard and believes it is a strength that should be embraced.

Cal stuck with Tedford so much longer than any other school would allow, so things were so bad that Tedford's incompetence carried over into the new coach's first year.  Usually you see the coach who goes 1-11 get fired, but the rot was so deep in 2013 that the whole program had to be razed and started from scratch essentially.  But this went on SD's resume, not Tedford's.

The players now seem to be bigger and stronger, there does seem to be a team before self mindset, and all the bad apples have been removed.  Though he did make a big mistake with Buh as DC to start, it's not like the team was going to win many more games with even Derek Mason as DC.  Recruiting has not yet suggested improvement, buthis really can't until on-field results improve.  So essentially this is really the first year of SD's regime, but he's got that ugly 0-11 against FBS teams on his resume that will be used against him, and if he goes 3-9 in 2014 there could be a groundswell to remove him. 

Like 71Bear said, the buyout (Cal did learn a lesson and include one) is relatively small, so it could happen, but it seems likely 2015 will be the year major improvement is seen, so it could be a mistake to can him after this year if he wins at least 2 games, provided the team is more competitive and shows improvement.  It's still the youngest team in the conference with one of the toughest schedules in the country.