Cal fires OC Musgrave and its O-line coach
Coach Justin Wilcox called Cal's performance in a 38-10 loss at Oregon State “totally unacceptable.”
One day later, he did something about it.
In a move unprecedented in his six seasons in charge of the Bears' program, Wilcox made a couple of in-season firings on Sunday afternoon, releasing offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and offensive line coach Angus Mcclure.
“I felt these changes to our coaching staff were needed and made them with the best interest of our football program in mind,” Wilcox said in a statement.
Cal did not immediately indicate who would handle those duties and, in particular, who would call plays Saturday when Stanford visits Memorial Stadium for a matchup of two 3-7 teams in the 125th Big Game, or a week later in the season finale vs. UCLA.
A likely candidate among three remaining offensive assistants is Geep Chryst, who had tutored Cal's tight ends the past two seasons and is the only coach on the staff with experience as an offensive coordinator.
Chryst handled that role with the NFL'S then-san Diego Chargers in 1999-2000 and later with the 49ers in 2015. Former Cal offensive line coach Steve Greatwood, who was coaxed out of retirement three weeks ago to serve as an analyst, could also be utilized in a broader role.
These staff moves seemed inevitable with the Bears struggling on offense for the third consecutive year under Musgrave and Mcclure.
Cal is averaging just 23.2 points per game through 10 games, scored 23.8 a year ago and 20.2 in the Covid-impacted, four-game 2020 campaign.
In 24 games against FBS opponents under Musgrave, the Bears have scored 30 points or more just five times and were held to 21 or fewer in 13 games.
The Bears' only touchdown at Oregon State came on a fumble return by cornerback Jeremiah Earby. Cal totaled just 147 passing yards against the Beavers and netted 9 rushing yards.
Quarterback Jack Plummer was sacked twice more and has been taken down 30 times this season, ranking the Bears 109th nationally.
Mcclure's offensive line has been hit by injuries, but Wilcox made it clear after the Oregon State game he didn't consider that a valid excuse. “Everybody out there, maybe other than special teams, those guys are on scholarship and that's what we brought them here to do,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox has been loyal to assistants, possibly to a fault at times. Under coordinator Beau Baldwin, the Bears averaged fewer than 22 points in 2018 and '19. Baldwin was then hired as head coach at Cal Poly before Wilcox needed to make a move.
So why now with just two games left on the schedule?
Fans, especially those on social media, had clamored for a change on the offensive staff, and Wilcox may have been encouraged by his bosses to make a move.
More likely, he had reached a point of extreme frustration with an offense that consistently under-performed, and was looking out for the future of his program.
Cal has talented skill players in freshman running back Jaydn Ott, who rushed for 274 yards against Arizona on Sept. 24, and wide receivers Jeremiah Hunter and J.michael Sturdivant. Wilcox doesn't want to see any of them jump into the transfer portal when the season ends.
By making the changes now, he sends a message to those players and potential recruits that the Bears intend to shore up their offense. Cal's recruiting class includes just seven committed prospects and is ranked 100th nationally by rivals.com, while seven Pac-12 programs reside in the top 50.
Cal fans would welcome former Bears' quarterback Troy Taylor as the next offensive coordinator, but prying him from his job as head coach at Sacramento State in his hometown may be challenging.
“I have no intention of leaving here,” Taylor told the Sacramento Bee last week.
Taylor took a $300,000 pay cut to leave a coordinator job at Utah in December 2018 ago and the Hornets are 28-7 under his leadership. Sacramento State is 10-0 this season, averaging 43 points and ranked No. 2 in the FCS national coaches poll.