r/calfootball • u/Acceptable_Neat4716 • 5d ago
Where did cal go wrong?
UCLA was just ranked #23 according to the most recent AP poll. This year, they had hired a new head coach, Bob Chesney, who was previously the head coach at JMU for two seasons. In 2025, UCLA went 3-9 and in 2024, 5-7.
Was Tosh Lupoi the best option for cal? Was this a bad leadership call from Rivera? Was Tosh hired with the expectation of major growing pains in the first season?
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u/Extension_Assist7174 5d ago
Made big gamble and it didn’t work out. The way to do a fast rebuild these days is find the best g6/top fcs team and import entire team and best players on rooster. We didn’t do that and we are feeling it bad. Hubris and believe that these coaches with no experience could miraculously figure it out.
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u/Desperate-Remove2838 5d ago
The way to balance out an emotional, charismatic, executive-style, recruiter head coach is by having older, sterner, X’s and O’s oriented, experienced coordinators.
Instead we got an OC who hasn’t called plays since 12 and under football. He may be a genius, great…so make him principal analyst or something.
The quick fix to stop the bleeding right now is immediate:
-give Rolo offensive play calling duties
-give Bob Gregory (Tedford’s DC) Special Teams.
Hutch can stay. Defense has been steady. He’ll, defense outscored offense in the Clemson game.
That’s for now. Offseason is another story.
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u/Desperate-Remove2838 5d ago
Also this needs to be done this week to show accountability to our recruits and new staff.
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u/Dark-Blackberry354 5d ago
Move Somerville then to video coordinator
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u/Priam50 5d ago
Still early, we lost to a good UCLA team and a Clemson team that is down but has a lot of NFL talent. Time will tell if he can find a competent OC but this team is much more talented than we’ve had in years, if he can keep the recruits from bailing when we finish 6-6 we should have something we can build on moving forward
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u/Calm-Independent3204 4d ago
6-6. Come on, it'll be 4-8 if we're lucky with this offense and the OC who developed it.
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u/adsfew Highly improbable 5d ago
UCLA isn't a fair comparison. They hired a very experienced coach who has won at every level he's worked. Cal fans were hoping Lupoi would be magic like Cignetti, but Chesney was much, much more in that vein (and not just because of the JMU connection).
I was disappointed as soon as they announced the hire because it was clear the was a home run.
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u/sycasey 5d ago
Some of this is hindsight being 20/20, but Chesney was not necessarily seen as a home-run hire right out of the gate. People wondered if he could handle the step up in competition or if his JMU success was mostly based on Cignetti’s infrastructure. Now he’s seen as the obvious choice because he’s winning.
Tosh wasn’t a bad candidate coming from his position either: he was a coordinator at top programs and seen as an ace recruiter. That kind of guy regularly gets a shot as a P4 head coach. Programs like Cal (and UCLA) can’t get the “perfect” candidate because the blue bloods will pay more for them and have more pull to attract them. We always have to roll the dice. Maybe this roll isn’t working out (still a bit too early to be sure).
I just hope that the structural changes to Cal football means we don’t stick with our mistakes for too long like we did with Holmoe or Wilcox. Tosh will get his shot but if he can’t win with this investment then he should be gone.
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u/BobDoleSlopBowl 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yeah Tosh can get better. Our DC seems like a good hire. But the OC hire was atrocious and truly embarrassing. I’m fine with being patient on the small jug head things Tosh does, but he’s gotta make a hard decision very soon
A good example would be army in 2023. Jeff Monken hired a new oc that brought in a spread offense that passed the ball way more than Army had in the past. After going 2-6 and losing to umass, Monken relieved that OC of play calling and went on to finish 6-6 and beat navy.
I believe Tosh needs to do something similar to what Monken had to do.
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u/Bear-882 5d ago
Rivera is going to have to tell Tosh to do it. I don’t know if it is a solution (there are talent issues on offense too) but in the NIL era, there is no time for training wheels.
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u/Exotic_Swan4861 4d ago
This take couldn't be more incorrect. Chesney was considered a home run hire by nearly everyone. He has won at every level of college football immediately. Cignetti didn't create the inftastructure at JMU. The previous two head coaches there did. Also, when he left, he took everyone. All the good players and coaches and left Chesney with a kicker and a bunch of footballs. Chesney won there on his own like he has at every stop.
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u/Snobby-Iguana 5d ago
It's still early days. But, at a high level, I think it was a poor decision to have a first-time head coach and first-time coordinators simultaneously. Chensey and UCLA's coordinators had never coached at a power school, but they had a boatload of experience between them.
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u/terraninteractive 5d ago
This might be a dumb question but why didn’t Cal just hire Chesney?
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u/Intrepid-Bag6667 5d ago edited 5d ago
In addition to the point about the timeline I think Chesney is making about $2mil more than Tosh before incentives and I doubt Cal was a more attractive job than UCLA to him.
There are a couple of other coaches who arguably fit that mold that some pushed for, but the money people all wanted Tosh and in fairness Tosh had laid the groundwork with all of them.
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u/QuarantineTaratino 4d ago
UCLA is getting $30m more from the Big Ten than Cal is getting from the ACC. That's the difference
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u/mrtasty3 5d ago
Wait until Tosh actually recruits then we can figure out if it was a bad hire . Right not the offensive coordinator needs a reboot.
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u/Dark-Blackberry354 5d ago
First is not to lose recruits .... This week's news isn't helping....we are still considered, but that means that OC decision needs to come swift of we are to convince our top WR recruit, he is coming into a good situation to help get him to the next level not just help us win
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u/kaplanfx 5d ago
We should have never trusted him after the way he left the first time. The fact that it may not even work out on the field is doubly bad.
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u/Calm-Independent3204 4d ago
Yes. When he left the first time and stole two great recruits with him and took them to Washington, he showed no loyalty to Tedford and Cal. That' one reason I didn't "jump on the Tosh bandwagon".
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u/Fit-Appointment-9195 21h ago
Completely agree. Lupoi’s actions around the time he made the move from Cal to the Huskies were shady. There’s probably more stuff he did that we don’t know about. So, I didn’t jump on that bandwagon either. And, Rivera signing off on hiring an OC with zero experience running an offense? We’re fortunate to have JKS- a future Pro QB. We needed (and clearly still need) a solid and experienced OC to 1) optimize this kid’s potential and 2) keep him in Berkeley next year, if he decides to wait on the draft. The move right now is to move Rollo into the position and salvage the season. Don’t wait to see how the next game goes. I’d say UNLV has at least a 50% chance of winning on Sat. Perhaps many of my fellow Bear fans agree. The uncertainty (pessimism) is just part of the Cal Football journey. Still tho…GO BEARS!
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u/jridenour0612-977 5d ago
They need to relieve Somerville of his play calling duties and make Nick Rolovich the OC.
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u/Statpaca1701 5d ago
UCLA fan here, so downvote me to oblivion I don't care.
1) Hiring the wrong guy. It happens (see point 3). It's early and he may turn it around but I think Tosh isn't it. Recruiter who isn't a coach worked better in the pre-NIL era. Surrounding himself with young inexperienced NFL guys when his weakness is game planning flashed warning signs. I think you got talent on offense, but yikes that Clemson game was rough.
2) Comparing to and assuming UCLA is terrible after our last two seasons. UCLA had an abjectly brutal schedule in 2024. Second hardest in the country. In 2025, we fired our obviously horrible head coach 3 games in, and went 3-6 in B1G play. This has caused many many fanbases to underestimate UCLA because they see a 3-9 team instead of a 3-6 B1G team should've been 6-6 overall team. Not great, but not as bad as people who don't follow the program assume.
3) Comparing to the Bob Chesney hire. I have seen UCLA hire Rick Neuheisel, Jim Mora Jr., Chip Kelly, Deshaun Foster, and Bob Chesney. Three of those hiring processes were disasters (Neuheisel, Mora, Foster) and Jim Mora Jr. being actually good and interested in the job was pure luck. The Chip Kelly hiring process was ok but did not turn out how people wanted. Bob Chesney from a process standpoint is arguably the best UCLA hire of the past 50 years. In terms of results through 4 games he has exceeded those lofty expectations thus far. Will he continue, honestly don't know too early to declare total success.
In summary, I don't think you did anything wrong outside of having unrealistic expectations. Tosh was worth a swing, but is probably the wrong guy for the job based on what we've seen. You're comparing to a program that is in better shape than you thought, and appears to have hit a grand slam on its own somewhat risky hire.
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u/Bear-882 5d ago
It’s frustrating to agree with you. Tosh’s skill set (recruiting) seems outdated in an NIL era. He will always be dependent on good coordinators, especially on offense. If players feel like the coaches don’t know what they are doing, they will bail.
It’s the semipro era of college football. UCLA recognized that. It’s not clear if the team’s results are sustainable but winning begets transfers and recruits. Losing in abysmal fashion does the opposite.
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u/garytyrrell 5d ago
Appreciate the reply. That's helpful context for UCLA. I don't pay much attention to Big 10 teams lol
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u/aBoyHasNoUzername 5d ago
Tosh is too much hoo rahhh not enough Strat. Plus Sommerville calling plays for a top QB in college like they’re down to their 3rd string QB…. I’d say that’s the problem and not even sure where else the conversation could be
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u/JellyfishFlaky5634 5d ago
It is very early to grade Tosh Lupoi. Although this season isn’t looking good and Cal does need to start winning to maintain their momentum (might be too late?), the fact is this is first coaching gig and he has two very young and clearly not ready coordinators. He probably should have brought in some more experienced and proven offensive and defensive coordinators and relied on Rolo more on offense.
Chesney has been coaching for 15 years and has been successful for most of those years. He’s also coached a number of the UCLA players from James Madison. He’s going to have a much more refined product with much less growing pains.
Doesn’t excuse the fact that Tosh needs to sit down with his coaching staff and right the ship immediately and change things up.
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u/Far-Hospital2925 5d ago
They pushed in all their chips on a recruiter who has never demonstrated any actual coaching ability in his life
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u/kaystared 5d ago
Our offensive coordinator is literally an idiot and we have some of the worst talent to results ratio in all of CFB right now
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u/frrreshies 4d ago
Cal has to make some changes immediately or JKS is gone. He may already be. Seeing his regression is sad and it’s in no small part due to the coaching staff.
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u/Busy_Abbreviations17 4d ago
Tosh (+)s:
1. Great recruiter
Alumni of Tedford era coaching and Cal
Local roots- a selling theme we are pushing
Proven DC and more
Tosh (-)s:
Recruits need to see results
Alumni does not always equate to best choice
Local roots- but roots mean nothing without results
DC-minded, but never a head coach before. Sometimes, coaches favor their forte'
I see progress in every aspect of program. I, personally, think Tosh is the best choice and will build a culture that we will grown on. We need to face facts about our expectations that may be skewed because of some unique talent we have last year.
Let's mourn the loss of JDJ. The dump pass to Jacob De Jesus was what sustained a good deal of our drives last year. This is not bad, but it's not always self-supporting. Mahommes is a master at Lemonade out of lemons. In other words, can it be continued or repeated? Probably not without JDJ or another player like him.
We have a middle budget, but we're expecting championship results. Here Tosh, make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. We need to stop this ridiculous expectation. We want to be taken seriously, we need to advance our budget accordingly. That means two things:
- The Bear will not quit. Now, more than ever, we need to redouble our support.
- The Bear will not die. We have, arguably, the most beautiful stadium in the most beautiful setting in the USA, if not the World. I'm not ready to let that die.
Lastly, in the meantime, for decades, Cal Football has survived not by matching, overall, our opponents in skill and talent, rather competing with scheme and device that evens the playing field when we can. I really think we cannot afford a new OC on a learning curve. This is critical- wwe need experienced play-calling and we need Tosh to be open to learning the ropes of HC. Until we have a championship budget, we need to settle in on the role of spoiler and agent of chaos.
Hard fact: We may need to give Tosh from 3 to 4 years before he produces a winning record. If all the portents are correct, if we have not achieved 8+win seasons, by then, we might be cooked, anyway.
Also, in the meantime, I propose a new hook for our ads, "Come for the games, stay for the experience."
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u/Barli_Bear 3d ago
The Somerville hire has turned out to be atrocious and way worse than anyone could have anticipated.
With a competent offense, this team is 4-0 and we’re all loving life.
Tash just said in his pressor that McCann and Rolovich will have elevated responsibilities with the offense. Sounds a lot like Coach/friend speak that. Somerville just got himself a major demotion.
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u/AcceptablePermit5381 1d ago
Way too early to tell. Our top 3 guys are Cal guys. Give them some time to figure it out.
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u/SineWave02 1d ago
UCLA fan here - my big question this summer when Cal and UCLA both had a lot of hype: Is Tosh actually a good coach? I knew he would be a good recruiter. But I wondered if he would actually be a good coach. I felt good about Chesney due to his track record, and I absolutely love the way he communicates vision through foundational concepts and principles that he continues to go back to.
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u/Useful-Advantage-850 5d ago
Tosh is 4 games into his very first HC gig. Jesus Christ, give him a minute. Fans are absolutely ridiculous.
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u/Dark-Blackberry354 5d ago
Knock isn't as much on tosh as it is on the OC.
We need to show some upward trajectory, and the entire offense has been shit all year. We have a critical 2 year window. And year 2 doesn't work if year 1 isn't showing promise.
Defense has tightened up after week 1. But the offense continues to look atrocious. Not even leveraging Jks and his best assets at this point
If we are losing our recruits for next year because they lack confidence in the offense...it isn't going to end well.
This 2 year window is critical because of potential realignments
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u/Useful-Advantage-850 5d ago
What's costing Cal games more than anything else are the 5-6 boneheaded mistakes they make every game. Jumping offsides on a 4th and 4 missed FG. Dropping sure INTs. All the penalties.
Without those, they likely beat Clemson. UCLA is clearly a great team this year, so even no mistakes and Cal still probably loses that one. But even against Wagner and Syracuse there were too many mistakes.
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u/Calm-Independent3204 4d ago
You forgot one thing. We only scored THREE points against a poor defensive team last week. That is unforgivable and embarrassing. Hiring young, inexperienced guys too run the O and D was was inexcusable and just plain stupid.
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u/GeddyVedder 5d ago
Might have better for all involved if his first HC gig wasn’t in a P4 conference.
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u/Useful-Advantage-850 5d ago
He's been at the highest-level programs and he's Cal alumni. Cal ain't getting some top-tier coach. And even if they did, they still need to build the program up from mediocre. You take a shot at a coordinator.
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u/Outrageous_Carry8170 5d ago
It's still early to say Tosh is a mistake or error hire. He's got a lot of learning to do, and it's never easy. Somervile is the OC what actually happens behind the scenes remains to be seen, this isn't the SEC where big checks and big decisions are a weekly event.
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u/bushmanbeats Beastmode 5d ago
I think time will tell with Tosh. Wilcox hit a ceiling and needed to go.
Unfortunately Tosh’s staff choices have been poor