Cal is sitting at 3-8 heading into the final game of their season against #15 Oregon St. This is, by far, the worst season of head coach Jeff Tedford's Cal career. Definitely from a wins and losses perspective. Which is usually the only measuring stick for a coach. The Bears had a few scattered moments of something decent this season. When they defeated a decent UCLA team and a struggling Washington St. team earlier in the season Cal looked like they might make a run to a very low tier bowl game. Instead, they haven't won a game since that Washington St. game over a month ago. The losses have come more frequently the last few years. This will be Cal's second losing season in the last three. Cal fans and backers aren't happy and all of them are pointing at Tedford. His job is in jeopardy. Many want him gone. I think that he should stay.
Jeff Tedford is on the hot seat mostly because of his own success. 5-3 in bowl games. 7-4 in the Big Game. The Big Game and the Rose Bowl are the most important results for most Cal people. Tedford hasn't gotten a shot at the Rose Bowl but eight bowl teams in eleven years is the best run in over 100 years of football. Unfortunately, three of the losses to Stanford in the Big Game have come in the last three games. If Tedord wasn't 7-1 prior to those games, he would have been fired before he left the football field. Cal fans have been spoiled. The first eight years under Tedford were dynamite. 10-2 in 2004 and final ranking of #9 in the nation. 10-3 in 2006 with a Pac-10 title and a #14 ranking. It was beautiful in Berkeley. The stands have been packed since Tedford came to town. I'm pretty sure that Cal fans have forgotten what the '80s and most of the '90s were like. An empty stadium and pathetic play on the field. As a Cal student in the mid-80s, I saw as many wins in three years as Tedford brought in just one. He has completely changed the football environment at Cal. A losing season is a shock. Before him, losing was the norm and many people didn't care. That alone is probably the biggest change that Tedford brought. People in Berkeley care about football now.All of this led to the recent stadium renovation and the construction of the shiny, new athletic facilities. None of that would have happened with Keith Gilbertson or Tom Holmoe leading the program. Cal finally has the facilities to compete with Oregon, USC and the rest in recruiting. It can bring the players to Berkeley and it can help them better prepare for Saturdays in the fall. Cal's facilities might have looked spectacular in 1930 but they were laughable to high school football players today. Even yesterday. Tedford's the reason for the renovations and he deserves the chance to see what he can do with them.
Cal has to find a quarterback that can play consistently. Tedford earned a reputation for developing quarterbacks. The passing at Cal has been pathetic since Aaron Rodgers in 2004. Tedford squeezed a decent season out of Nate Longshore in 2006 but that was fleeting. Bill Walsh probably couldn't have a done a thing to straighten the aim of passes thrown by Kevin Riley, Brock Mansion and Zach Maynard. As Cal's quarterbacks have become increasingly erratic since 2006 the losses have mounted. With an injury this season to starter Zach Maynard, junior Allan Bridgford has a shot right now. He had some decent moments at the end of the Washington game and against Oregon. Maybe he can get something going heading into next season. Personally, I'd like to see one of Kyle Boehm, Zach Kline or even incoming freshman Jared Goff start next season. There's something about Kline, in particular, that intrigues me. I saw a few of his high school games and he seems to have a spark to him. I'd just like to see what Tedford can do with a talented quarterback. No matter who lines up under center for Cal next year I think that Jeff Tedford should be the coach. The new facilities have leveled the playing field a bit. If he can't bring the program back in a year or two with what he has now then I can see the need for a change but he's earned some time. People care about football in Berkeley now and Tedford's to blame.
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