Ranking Cal Football Coaches

The University of California (Cal) hired Tosh Lupoi as their 35th head football coach. He follows Justin Wilcox and interim head coach Nick Rolovich. As a Bay Area native, former Cal player, and assistant coach, Lupoi is coming home. His return has generated a great deal of excitement in the program. That excitement was starting to build with the hiring last spring of former Cal player Ron Rivera to run the football program. With Berkeley being Berkeley, there’s often “lowered” expectations for the “big-time” sports. After all, it’s a high-end academic institution first. Cal is routinely ranked as the best public school in the universe. It’s better than the private school posers as well. The expectations don’t have to be “lowered” in Berkeley. It hasn’t always been “lowered.” Cal had a football dynasty. The Golden Bears were the best football team in the land with four consecutive national titles. There aren’t many powerhouse programs that can claim that. It was over hundred years ago but it happened. The football program has always helped make the campus the unique place that it is. Right now, thanks to the returns of Ron Rivera and Tosh Lupoi there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Cal and its football program. Here’s a look at some of the best coaches in Cal’s 170 history of football.

Ranking Cal’s Football Coaches

1.   Andy Smith (1916-25)

      .799 winning percentage

      4 national titles (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923)

2.   Pappy Waldorf (1947-56)

      .670 winning percentage

3.   Stub Allison (1935-44)

      .556 winning percentage

      1 national title (1937)

4.   Jeff Tedford (2002-12)

      .590 winning percentage 

5.   Bruce Snyder (1987-91)

      .544 winning percentage 

6.   Garrett Cochran (1898-99)

      .868 winning percentage 

7.   Nibs Price (1926-30)

      .606 winning percentage 

8.   Mike White (1972-77)

      .538 winning percentage 

9.   James Whipple (1902-03)

      .882 winning percentage 

10. Pudge Heffelfinger (1893)

      .786 winning percentage

Any conversation on great coaches in college football history must include Andy Smith. From 1920-24, Smith’s “Wonder Teams” went undefeated, going 44 wins, 0 losses, and 4 ties. It was an absolutely ridiculous run of football success. Cal has seen nothing like it since or before. College football has seen nothing like it. His incredible success built Memorial Stadium. Andy Smith could only be slowed by death as his sudden passing to pneumonia in 1925 stunned Cal and college football. 

Pappy Waldorf’s strong run as Cal’s football coach didn’t reach the national success of Andy Smith but it approached it. For the past 65 years, reaching the Rose Bowl has been a rarity for Cal. Waldorf coached the Golden Bears to three straight Rose Bowls from 1948-50. They were undefeated in each of those seasons but lost in each of the Rose Bowls. It was unfortunate as Cal was either leading or tied until the fourth quarter in all three games. 

Bruce Snyder in the 1990s and Jeff Tedford in the 2000s have been the only coaches to bring some national football notoriety to Berkeley since Pappy Waldorf. Snyder and Tedford coached Cal to Top 10 rankings. 

I included Pudge Heffelfinger and his single season coaching Cal for the simple reason that he’s the first confirmed professional football player. He was paid by the Allegheny Athletic Association for a game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1892. A year later, he was in Berkeley coaching Cal. 

Hopefully, Tosh Lupoi earns a place on this list in the coming years.