Rumors Abound
Keep in mind the following are still just rumors since there has been no public acknowledgment from the Cal Football organization. But supposedly…
Tedford has fired DB Coach Littlejohn as well as WR Coach Ferrigno.
Tedford has moved former QB Coach Daft to be the new WR coach.
And Tedford has hired former pupil Trent Dilfer as his offensive coordinator and also doubling as the new QB coach.
If this is all true… wow. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would get fired this off-season. Tedford has never fired any assistant coaches before. He seems like the type of guy that would only fire assistants if they really weren’t doing their job even to an adequate extent. So I guess, in Tedford’s opinion, things were really not up to par in the WR and DB coaching department.
There has been some speculation that a number of Longshore’s problems have been because of QB/WR miscommunications, as well as WR running the wrong routes. Perhaps the firing of Ferrigno has to do with this. It’s hard to say whether the firing of Ferrigno confirms these thoughts but it can’t be denied that there have been more QB/WR miscommunications this year than in previous years.
As for why Littlejohn was fired. That’s sort of a puzzler. Yes, our secondary hasn’t been the best. But let’s not forget that a secondary’s performance relies heavily on how fast the defensiveline gets pressure on the Quarterback. And our DL hasn’t exactly gotten a lot of quick pressure on the QB. Anyways, I do have one little anecdote as to Coach Littlejohn’s coaching tenure at Cal. One day at practice I was working with the DBs. They were talking about Coach Littlejohn and his coaching abilities. I asked the players what they thought he did well and what they thought he didn’t do well. They all unanimously agreed that he does a great job telling you what you’re doing wrong, but not what to do instead to make things right.
As for the hiring of Dilfer, I really really really really really like this hire. It makes a lot of sense. Dilfer, one of Tedford’s former pupils, has NFL experience, as well as having extensive Tedford instruction. He should be familiar with Tedford’s coaching styles and demands. He should make an excellent offensive coordinator for Tedford and should help free up Tedford so he can resume his head coaching duties on the field. In fact, having Dilfer as a QB coach will be like having two Tedfords at practice for the development of Cal’s young QBs.
If Dilfer is indeed the new OC, then that would move Coach Michalczik back to being only the Offensive Line coach and possibly maintaining his assistant head coach duties, but he’ll no longer be the OC (since that’s Dilfer’s job).
Also, so far, the DB Coach has yet to be named. So expect Tedford to search around or name a new coach in a few days to weeks.
Anyways, if this is all true, Tedford has made some significant changes to the coaching ranks. Interesting, interesting, interesting…
Hmm, Jackson, Jordan, DeCoud (2 wrs and 1 db) are suspended for a quarter for violating team rules… the wr coach and db coach get fired…
Comment by Brian A — January 3, 2008 @ 10:12 pm
Wait, so you guys actually worked for Cal? Why don’t you guys have an “About Us” section for full disclosure. I thought you guys had no connection the program.
Comment by eee — January 3, 2008 @ 11:15 pm
Nothing about Gregory or Alamar, huh? I’m not as down on them as others, but their units have been inconsistent at best. How much will having better players at D-line help?
If the rumors are true, the offense should be just fine. It can’t be easy for Tedford to make these changes, but you do what you have to do.
Comment by Beb — January 3, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
oops, previous comment by Ben.
Comment by Ben — January 3, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
I can sort of understand the Dilfer-as-QB-coach hire (although the past couple years on the 9ers and his mentoring of Alex Smith has yet to produce results), but as OC??! That is a difficult job and seems like it should be given to someone with more real coaching experience and not just observing/thinking about the offense from the sideline experience. I’m sure Trent is chock full of great offensive info nuggets, but as we all know from taking classes at Cal, one can be a genius in their respective fields and still be terrible at translating/communicating that information. I just wish Cal wasn’t Dilfer’s test tube. (Or maybe we’ll win the NC next year and I’ll eat my words, who knows?)
Comment by Bay Area Bear — January 4, 2008 @ 1:42 am
I think the changes are for the better and if changes were to happen this is the time to do it as we lose handful of seniors in key positions and fielding a relatively young team. This will ease the transition. Dilfer as OC? Wow OC at CAL is quite a big deal. I’ll just have to trust tedford on this one. But then again Tedford pretty much makes all the calls anyway..
Comment by Oh Too Easy - paulieside — January 4, 2008 @ 2:16 am
Wow, I’m really surprised that Tedford would fire some assistant coaches. Then again, Ferrigno and Littlejohn are not part of the original coaching group Tedford came in with. Dream scenario: What if Ron English left his DC position at Louisville to coach the DB’s at his alma mater? Also, I wonder how the hire of Trent Dilfer as QB/OC will affect recruiting.
Comment by Scott M — January 4, 2008 @ 6:05 am
What if Ron English left his DC position at Louisville to coach the DB’s at his alma mater?
If I recall, Louisville has one of the worst defenses in the NCAA.
Now, Ron Rivera, Golden Bear and DC of the Super Bowl Chicago Bears and now the San Diego Chargers? Smash-mouth Buddy Ryan disciple? Naw . . . that would be too good to be true.
Comment by Pug — January 4, 2008 @ 7:48 am
Pug,
Louisville’s defense *is* terrible, which is why their DC was fired an Ron English was hired last week. English was the defensive coordinator at Michigan previously, but Rich Rodriguez decided to bring his own guys in.
Comment by ragnarok — January 4, 2008 @ 9:19 am
Gregory, Alamar and Delgado should be put on notice.
Gregory for having passive, non-game affecting defenses for 3-stright seasons now.
Alamar for poor coverages and lousy instruction. DeSean saved his bacon last season with his rediculous punt returns. Best made punt coverage a must see event before he got injured. Without those two, Alamar should’ve already recieved his pink-slip.
Delagado, one could fault the DC for installing a scheme that fails to utilize and maximize the available talent, and Delgado does have significant inroads to Hawaii’s HS’s; nevertheless, its evident that there is a lack of technique being taught with this unit, as all of the players this season and last had problems shedding blocks.
Comment by corsair — January 4, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Our DL was vastly depleted this year due to YOUTH, injuries, and guys not developing fast enough. If you don’t believe me, take a look at our past 4 recruiting classes on the DL and list anybody who missed games this year due to injury, was playing out of their position due to need, or is an experienced upperclassmen. I bet that list is mighty long. During one of the BCS games this year, the color commentator talked about how a very good DL can make an inexperienced defensive backfield look really good, and how a bad DL can make an experienced defensive backfield look really bad. There’s no secret that our DL had more gaping holes in it than a hooker from Nevada. There’s no secret that our DBs were just average - largely in part due to injuries at the Rover position and playing a true frosh and a safety-turned-CB in the offseason at the side opposite of Syd. Predictably, most teams were able to exploit our D wherever they wanted after getting enough film on us. I don’t blame Gregory entirely for the defensive struggles and the schemes he used. He did the best he could do with the personnel he had. Gives Pete Carroll the same personnel and you’d likely have similar results.
As for Alamar, when you have a Kicker who is good at placing the ball in certain areas of the field, your kickoff coverage will look a lot better. Schneider going down before the UT game really hurt us. Larsen simply did not get enough air under the ball nor kicked the ball in the right location many times. It’s hard to have good kickoff coverage when the ball is landing in the middle of the field and on the 10 when your coverage team is only at midfield. But you can’t really blame him for that since he is naturally a punter and was filling a hole on the team that he wasnt recruited for. I don’t see many people complaining about our punt coverage. It’s amazing what the impact a great gunner (Best) and a good punter (Larsen) can have on making a unit look fantastic. Not trying to be an ass, but it’s only fair to put all the facts out on the table when it comes to criticizing somebody.
The Dilfer rumor - if true, I share the same hesitation with BayAreaBear about putting a guy with zero OC experience in the box to call our plays. To be fair to Dilfer, Alex Smith flat out stinks for a #1 draft pick. A $50M+ player who was drafted partly because of his mobility and can’t make easy throws on the run that Rodgers’ could make in his sleep nor hit open WRs accurately is not Dilfer’s fault and I won’t hold him accountable for that. Dilfer brings a lot to the table including NFL experience and a recognizable name for recruiting. My hunch is that Tedford will help out with the playcalling the first year and be heavily involved in the gameplanning like usual.
Comment by MysteryFriend — January 4, 2008 @ 9:53 am
If these rumors are true, then I’m in full agreement with Brian A above (#1). VERY interesting that the position coaches responsible for the three “suspended” players are the ones allegedly getting fired.
Corsair (#10): I’m on record as being a Bob Gregory apologist, and I would indeed like to see him back for one more year. While I can’t really argue with your generalization about Cal’s defenses in 2006 and 2007, you’re wrong to drag in 2005. That was a VERY GOOD unit, on par with USC’s that year, and had Cal gotten any sort of decent quarterback play, it would have seriously challenged the Trojans for the Pac-10 title. Indeed, I believe if Aaron Rodgers had returned for his senior season, it would have been Cal losing to Vince Young in the Rose Bowl, not SC.
As for the Dilfer rumor, I’m excited. Having a gutty Super Bowl champ as QB coach sounds like a great coup, and we all know that whoever the “Offensive Coordinator” is, it’s still Tedford’s show. But with a fellow former quarterback and pupil at his side, you also know JT will feel comfortable ceding some of the play calling to Dilfer. This would presumably allow JT to pay more attention to other issues, such as clock management, as he wouldn’t have his nose constantly buried in that tablecloth-sized play chart of his.
Finally, what about the linebackers? There’s been a lot of coaching turnover there in recent years, yet (from what I’ve seen) they have been the least consistent and most underperforming part of the defense. Yes, it also appears to be the most talented unit on defense, but I long ago lost count of the number of times the last two years I’ve seen Follett, Williams, Felder, Bishop, et al., out of position, missing assignments, not shedding blocks, or whiffing on tackles. If those guys can develop the heart and the discipline to play hard and smart every down of every quarter, then Cal’s defense has the chance to be very good next year.
Already this is shaping up to be a very interesting offseason. Go Bears!
Comment by California Pete — January 4, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Dilfer is not being hired. My source spoke to him this AM.
Comment by Bearbits — January 4, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
MysteryFriend, if you’re saying that Gregory chose to use the BBDB because the alternatives were a greater evil, then I agree with you. I do not think Cal’s defense would have been much better, if better at all, with an aggressive defense. I think Gregory chose to use the BBDB to maximize the effectiveness of his players and their strengths while avoiding their weaknesses. Also, you are absolutely correct that fantastic players can make their units look great. After what DJ did on punt returns last year, nobody was talking about firing Alamar despite the fact that DJ’s success was probably more a cause of his own talent than anything new Alamar was implementing. Also, I don’t think a lot of people quite realize how a coach’s tenure can hang very delicately based on the talent he has to work with. Naturally talented kids can hide a mediocre coach and make him look good. Kids without talent can get a good coach fired even if the kids just don’t have the talent/potential to become better.
Comment by HydroTech — January 4, 2008 @ 9:57 pm
BearBits, thanks for the rumor update.
Comment by HydroTech — January 4, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
eee, we do have an “about us” section. It’s at the very top of the page towards the right.
Comment by HydroTech — January 4, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
CC Times seems to “reporting” on your rumor now.
Comment by RR — January 5, 2008 @ 11:21 am
If it is true about these guys missing meetings then that is very likely going to cost them at contract time with the NFL. Only DeSean can change that if he stays and shows more maturity next season.
The firings make sense. The position coaches are responsible for daily contact with players. If discipline breaks down then that’s on the position coaches. Sounds like the position coaches had the team attitude problem last part of the season. Glad to hear they are getting the fuck out of here. Hopefully they’ll go to another Pac-10 team and screw that program up for us.
Comment by Patrick — January 5, 2008 @ 11:44 am