Cal fires head coach Justin Wilcox after loss to Stanford
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Justin Wilcox is out at California.
Cal fired Wilcox on Sunday afternoon, the school announced, just hours after the Golden Bears fell 31-10 to rival Stanford on Saturday night. That dropped the team to 6-5 on the season.
Former Hawaii and Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich, who was working this season as an assistant on Wilcox's staff, will be the team’s interim coach in the meantime.
"I want to thank Justin for all of his contributions to our football program, our athletic department and our university," Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said in a statement. "He has always comported himself with class and professionalism. After careful consideration, we believe the time has come for new leadership. We wish Justin the best of luck in his future endeavors."
Wilcox spent nine seasons at Cal, which marked his first and only job as a head coach in Division I. He finished with a 48-55 record, and went 1-3 in his four bowl appearances. Wilcox mounted only two winning records in his eight full seasons with the program.
Though Wilcox’s teams at Cal generally weren’t awful, Saturday night was apparently the last straw. Stanford rolled over the Bears, snapping a four-game losing streak in the rivalry game. Cal fumbled three times in the loss, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and committed a season-high 13 penalties. Stanford scored three times in a span of just over seven minutes in the second half and ran away with the game.
The Cardinal now sit at 4-7, which matched their highest win total for a season since 2020. They are currently being led by interim head coach Frank Reich, who was hired in March to replace Troy Taylor on a one-year basis.
With Wilcox gone, it’s unclear what quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele will opt to do next season. Sagapolutele was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in Hawaii, and was the No. 6-ranked quarterback in the 2025 class. He won the starting job at Cal this fall over former Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown after returning to Cal after briefly flipping his commitment to Oregon.
Sagapolutele went 33-of-49 passing for 269 yards in Saturday’s loss, and is up to 2,787 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. While the freshman’s first season hasn’t been great, and Cal has undoubtedly struggled all around, he would be one of the top names in the transfer portal should he choose to enter this offseason.
Cal will wrap up the regular season Saturday against SMU.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos