Pat McCann Takes Over as Cal's Offensive Play-Caller
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Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi made the unusual, but not unprecedented, decision to change offensive play-callers in the middle of Saturday's game against UNLV.
And, for the most part, it worked, leaving Virginia Tech coach James Franklin unsure of what to expect from Cal's offense in Saturday afternoon's game in Berkeley.
With Cal passing game coordinator and former Fresno State offensive coordinator Pat McCann calling the plays after halftime Saturday, the Bears scored 24 points in the second half of the 39-31 loss to the Rebels. It was the most points scored by Cal's offense in any half this season against FBS competition, and the Bears did it with a backup quarterback, Jackson Brousseau, who played the entire second half after Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was sidelined with a concussion.
So McCann, and not offensive coordinator Jordan Sommerville, will call the offensive plays to start Cal's game against Virginia Tech (4-1).
It's unclear whether Cal has junked the pro-style offense installed by Somerville, but what Cal ran on Saturday more closely resembled the spread offenses Cal quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich ran at Hawaii and Washington State.
And it's not entirely clear whether McCann will be the offensive play-caller for the rest of the season, considering Lupoi's apparent penchant to make adjustments on the fly, as he did on Saturday.
Lupoi described the Bears' offensive strategizing during Saturday's game in the following way while speaking to the media on Tuesday:
"Drawing up things on the sideline, getting on the IPad, maniac energy, trying to put things in. Putting a receiver in the backfield, run a play we did not practice a single time for an explosive touchdown."
Lupoi was referring to the 53-yard touchdown reception by fifth-string, walk-on running back Carson Perry-Smith in the third quarter that got Cal back in the game.
"Pat McCann dressed that all up," Lupoi said.
The 41-year-old McCann was Fresno State's offensive coordinator and play-caller in 2023 under Bulldogs head coach Jeff Tedford, who was Cal's head coach when Lupoi played for Bears. The Bulldogs went 9-4 in 2023 and averaged 30.1 points, and Lupoi said Tedford recommended McCann highly.
Cal's scrambling on offense has left Virginia Tech coach James Franklin not knowing what to expect on Saturday.
"I'm not sure if Coach Somerville, who is the offensive coordinator, watching the game, and reading reports, I don't know if he necessarily called this last game," Franklin said during his media availability on Monday. "Right away I thought it would be Nick Rolovich based on his background, but if you watch the game, it looks like it might have been Pat McCann calling the game. I'm not totally sure.
"I think they played a lot more stylistically to what Coach Rolovich has done in the past, with his time at Washington State and Hawaii, more of a run-and-shoot, air raid, ton of empty [backfield] in this game, but I also don't know if they were down some running backs [and] was that the reason for it. So we're not totally sure."
The Hokies coaches have watched tape of Hawaii and Washington State when Rolovich was at those places to prepare for what Cal might present.
Franklin said he even studied the TV tape of Cal's UNLV game to see whether he can detect which Cal coach was calling the plays.
Cal was without its top two running backs, Adam Mohammed and Carter Vargs, and several other players against UNLV, adding to the uncertainty of what Cal's offense will look like going forward if key players get healthy.
So Cal's offense is . . . what?
—The Bears have an offensive coordinator (Somerville) who is no longer calling the offensive plays after installing a pro-style offense.
—Cal ran an offense on Saturday that resembled the air-raid-like offenses Rolovich ran at Hawaii and Washington State, which is nothing like a pro-style offense.
—The Bears have an offensive play-caller in McCann who has his own theories about offense and has the backing of Jeff Tedford, who ramped up offenses as an offensive coordinator at Oregon and as a head coach at Cal.
—Cal has a head coach willing to make changes on the fly if something is not working.
Regarding his decision to change play-callers in the middle of Saturday's game, Lupoi said this on Tuesday:
"Just changed it up," he said. "Thought it was time."
Cal general manager Ron Rivera, who spent 13 years as an NFL head coach, said Tuesday that he has changed play-callers in the middle of a game.
"And it's to make a point," Rivera said. "We talk about how we're going to do things and we didn't do them, so most certainly had to change.
"Our initial play-caller [30-year-old Somerville] is a young play-caller, a guy who's got a lot to learn still, very good football coach, understands the game, but has some things to learn."
Rivera was not completely surprised when Lupoi made the change on Saturday.
If nothing else, this move shows Lupoi is willing to make changes at any moment.
"We're open to anything, creativity," Lupoi said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/cal as Pat McCann Takes Over as Cal's Offensive Play-Caller.
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