'Over my dead body;' Tosh Lupoi on staying at Oregon for CFP run

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The Oregon Ducks defense in 2025 has been one of the nation’s best, ranking in the top 20 in scoring, passing yards allowed and rushing yards allowed. Though the offense has been on point for much of the season as well, the defensive unit has been the consistant driving force behind the Ducks‘ path to the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff.

The mastermind behind much of it, as well as doing a lot of the heavy lifting with the recruiting, has been defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi. He’d been known as one of the top defenses coaches and recruiters in the country before 2025, but the downright dominant football played by this group this season has stamped home that sentiment.

But when Lupoi accepted the head coaching job with the California Golden Bears in early December, it never crossed his mind to leave behind Oregon with the CFP on the horizon.

Speaking after Tuesday’s practice, Lupoi even revealed that not immediately leaving the Ducks was a dealbreaker for one program.

“I made it clear on every one of those Thursday night interviews that I will not participate or even consider the job without finishing through our season,” Lupoi said on Tuesday. “So ultimately, that was a bit of a deal breaker for another place, and that’s fine. I respect their process. But that was very clear. You know, people have asked me as well with Coach Lanning, you know, how that went about, or how that conversation was, and I honestly don’t even think we had a single conversation. It was just a realized expectation of exactly what would be asked of me and what I would want to do. So, you know, I made it very clear that over my dead body would I ever leave the individuals here.”

Lupoi’s best work has been during this season with the Ducks in a number of aspects. Now, add loyalty to that mix.

Essentially, bypassing a potential job offer in order to come back and finish what he started at Oregon is no joke. College football head coaching jobs pay in the millions.

And while Lupoi was likely paid handsomely in his five-year deal with Cal, the decision to walk away from a potential job just to continue coaching with the Ducks for one more month or so shows his outstanding character.

Surely, the decision-makers at Cal know what Lupoi stands for, not only from the interview process but also because he played there and began his coaching career with the Bears. But his loyalty and effort with the Ducks even after officially taking another job should make it clear that his loyalty to Cal — once his run with Oregon comes to a close — will be just as strong, giving way to what they hope is a successful turnaround of the Bears program under Lupoi.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Tosh Lupoi makes clear that he wasn’t going to leave Oregon before CFP

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