BERKELEY — Cal football general manager Ron Rivera said he already has a working list of 14 candidates for the program’s vacant head-coaching position and that he will involve a broad spectrum of people in pursuit of the right man.
Freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele won’t be an afterthought in the process.
“Knowing who he is and what he means to us, there’s going to be a lot of thought in who’s next and what that staff’s going to look like as well,” Rivera said Tuesday, two days after relieving Justin Wilcox of his duties following a 31-10 loss at Stanford in the 128th Big Game.
Cal fans are wringing their hands in fear that Sagapolutele, one of the nation’s most promising young quarterbacks, could transfer in reaction to the coaching change.
Rivera said he intends to make it clear that the hiring process is about doing the right thing for the university but also for the players.
“Part of it will be about his growth and development as a football player and as a student-athlete,” Rivera said. “This is very, very important, making sure he understands that we are looking in his best interests as well. We’ve got him in mind, as we do his teammates.”
Interim head coach Nick Rolovich feels like he has gotten to know Sagapolutele pretty well since coming on board earlier this year as senior offensive analyst.
“I think he’s very happy here. I think he’s a wonderful young man, I think he wants to win. I think he’d like to make everybody at this university, including the fans, proud of the football team,” Rolovich said.
“But he’s still a 19-year-old young man who needs somebody there for him. Being there for him if he wants to talk about it, he wants to cry, laugh, whatever, that’s what I would like to do.”
Rivera said there is no firm timetable for naming a new coach and that he won’t be rushed to get it done before the start of the early high school signing period on Dec. 3.
Rivera said he will not hire a search firm but plans to form a committee that includes alumni, former players, faculty members, donors with a stake in the program and the Bears’ current players.
“I think it’s important they have a voice in this as well because whoever becomes head coach is going to lead these young men,” he explained. “So they deserve to have a say in it as well.”
Candidates won’t be limited to those with head-coaching experience. Rolovich and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin — both former head coaches — are part of his current list of 14 names.
All serious candidates will be asked to answer one key question:
“Why Cal? Why would you like to be part of what we’re doing?” said Rivera, who was an All-America linebacker for the Bears in 1982. “I’ve got to make sure they understand what this university is about and what it takes to be here.”
Rivera said he didn’t enter Big Game week expecting to make his decision before season’s end. “I was very optimistic about our opportunity to win that game and what it would mean for us going forward as a program,” he said.
Instead, the Bears stumbled hard and fell to 6-5 overall, 3-4 in the ACC with Saturday’s home game against 13.5-point favorite SMU set to close out the regular season. Cal already is bowl eligible, but its chances for even an eight-win season have dimmed.
Rivera woke up at 5 a.m. Sunday, gave the issue more thought before making several phone calls, including to Cal Chancellor Rich Lyons.
“We had a good conversation. At the end of the day, when I gave the recommendation, he agreed. This was done with some serious conversation, some serious intent, knowing what was at stake.”
Rivera described his subsequent conversation with Wilcox on Sunday as professional.
“The guy’s a class act, a man of character,” Rivera said. “The guy’s done a lot for this program — very grateful for him getting us to where we are, three consecutive bowl games. The hard part is we’d like to see a lot more success in terms of wins and losses.”
Wilcox, who was in his ninth season, finished with a 48-55 win-loss record and without a winning season since 2019.