BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – California changed directions with its football program Saturday, hiring longtime college defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox as head coach to replace the offensive-minded Sonny Dykes.
Dykes was fired last Sunday after four seasons of sometimes dynamic offense combined with one of the worst defenses in the country. After earning just one bowl berth and one winning record in his tenure and angering the administration and fan base by flirting with various job openings, Dykes was fired six weeks after the end of the season.
Athletic director Mike Williams set out to find a coach who would be committed to Cal and would excite Golden Bears followers and he hopes he did just that with Wilcox, a former Cal assistant.
“I couldn’t be more excited to become head football coach at the University of California,” Wilcox said in a statement. “It has been a dream of mine to lead a college football program and there’s no better place than here at Cal where I got my start and at a school that means so much to me.
The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dave Wilcox, has never been a head coach before but did spend three years as linebackers coach at Cal from 2003-05 under Jeff Tedford and has been a defensive coordinator for the past 11 seasons at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, Southern California and Wisconsin.