Cal Coach Justin Wilcox Touts Bryan Harsin's `Massive Football Acumen'

The Bears' new offensive coordinator who began work Wednesday, will not call plays in the LA Bowl

Bryan Harsin / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bryan Harsin arrived in Berkeley on Wednesday for his first day as Cal’s new offensive coordinator. But the 48-year-old former Boise State and Auburn head coach will focus his attention for now on recruiting, helping organize the coaching staff and supporting players in the program.

With just one week of lead time before Cal’s matchup vs. UNLV at the LA Bowl next Wednesday, he will not be asked to call plays against the Rebels, head coach Justin Wilcox said.

That assignment will be “a collaborative effort,” said Wilcox, who indicated specific coaching duties will be revealed in the coming days. 

“He’s here to support guys on the team. We’re recruiting heavily. We’re having a lot of meeting with our players,” Wilcox said. “He’s got a lot to do.”

Harsin served as Boise’s coordinator from 2006 through ’10 under head coach Chris Petersen, when Wilcox ran the defense. He later was head coach from 2014 through 2020, when his teams compiled a record of 69-19.

Auburn hired him in 2021 and things did not go as well. The Tigers crushed Akron 60-10 and Alabama State 62-0 in his first two games before going 4-7 the rest of the season. He was fired after a 3-5 start to the 2022 season.

Nothing went right for Harsin at Auburn. According to ESPN, he struggled with recruiting in the South and was viewed by certain boosters as an outsider. When the program suffered heavy transfer losses after his initial campaign, the university investigated the causes.

He was retained but never found a rhythm at Auburn.

Wilcox hopes folks in Berkeley have an open mind about Harsin. 

“I trust Bryan Harsin. I know our administration did their due diligence with everybody they needed to speak with and got unbelievably glowing reports,” Wilcox said.

“He’s got a massive football acumen. He is extremely competitive and he is eager and itching to coach again. He’s going to be really good for our team.  He has developed exceptional quarterbacks, put points up.”

There is no debate about the latter topic, at least during his time at Boise. Over 154 games in 12 seasons as coordinator or head coach, the Broncos scored 40 points or more 77 times. They topped 50 on 36 occasions.

Wilcox said Harsin will implement a system that maximizes the specific talents of players.

“The guys are going to know what to do . . . it’s going to be easy to learn,” he said. “It’s going to be freshman and transfer friendly.”

Even on one of the toughest non-game days of his tenure, Wilcox took a pragmatic and upbeat approach to the occasion.

“This is college football. This is how it is now — it’s not the way it used to be,” he said. “Things are in flux right now but there is zero panic and a lot of excitement because we have backing from the university, we have resources, we’re going to have an unbelievable staff who are proven recruiters and coaches.”