Cal Adds Ex-Bears Offensive Line Coach Steve Greatwood as Analyst

Justin Wilcox getting help for struggling offense. Cal WR Jeremiah Hunter questionable for Saturday

Cal is seeking solutions to its problems on offense, and Justin Wilcox announced on Tuesday that the Bears have added former Cal offensive line coach Steve Greatwood to the staff as an analyst. 

A respected offensive line coach in college and the NFL, Greatwood presumably will help offensive line coach Angus McClure, and Wilcox suggested he may add some perspective on the offense as a whole.

“Extra set of eyes, a person who’s universally respected, not only as an offensive line coach, but as an offensive coach,” Wilcox said. “Maybe a freshman perspective – any chance to make the program better.”

The offense could be without one of its top skill-position players as wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter, who leads the team in receptions (30) and receiving yards (448), is considered questionable to play against Washington on Saturday night in Berkeley as a result of an undisclosed injury sustain in Saturday’s loss to Colorado.

However, Wilcox implied after the 20-13 overtime loss to previously winless Colorado that the biggest concern is the offensive line, and Greatwood was considered one of the best offensive line coach in college football before he retired following the Golden Bears’ 2019 season. Two of the offensive linemen he coached at Cal – Patrick Mekari and Jake Curhan – are currently on NFL rosters.

The 64-year-old Greatwood has been an offensive line coach at Oregon, Maryland, USC, Cal and the Los Angeles Rams, spending three seasons as Cal’s offensive line coach from 2017 through 2019. In 2008, while at Oregon, he was named the national offensive line coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association. Earlier this year, he was on the coaching staff of a team in Germany.

Cal’s offensive concerns stem from subpar performances in its last two games – a 28-9 loss to Washington State and the 20-13 overtime loss to Colorado, which, statistically, had one of the worst defenses in the county.

The day after the loss to Colorado, Greatwood was added to the Cal staff as an analyst. Besides adding Greatwood, Wilcox said Tuesday there could be more personnel changes in the offensive line in the coming games. The Bears had new starters at four of the five offensive line position for the Arizona game, when the Bears scored 49 points and seemed to have their offensive issues solved. Cal scored 22 points in the next two games combine. 

Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave expects Greatwood to have an influence on the offense in general, not just the offensive line.

Wilcox does not have a direct hand in play-calling or personnel selection on the offensive side of the ball, and does not plan to become more involved in the Cal offense.

“I don’t call the plays, there’s no mandates on what groups to run or what plays to run,” Wilcox said. “The involvement on game day is generally the clock end of the half, end of the game, when we’re going for it on fourth down.

“We do talk about personnel and position changes and who’s playing, whether it’s in the rotation or making a change at a position. The coaches will have their input, and I would have mine. But that would be the extent of my involvement. Ultimately I’m responsible for all of this.”

Asked whether he was satisfied with the performance of his offensive coaches, Wilcox said this:

“None of us are satisfied with where we are as a team. We need to perform better. There’s no secret. There’s no excuse for us not to be playing better. We’ve got to put the ball in the end zone, and we, as coaches – myself and offensive coaches – have to give our players better answers.

“It’s shared, but ultimately I take full responsibility for the performance of the team and we’re not performing well enough on offense.”

Wilcox noted that rebuilding the offense’s confidence is not an easy task.

“Confidence is not something we wrap up in a package and set on their doorstep,” Wilcox said. “Confidence is earned through preparation and performance.”

Cal quarterback Jack Plummer said players need to ignore that criticism coming from outside the program and believes they will.

“Inside the building we know what we can do, and, quite frankly we don’t really care what everyone else thinks,” Plummer said. “They can talk and say whatever they want, but at the end of the day we are what we showed on film. So we have shown we can put up 600 yards in a game, but we’ve also shown we can score nine points.

“If someone’s telling you you’re bad, then maybe you start thinking you’re bad, you should just stop listening.”

Plummer acknowledged that his leg injury was a slight hindance against Colorado, and Musgrave did not rule out the possibility that backup quarterback Kai Millner might see some against against Washington if Plummer's injury becomes an issue.

Jeremiah Hunter, Lu-Magia Hearns III Questionable

Wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter and cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns were both labeled “day-to-day” by Wilcox, which means they are questionable for Saturday’s game against Washington. Both were starters in Saturday’s game against Colorado before getting injured, and Hunter has been the Bears’ top receiver this season.

Linebacker Trey Paster has missed the past few games with an undisclosed injury, but might be back in action this week.

Femi Oladejo Did Not Play Saturday

Femi Oladejo, who had started the first five games at either inside linebacker or outside linebacker, did not play at all against Colorado. Wilcox did not specify why he did not play, but said Oladejo remains an important part of the team. Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon implied he would be back in the rotation soon.

Even though he did not play at all against Colorado, Oladejo is still second on the team in tackles with 32.

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Cover photo of Steve Greatwood by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

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