Cal Football: Justin Wilcox in Top-5 of Pac-12 Coaches Rankings

Justin Wilcox rises three spots from last year's CBSSports.com conference coaching rankings

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox has been slowly creeping up the ladder in coaching rankings offered by various media outlets, and he has jumped into the top-5 of CBSSports.com’s recent rankings of Pac-12 coaches.

The Pac-12’s recent lack of success nationally has hurt its coaches’ reputations, and the resignation of Washington head coach Chris Petersen robbed the conference of one of the nation’s most respected head coaches.

The CBSSports.com story notes that few Pac-12 coaches have solid grips on their positions:

The Pac-12 as it stands heading into 2020 is a league with very few coaches entrenched in their current position.

The familiar names atop the list are Kyle Whittingham and David Shaw, and while they have each proven to be among the best in the business, they are also the only coaches remaining from the 2015 Pac-12 Media Day lineup.

Wilcox seems entrenched in his position at Cal, and he moved up three spots from last year’s ranking, landing at No. 5 this year, ahead of UCLA’s Chip Kelly, USC's Clay Helton and Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin, among others.

Here is how CBSSports ranks the Pac-12 coaches:

1. Kyle Whittingham, Utah

2. David Shaw, Stanford

3. Mario Cristobal, Oregon

4. Herm Edwards, Arizona State.

5. Justin Wilcox, Cal

6. Chip Kelly, UCLA

7. Clay Helton, USC

8. Nick Rolovich, Washington State

9. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State

10. Kevin Sumlin, Arizona

11. Jimmy Lake, Washington

12. Karl Dorrell, Colorado

Here is what CBSSports said about Wilcox

Justin Wilcox (33): In one sense, it seems like Wilcox should be higher on this list. We are about to enter Year 4 of Wilcox's head coaching career, and each season has been marked by improvement. The Bears have gone from five wins to seven wins to eight wins and a bowl victory in 2019. But this ranking is against his peers in the Pac-12, where he currently has a 10-17 record in conference play. The 2020 season is all about the next step for Wilcox and the Bears as they hope to contend with Oregon and Washington in the Pac-12 North and, at a minimum, finish with a winning record in conference play for the first time in his tenure. Last year: 8

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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