Cal Football: New DBs Coach Marcel Yates on his Relationship with Justin Wilcox

Yates coached at Boise State in Wicox's first season there at D-coordinator

Still not convinced it's a small world?

Consider the case of new Cal defensive backs coach Marcel Yates.

Hired last month by Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, Yates first worked for Wilcox at Boise State in 2006, where Wilcox was a first-year defensive coordinator and Yates was in charge of the Broncos' defensive backs.

One of those DBs was Gerald Alexander, who preceded Yates as DBs coach at Cal before accepting a job this offseason with the Miami Dolphins.

So, introductions weren't really necessary as Yates arrived at the Cal football offices last month.

"I'm very excited to be here," he said.

Yates talks in the video above about his relationship with Wilcox and what it was like working with a coach getting his first shot at a coordinator position. He recalls Wilcox being willing to try new things as a first-time DC, and how that went pretty well.

Hint: Boise State, under head coach Chris Petersen, went undefeated that season.

Yates, who was fired during this past season as co-defensive coordinator at Arizona, also recalls his time coaching Alexander at Boise. 

Yates is one of four new coaches on Cal's staff, although he is the only one on the defensive side of the ball. 

Elsewhere, Bill Musgrave takes over as offensive coordinator (after Beau Baldwin took the head coaching position at Cal Poly), Angus McClure comes on as offensive line coach (after Steve Greatwood retired), and Aristotle Thompson was named running backs coach (replacing Nicholas Edwards, who followed Baldwin to Cal Poly).

The Bears begin spring workouts on March 4.