Report: Justin Wilcox Could Be a Potential Candidate at Arizona

The Arizona Daily Star mentions Cal coach Wilcox among several people the Wildcats might consider to replace Jeff Fisch

The Arizona Daily Star, which covers University of Arizona athletics as closely as any media outlet, provided a speculative list of possible candidates to fill the Wildcats’ vacant head football coaching position, and Cal head coach Justin Wilcox was one of the people the Daily Star named.

It’s difficult to see why Arizona would be interested in Wilcox or why Wilcox would be interested in the Arizona position, but strange things happen in the world of college football coaching moves. The only reasons Wilcox might be interested is if he felt his job at Cal was in jeopardy, which does not seem to be the case, or if Wilcox does not want to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, which does not seem to be the case either.

The Daily Star provided analysis of five people who might be potential contenders for the Arizona job. Here is what it said about Wilcox:

Justin Wilcox

Current job:

Cal head coach

Why he makes sense:

In the post Pac-12 era, Cal grabbed the lifebuoy thrown out by the ACC and will now get a 30% share in the first seven years of the conference’s media revenue, which is about $7-10 million per year. With Arizona expected to have a $31.7 million annual media rights share in the Big 12, the UA will have more money in addition to better resources than Cal; plus, cost of living in Tucson is significantly cheaper than the Bay Area. Wilcox has held defensive assistant roles at Wisconsin, USC, Washington, Tennessee, Boise State and Cal.

The four other people the Daily Star mentioned with explanation are Texas co-defensive coordinator and former Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, Arizona offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan and Washington State head coach Jake Dickert.

The Daily Star mentioned four other possible candidates without details: UNLV head coach Barry Odom, BYU head coach Kilani Sitake, Miami associate head coach and defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, and Toledo head coach Jason Candle.

It should be noted that this is purely speculation, and most of these people would seem to be more likely candidates than Wilcox, whose Bears have not had a winning season since 2019. However, Wilcox is a lauded defensive mind and is respected for his character. Whether that is enough for an Arizona program that is coming off a 10-3 season and heads to the Big 12 next season is the question.

Wilcox was offered the head coaching job at Oregon a few years ago, and several media members speculated Wilcox might be considered for the Washington job. But Wilcox played his college football at Oregon and was the defensive coordinator at Washington for two seasons. Wilcox has no history with Arizona.

The Wildcats are looking to fill the spot vacated by Jedd Fischer, who left to become Washington’s head coach.

Cover photo of Justin Wilcox by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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