Cal Football: Justin Wilcox Ranked 60th Among 133 FBS Coaches by Sporting News

He peaked at No. 47 prior to the 2021 season, but the Bears are 9-15 the past two years.

The Sporting News rates two Pac-12 coaches among the nation’s 10 best and elevated five others at least 10 spots in their annual ranking of the 133 coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

But Cal’s Justin Wilcox remains at No. 60 nationally for a second straight year after the Bears staggered to a 4-8 record last season. Here are the complete rankings.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox / Photo by John Hefti, USA Today

Wilcox, who is 30-36 in seven seasons at Berkeley, was pegged at No. 82 prior to his debut season in 2017. Then, after a 5-7 record he climbed 13 spots to No. 69.

The Bears went 7-6 and 8-5 and played in bowl games the next two seasons, and Sporting News responded by boosting Wilcox to No. 64, then No. 48. He inched higher to No. 47 despite a 2020 season disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Bears were 1-3.

Since then Cal has gone 5-7 and 4-8, landing Wilcox at the No. 60 spot two years in a row. Maintaining his position on the heels of winning just four games appears to suggest a level of respect for Wilcox, but a fourth straight losing season likely would alter that perception.

Wilcox ranks 10th among Pac-12 coaches this year, according to the publication, ahead of Stanford first-year man Troy Taylor (69) and Arizona’s Jeff Fisch (74).

How does Sporting News concoct its rankings? The publication says a coach’s overall record, record at his current school and three-year record are key factors. Also considered are career achievement and program expectations.

“It's not a perfect science,” they wrote, “but it's our science.”

Residing in the top-10 from the Pac-12 are USC’s Lincoln Riley at No. 7 (for the second year in a row) and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, who climbed one spot to No. 9 after the Utes won the Pac-12 title for the second year in a row.

But the real winners among Pac-12 coaches were these guys:

23. Kalen DeBoer, Washington: DeBoer soared 38 spots from No 61 after the Huskies won their final seven games of the season to finish 11-2.

25. Dan Lanning, Oregon: After the Ducks lost 49-3 to Georgia in Lanning’s debut they wen 10-2 the rest of the way. Lanning jumped 23 spots from the 2022 rankings.

26. Chip Kelly, UCLA: After going 10-21 in his first three seasons at Westwood, Kelly has put together records of 8-4 and 9-4 the past two years, boosting him 12 slots.

40. Jonathan Smith, Oregon State: Smith was 9-22 in his first three seasons coaching his alma mater. But the Beavers were 7-6 in 2021 then jumped to 10-3 last fall, hoisting Smith 14 spots.

51. Jake Dickert, Washington State: An early-season road win over No. 19 Wisconsin gave the Cougars belief and they rode it to a 7-6 record and a bowl bid. Dickert jumped 26 spots from a year ago.

First-year Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, fresh off an offensive coordinator assignment at Oregon, checks in at No. 54. And Deion Sanders, who was 27-6 in three seasons at Jackson State, is ranked No. 59 as he takes over at Colorado with much fanfare.

The Sporting News rated Alabama’s Nick Saban as the nation’s top coach, despite the fact that Georgia’s Kirby Smart has produced back-to-back national titles. That ought to provide the Bulldogs with some bulletin-board material.

Cover photo of Cal coach Justin Wilcox by Darren Yamashita, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo