One thing I think that Athlon missed (and probably missed for other coaches) is that it is questionable to compare won-loss records in the “modern” era of the BCS (think of how the SEC now schedules and one wonders about their won-loss records), no ties and 12/13 games plus dozens of bowls to the pre-BCS, pre-OT, 10 or 11-game schedule with half as many Bowl games. Prior to Tedford in 2002, Cal never played 12 regular season games. Tedford’s era has included 12 or 13 regular season games every year. That is 10 extra games. Think about who we typically schedule for those 10 extra games, and you have pretty much guaranteed at least 5 extra wins.

As for Bowls, for example, last year, there were 35 Bowl Games.

In 1990, there were 19.

In 1970, there were 11. Given Tedford’s record, applying 1970 standards, Cal would likely have only made Bowl games in 2004, 2006, and maybe 2003 and 2008. Ray Wilsey’s teams from 1967-1971 had .500 or better records every year, and twice he finished in the top three of the Pac-8, and never made a Bowl game.

Hopefully Tedford turns it around this year. The correlation is that when we have a first round draft pick quarterback, Tedford has been a good coach.

When we haven’t, we have lost and Tedford has been the one receiving the most blame. As he should – he is the CEO of the program.

I echo your sentiment Steve W. And just because someone doesn’t go to a lot of home games doesn’t make them a traitor. My love for Cal for instance, really has nothing to do with sports. I love the University and have deep feelings for my alma mater. And the economy stinks and it’s hard to justify an $80 ticket too often. I’d rather use those $80 to buy some kids I coach Cal t shirts or something.

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8. Jeff Tedford, Cal (10 years)
Alma Mater: Fresno State
Record: 79-48 (2002-present)

The luster has worn off Coach Tedford in recent years, but Cal fans need to be careful what they wish for. Over the last five seasons, Cal certainly has been stagnant – losing 28 games over that span — and the offensive guru needs to win to stay employed. However, the track record of Golden Bear football proves that Tedford is easily the most successful coach in school history. Cal was 4-29 in the three seasons prior to Tedford taking over in Berkeley and he proceeded to start his head coaching career with eight straight winning seasons. Since 1950, this program has three 10-win seasons on its resume. Tedford has two of them. The Bears claim 21 postseason appearances and Tedford is responsible for nearly half (8) of them. Finally, no head coach has won as many games at Cal as Tedford has (79). He is undoubtedly on the hot seat in 2012, but the Cal administration needs to think long and hard about what Tedford has meant to the program before acting too quickly.

What Coaches By the Numbers Has to Say:

· In the five years before he arrived, the Cal Bears had won just 25% of their games. In his 10 years as head coach, Cal has won 62% of their games.

· Coach Tedford has won 8+ games seven of his 10 years as head coach at Cal

· From 1970-2001, Cal had just 10 seasons when they won more games than they lost. In Coach Tedford’s 10 years, he has nine winning seasons

· From 2009-2011, Coach Tedford won just 52% of his overall games and just 44% of conference games

· From 2009-2011, Coach Tedford is just 5-15 against teams with winning records

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Folks like lists. Folks like rankings. They’re easy to understand. And they inspire debate.

Athlon Sports decided to rank the Pac-12 coaches, and you can see their list — and explanations — here.

Here’s their take in advance of providing their list.

Ranking the coaches in any college football conference is a difficult task. Many factors play into just how successful a coach is at any school. How well are the assistants paid? Are the facilities up to par with the rest of the conference? Can the coach recruit or is he more of an x’s and o’s manager? Are there off-the-field or age issues to take into consideration? Has a coach built a program or continued the success from a previous coach? How is the resume outside of their current position? These questions and more were posed to the editors at Athlon Sports, as they were asked to rank the coaches of each of the six BCS conferences. One thing to keep in mind — the record is not always indicative of where a coach should rank in a conference.

Here’s their order:

1. Chip Kelly, Oregon
2. Lane Kiffin, USC
3. Mike Leach, Washington State
4. Kyle Whittingham, Utah
5. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
6. Steve Sarkisian, Washington
7. Mike Riley, Oregon State
8. Jeff Tedford, California
9. David Shaw, Stanford
10. Todd Graham, Arizona State
11. Jim Mora, UCLA
12. Jon Embree, Colorado

Some of this makes perfect sense. Kelly has to be No. 1: He’s won three consecutive Pac-12 titles. End of argument. And Graham, Mora and Embree are justifiable as the bottom three. Graham in large part because of the public relations nightmare surrounding his departure from Pittsburgh (yeah, stuff like that counts), Mora because he’s never coached at the college level before, and Embree because he went 3-10 his first season as a head coach.

Changes I’d make?

I’d rank Whittingham No. 2. He’s got a track record of success and a BCS bowl win. I’d rank Rich Rodriguez No. 3 for the same reason (his failure at Michigan was more about Michigan than Rich Rodriguez).

Then I’d go Leach, Kiffin, Sarkisian, Shaw, Riley and Tedford.

For me, sometimes a lack of experience hurts in a ranking (Kiffin, Shaw), despite recent success, and sometimes a recent downturn after sustained success hurts (Riley and Tedford).

And, of course, this list is fluid on an annual (weekly?) basis. Two years ago, Riley would have been in the top-three or four, and in as late as 2008, Tedford would have been, too.

I attended a few games at ATT Park last season, but only after paying half price from the scalpers. The Bears were a value at $40 a seat, but no more. If you want to call me a traitor to program, so be it. Other fans must feel the same way.

I’ve been asking for a while: Who pays for the new Memorial if the ESP doesn’t sell?

In one high-rent district at Memorial, University Club, Section 5, there are 58 seats available at $15,421….thats $894,418 in lost cash for just one season.

Folks, this is serious. The Athletic Department vastly overestimated ticket demand for the SF Season in 2011, and now the ESP seats aren’t selling.

The House that Tedford built may become……

Go Bears!

http://www.baycitizen.org/sports/story/cal-has-trouble-selling-225000-football/2/

Bummer that Cal sports is being cast in a bad light by the WSJ. But even they can’t kill the Zach Kline revival of our program.