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Football: Barbour, Tedford likely to talk Sunday
By Jeff Faraudo
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012 at 10:56 pm in Football.
Had a busy evening at Haas Pavilion. I talked with Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour during halftime of the Bears’ basketball win over Pepperdine, and she gave me the news that her post-season evaluation meeting with football coach Jeff Tedford won’t wait until Monday.
The two probably will meet Sunday.
Click here for my updated Cal football notebook.
And here’s a transcript of my interview with Barbour:
Talk about what your process will be in determining what Jeff Tedford’s future is:
“This hasn’t gone the way any of us want. The key is going to be what are the solutions to getting it back on track. In college football, there’s not a lot of time to sit around and say, `We’ll get to that tomorrow.’
“We’ve got a football game to play Saturday. We owe it to the young men in this program to concentrate fully on that. As soon as that’s over, I know Jeff will shift his attention to the future, to recruiting and to what are the solutions to get this thing back on track and that’s what he and I will be discussing.”
Do you already have an idea what you will do or do you enter these discussions still with an open mind?
“Football to this university is really important. It’s a huge emotional driver, a huge financial driver and in seeking solutions to how to get us back on track, we’ll be really thoughtful. At the same time, again because of recruiting, because of everything, we have to decide what that solution set is very quickly and let’s move in that direction.”
How much more complicated is the decision because of the Memorial Stadium financing situation?
“It’s an important decision, how to put us on the right track for success that the student-athletes in this program deserve, that our community deserves, that Jeff Tedford deserves, that’s important no matter what. Certainly the different economic ramifications around it have always been important.”
Aren’t those considerations even bigger now?
“I think a positive is we have an incredible facility. Do we have to pay for it? Yeah, absolutely. I can’t escape that, and wouldn’t want to.”
There are people who believe you will be reluctant to dismiss Tedford because you extended his contract and might feel like making a change there would reflect badly on you. Your reaction to that:
“My first and foremost driver in any decision that I will make is what’s right for Cal.”
So, can you be clear about your timetable for meeting with Jeff?
“Actually, we’ll probably get together on Sunday and we’ll go from there, however long it takes us. We need to resolve quickly what are the solutions to getting Cal football moving in the right direction.”
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
November 13th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Sandy please grow a pair and fire this clown already. Thank you Jeff for years 2002-2006. Good luck in your future endeavors but this school deserves better, and NOW!! GO BEARS..
November 14th, 2012 at 1:02 am
Great job JF. The next couple weeks are huge for this program. We either rebound, or continue to spiral downward.
November 14th, 2012 at 3:24 am
Sandy’s comments are frankly mind-blowing. If the comments are taken at face value, it looks like a 99% chance JT will be back roaming the sidelines in his white poncho on opening day 2013…if not for the remaining three years of his contract! To quote Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda: Disappointed!!!
November 14th, 2012 at 5:06 am
I read between the lines differently. I don’t think Tedford’s coming back. I’m glad I don’t have to make decisions like this.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:59 am
It doesn’t need to be a long conversation
Sandy: – Mr Tedford – thank you for the years you served as Cal’s coach. I know you love Cal and want the best for us.
JT- You’re welcome and I want to make the best of this by relieving Cal of its contract obligations to continue to pay me. Good bye!
Sandy to receptionist “Please show Tony Gonzalez in and grab one of those coaching contracts while you’re at it”
November 14th, 2012 at 6:01 am
#HermEdwardstoBerkeley2013!!!
November 14th, 2012 at 7:35 am
Wow. Great questions JF. Especially that second to last one.
November 14th, 2012 at 8:12 am
Way to ask the difficult questions, Jeff!!!!!
Sandy, the fans will be difficult to bring to the stadium with Tedford still around. Good luck selling and keeping ticket holders.
Keep Tedford and you’ll go down with him.
This staff has been making off-season changes for about 5 years in a row. The blowout defeats are only increasing. This past season Tedford visited the Patriots as his big change. How did that go?
November 14th, 2012 at 8:40 am
My take on it from Barbour’s comments is that he is a goner.
November 14th, 2012 at 8:53 am
Agreed that JT is gone based on Sandy’s comments. To say there isn’t a minute to waste and Monday is too long to wait means JT is gone on Sunday. Also alludes that we neeed a new coach in place immediately for recruiting. Also agree we need some young blood that understands social media and can relate to incoming players. Please no retreads.
November 14th, 2012 at 9:33 am
Those who have opinions on this issue should be writing them in emails to the AD.
November 14th, 2012 at 9:40 am
Hahaha, Sandy has a pair bigger than most male ADs. She build the facilities no one thought could be done, SAPHC and Memorial redux.
November 14th, 2012 at 10:33 am
Sandy has shown the ability to take decisive action, when needed, not just to show that she is decisive.
Clearly cutting baseball/etc was unpopular. Given the conditions at the time, the only other action was to take no action until it was too late. She made the right (unpopular) call, which then made the need for fundraising apparent and the community stepped up.
Without Sandy there is no SAHPC, no retrofit for CMS, maybe no Mike Montgomery (though that was a relatively easy hire).
If you knew that Sandy had decided (a) to fire Tedford, or (b) to evaluate keeping Tedford then you have to admit the answers to these questions would be the same. I tend to see (a), but we see what we want to see, yes? Plus, she still has to negotiate a buyout that saves face for everyone. It’s obvious that Sandy is not assuming Tedford will be kept on, and that fact makes it unlikely she is not planning to keep him any longer. We actually get a benefit from the no-bye schedule, we can announce our coaching search while other ADs and lame duck coaches are still preparing for their last game.
November 14th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Hallelujah!!
Awesome interview Jeff! Thank you for this uplifting info.
I agree with #4, reading inbetween the lines JT is doneski. Sandy is saying all the right things: wait till the season is over out of respect for the players and for JT himself, then immediately make an announcement that he is gone. Then Cal will take the time to get the RIGHT guy (if there hasn’t already been a secret hiring??), but not too much time, in order to still reel in some top recruits before February – who wouldn’t want to play at Cal with the new facilities and a new and exciting head coach!?
She knows that if the positive momentum from hiring an new and exciting coach begins to build asap that we can be “back on track” as she continually put it by NEXT SEASON!
$$ is the ultimate factor and an empty stadium is an AD’s WORST nightmare…and the stadium looked pretty empty vs the #2 team in the nation…can’t get worse than that…
And once again: Hallelujah!! Go Bears!
November 14th, 2012 at 11:11 am
Also, Jabes raised some good points about Sandy. She has gotten some BIG things done. I fault her for the ridiculous contract, but if she can handle this fiasco and get us a good coach, a la Montgomery (but younger hopefully), then all will be forgotten and she should be embraced.
I really wanna see some exciting football played in front of a packed Memorial Stadium NEXT SEASON. With the right hire we can become relevant immediately – there is enough talent to get it done.
November 14th, 2012 at 11:25 am
You know. I guess my take on her responses is hes coming back.
Her answers come off too collaborative and enough like a boss. I still think hes back until proven otherwise.
She and tedford are spinmasters.
November 14th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Meant, “and not enough like a boss”.
November 14th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Great questions JF.
Hard to see which way she is going on. Perhaps it depends on the outcome of the game?
November 14th, 2012 at 11:28 am
Jabes the other action was to use the Pac 12 network money to fund baseball. They knew the money was coming in so it wasn’t a shock. I disagree wholeheartedly with your assessment of her treatment of Baseball.
I’m a Baseball guy first and foremost. Take your opinion out to a Cal Baseball game and share it with my fellow program supporters and see how much “respect” she gets for her decision.
You’ll get this answer all day: Pac 12 money was there, we knew about the money, didn’t use it to save the program for another year, pinned donors against the wall to save the program or else. Now she won’t show her face at a game again.
November 14th, 2012 at 11:29 am
BlueNGold what’s her email, I’ll spam her ass all day.
November 14th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
I must say that a part of me is sad to say that JT has coached his last game at Memorial Stadium. I believe it would have been too easy for Sandy to say that she has confidence that Jeff “can turn this thing around etc…”. The fact that she can’t wait for Monday means that JTs only chance to survive is a big win at OSU Saturday night. Ain’t gonna happen. Sorry JT, thanks for everything you’ve done for the program and I hoped you would transistion into administration and make way for some new blood, but alas.
November 14th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
echoing previous comments. great questions jeff.
before reading that article i thought it was likely tedford would be back. after reading it, i’d be very SURPRISED if he stayed.
there wasn’t a single positive endorsement or vote of confidence anywhere in her statements… usually a sign of a dead man walking.
November 14th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Not sure juancho but you can probably find it in the directory on the main Cal web site. You also could try using sbarbour@cal.edu
November 14th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Given SB’s comments to JF, I do not see how she could decide to keep JT on. Besides, with everything positive that has been going on with Cal athletics in recent years, there is no reason that the football program should be in decline instead of improving.
November 14th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
He has had ten years to get it together. His football is boring and lackluster. Need a young head coach with lots of motivation. Cal cannot afford two lose fans and in point ESP seats.
He certainly is not a guru for quarterbacks or for that matter any talent on the team
His graduation rate is near bottom for the players. 10 years is a long time for any coaching job. His goal seems to just get to a bowl game. Meaning if the team goes six and six he’s happy. Is this why we have 5 star facilities,
I might add the recruiting is going poorly since losing Tosh. What a loss.
We have been donors for about ten years and if he is kept on we will leave the gate.
November 14th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
I wonder if the Tosh situation will come up at their meeting. Boy would I love to be a fly on the wall.
I wonder if Tosh will be used an an excuse to argue for another year. Possible Tedford excuses:
*Tosh situation
*Difficulty in recruiting due to playing at AT&T
*Being overburdened by the work done to help get SAHP built
*The inconvenience of not having a proper pre-season, training camp, b/c our stadium wasn’t ready
*Ineffective assistants & coordinators (Genyk, Arroyo, Gould? prepare to become excuses)
*Gould – does Tedford blame him for the Bigelow situation?
*INJURIES
*INJURIES
*INJURIES
Anyone else want to put themselves in Tedford’s Blackhawk Country Club shoes and offer any other possible excuses ?
November 14th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Thank him profusely and move him into a fund raidsing role now. Hire Tony Gonzalez who should be a terrific recruiter. Get him two top flight assistants to coordinate.Program has regressed to Holmoe level.
Please take action now or you will also lose this Bear Backer from a season ticket standpoint. A 3 win season is unacceptable and does not meet my donation level criteria.
November 14th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
why does everyone keep bringing up Tony G as a replacement?? He has zero experience! I love the guy as much as the next Cal fan but to bring him in as a head coach with no coaching experience is asinine! Perhaps as an assistant, TE or WR coach, to help with recruiting would make a lot more sense.
November 14th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
Haven’t had time to check in and grew bored with all the jt bashing – as well deserved as it is. So, I was pleasantly surprised to log on and see the above sb interview. Let me echo the sentiment, great work, JF!
#13 Jabes, totally agree. Sorry, Juancho but sb played hard ball on an extremely expensive sport that produces almost no revenue. She was COLD BLOODED and not afraid to piss off the baseball alumni/supporters. But they stepped up and saved the program. Positive outcome achieved at no cost to the school. She will do what needs to be done.
I will be shocked if jt is still hc come monday, nov 19. JT accomplished a lot and he can be proud of leaving behind the hpc and cms reno but it’s past time to go.
November 14th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
…oh, I could be wrong but upon further reflection, didn’t sb’s baseball move create a substantial savings for the ath dept budget?
November 14th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
JT is in a different class than anyone else would be with the same record over the past few seasons & should be given one more season. He has done more for Cal football than any other person in history. The most wins in Cal history, the only coach with a winning record since 1956 (Waldorf retirement) to not bolt for greener pastures, the SAPHC, the stadium renovation. JT deserves a statue.
Sadly, like Waldorf ( 5 wins total in his last two seasons, 1955 & 1956) JT is now turning out teams that usually lose & often get blown out. Worse, it’s his fault including his not sticking with any of his various offensive coordinators over the years.
Still, JT’s contributions have been unique. He should get one more season. That would be the class move for the University. Can JT turn it around? Probably not. But he deserves the chance.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Bobsac,
Couldn’t disagree with you more. It’s like saying that Truman should have left MacArthur in charge of the Korean War so he could nuke the Chinese. The damage has been done, and retaining Tedford for another year would set the program back for many years.
Tedford is paid like a CEO or a five-star general, and he needs to be treated like one. Produce results, or you are out. Thanks for those great memories from 2002 through 2006, but don’t let the door hit you on the way out. It’s as simple and as cold-blooded as that, and no one should understand that more than Mr. Tedford himself.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:13 pm
JT has already had one more season to turn things around, and that was each season since 2009. Injuries should alert JT to give his 2nd team QB some 1st team reps. Try some play action. Pass more than once per game to “the best tight end in the country”. JT has made $12+ million dollars over the past five years and Cal owes him nothing. Ever notice how the more money JY made, the bigger his belly? The more expressionless on the sidelines? Cal made him a wealthy man. He is owed nothing. We got nowhere near our money’s worth. Sorry.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Where does tedford rank in all time losses at cal? Would be interesting. How many coaches had 11 years
November 14th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Don’t know if anybody has already said it, so I will: In addition to being the winningest head coach in Cal football history, JT is also the losingest head coach in Cal’s history. He passed Ray Wilsey and Stub Allison, 42 losses each, and Tom Holmoe, 43 losses, some time ago.
If and when he is fired, he will join Bill Mallory at Indiana, who was also that school’s winningest and losingest head coach when he was let go in 1987.
November 14th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Jeff Tedford – 56 and counting !
Tom Holmoe – 43
Ray Wilsey – 42
Stub Allison – 42
Joe Kapp – 34
Pappy Waldorf – 32
November 14th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Everytime I hear “Cal’s all time winningest coach” I’m going to think, and all time losingest.
November 14th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
#35 Great stat/fact!
#37 LOL
November 14th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
JF
I concur with my fellow posters that you asked the right questions.
I started a topic like this on BI and it became the most viewed one in many many weeks. I just wished I had your knack for questions.
BTW Tedford is staying.
November 14th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
Jeff – when are the end of season Bear Talk Blog Awards scheduled for ?
I need to reserve a baby blue tuxedo before they run out.
November 14th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Don’t know if it has been said, but the reason I think Tedford is gone is that fans need a new coach to have hope that things can be turned around. Cal fans don’t have that feeling now. If there is hope that change is coming, fans will fill the seats much more than they did this year, probably even with the same results as this year. Fans will give the new coach some slack (at least two years) to show decent results.
Figure out what direction Cal needs to go to fill seats, even with the same results as Tedford, for a year or two and you will also conclude that Tedford is history.
November 14th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Because I have zero confidence in Barbour and believe she will somehow put a shread of her decision-making on this Saturday’s game (which any sane person would think is ludicrous), I will have on my orange hat, black pants, orange and black sweatshirt and an Oregon St. banner and cheer heartily for the Beavers to CRUSH the Bears. I want Tedfraud gone beyond badly. He is a complete fraud and has sucked my passion for Cal and college football out for the past 4 years at least. Have the meeting at 12:01am Sunday and Fire Tedfraud!!!
November 14th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
and I believe Tedfraud is gone.
If he plays hardball with his contract, I’d make him clean up Memorial Stadium by leading the janitorial crew then giving him weight clauses to lose that Bay sized gut hiding lamely under that white garbage baggie with a Cal logo on it.
If he cuts Cal a 30% discount to release him immediately I pay him off and kick his behind out swiftly. I fire every single coach on his staff too. Fire the recruiting staff too. The O line stinks utterly stinks. The QB coach should be unemployed too. This is a disaster.
November 14th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Voting for the other team because you hate the coach is nine degrees beyond that moron that calls all of us losers yet posts more on this blog than anyone else
November 14th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
moron = idiot
November 14th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
BTW Moron is staying.
It has no other life or purpose.
November 14th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Rob bear. You are a gentleman and an eagle who flys on the wings of passion.
Please dont hit my brother and long time poster Woj with extreme prejudice. His position is just as passionate as yours.
Nobody deserves to be compared to Pat aka the moron.
Covina you are my arch nemesis.
November 14th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Every Stanford/Oregon/Washington/USC fan will be rooting for Cal this weekend hoping a useless upset win over OSU will save Tedfraud’s job and cement Cal as a doormat for 2013. It won’t happen but you Cal patsy fans who still make excuses for Tedfraud’s long list of failures must dress at Halloween like your favorite team under Tedmoe – a doormat.
Go Beavers!
November 15th, 2012 at 2:36 am
Tedford’s comments are the same garbage he’s been spewing for years. 12-21 against FBS opponents speaks for itself. If Barbour gives him another year, she needs to be told she’s staking her career on Tedford winning. If he doesn’t, fire them both.
November 15th, 2012 at 8:03 am
I understand Woj’s sentiments completely. If a decisive Cal win on Saturday sways the AD into keeping JT around for at least another year, it will damage the football program for years to come. Knowing all this, I can’t root against the Bears. Something almost instinctive kicks in when they take the field, and I find myself cheering them on no matter what.
November 15th, 2012 at 8:12 am
I agree with Steve W. Before the Oregon game I thought I wanted Cal to lose big, to make it easier for Sandy to hire a new coach. But once the game started, and Cal looked pretty good in the first half, my Cal rooter instincts, honed by years of experience, kicked in and I started to root like hell for the Bears.
I think another thread we should start is whether Kline should be starting next year ahead of Bridgford. My estimation of Bridgford is that he is just OK. Probably need to see Kline in action to make a true call. BTW, that freshman Oregon QB is really something.
November 15th, 2012 at 9:13 am
There is absolutely NO WAY that Cal will win on Saturday, so we can all root for the Bears. This is the type of game that Cal hasn’t won in many years, on the road against a good team. I will be rooting for the Bears in vain, as I have for the better part of the last 4+ seasons.
Tedford has the most wins AND the most losses as a Cal coach. I thank him for the former, not so much for the latter as many of those losses were VERY winnable games – and a few of them ($c ’04, az ’06, $c ’06) kept us out of the Rose Bowl. JT has had his chances and he came up short. Cut the cord Sandy and move on…
November 15th, 2012 at 10:03 am
I was at the SC game in ’04. We probably would have won that game if Makonnen (sp) had not slipped in the end zone on the last Cal drive. Rogers’ pass to him probably would have been on the mark if not for his slip. That wasn’t Tedford’s fault. It didn’t help that Lyman couldn’t play in that game (or for the rest of the year, as I think he got hurt right before that game.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:20 am
@Bob Sac
I respect the post you made (much better than others who defend Tedford) but I respectfully disagree. Aside from the fact that he is the losingest coach at Cal, a few other things to keep in perspective:
- During the Tedford era, Cal has played 12 games a year, 1 to 2 more games than the other coaches you are comparing to.
- During the Tedford era, the number of bowl games, and the Pac-10′s allocation, has dramatically increased, so we get to play in bowl games with 6 or 7 wins, when 15 to 20 years ago, that wouldn’t have happened.
- During the Tedford era, particularly in the last 5-6 years, we have played a large number of cupcakes – D-1AA schools or really, really bad D-1 schools from non-BCS conferences, almost always at home. There are a good 6 wins that Tedford pads to the resume that no other Cal coach had.
- Tedford’s salary, even adjusted for inflation, blows away any other Cal coach. It would be interesting to see how much Cal has paid to Tedford for each win, and then compare to Pappy Waldorf (adjusting for inflation).
- Tedford has cycled through a large number of assistant coaches; that lack of stability has greatly hurt the program.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:34 am
Hey Juancho- If you or anyone else is looking to email S Barbour, the correct address is athletic.director@berkeley.edu
November 15th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Passionate email being written now.
My opening salvo will be:
“With all due respect, I do not respect you.”
November 15th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Eric, you make good points that pass fact-checking, though I agree with others who have said in the past that JT’s salary is not relevant to his evaluation. It is, of course, relevant to whether donors will put up the millions to both buy out JTs contract & buy a new outstanding coach plus outstanding assistants in the most expensive housing market area in major college football.
That said I haven’t seen any disagreement with the point that JT has in his 11 years done more for Cal football than any other person ever. Folks who want him out now as opposed to giving him another year should speak of JT critically, but with respect, as Eric has done. Others who call him Tedfraud or Tedfurd & root for Cal to lose to hasten a firing, well, those folks make me hope all the more that JT gets another season. By the way, interesting article in the Chron today comparing JTs record to Mike Riley at Ore State.
November 15th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
I am glad Tedford isn’t the overly sensitive whiny crybaby like Juancho otherwise he would have left a long time ago. The vitrol of the UC East Bay fans has become toxic.
November 15th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Now it is just this kind of comment that makes me laugh at your fans…
gobears49 Says:
November 15th, 2012 at 10:03 am
I was at the SC game in ’04. We probably would have won that game if Makonnen (sp) had not slipped in the end zone on the last Cal drive. Rogers’ pass to him probably would have been on the mark if not for his slip. That wasn’t Tedford’s fault. It didn’t help that Lyman couldn’t play in that game (or for the rest of the year, as I think he got hurt right before that game.
First, slipping is part of the game. You might as well say, if the guy didn’t get tackled he would have scored a TD.
Second, injuries are part of the game and winners compensate for injuries. Good programs build depth too.
This is why I stick around here. It is pure entertainment.
Thank you.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
MoreNCsarecoming,
The only thing that is comical are your comments, which show a consistent ignorance of football, particularly Cal football. I have never seen such consistent criticism of anyone who comments on this blog as you are. I would suggest that you switch over to comment on the team you truly favor, USC, but for the fact that you would get lost in the midst of all of those readers who think its really “great to be a Trojan.” Better to stand out by commenting on a non-USC blog, try to make fun of Cal, but end up being a total buf___n on a blog devoted to Cal fans.
Only a person who doesn’t understand football, or any other sport, for that matter, would not know that there is a vast difference in blaming a loss on an inadvertent slip by the offensive player compared to stating that a win could have been had if only the defensive player had not made a tackle. In the first instance, there is an inadvertent (and very rare) mistake made by the Cal player. In the second, reliance must be made by an opposing player making a mistake for Cal to win, which one would not expect to occur Totally different, but only a m___n like you would not know that difference.
November 16th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Juancho, with all due respect…
November 16th, 2012 at 8:42 am
My interpretation of the interview: it’s been a nice journey, Jeff. Best of luck.