Cal's offseason of change continues to roll on, and Tuesday the latest pieces came into place. The Bears have nearly revamped the entire offensive staff since the end of the regular season, and the program has introduced its new running backs coach with Julian Griffin making the move to Berkeley from the ACC to replace Aristotle Thompson who is expected to take the same role at Northwestern.

Griffin comes to Cal following five seasons at UTSA where he helped guide that running back group to plenty of success since stepping into his role in 2020. The Roadrunners set several program marks on the ground during Griffin's tenure including setting new records for total rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

In his first two years, UTSA compiled its best rushing seasons in program history with over 2,500 yards on the ground.

The Roadrunners rushed for 2,180 yards as a group in 2024 and had 21 rushing touchdowns en route to a 7-6 campaign. That was good enough to rank 54th in rushing offense among all FBS programs and eighth in the American Athletic Conference.

The group was led by running back Robert Henry, who rushed for 706 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2024. Griffin also coached current Las Vegas Raiders running back Sincere McCormick to two Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year campaigns as the UTSA star cemented his place in the program's history books during his time in San Antonio.

Griffin, 34, will replace Thompson with the task of rejuvenating the Cal running back group that had to work through injuries and offensive line struggles in 2024. The Bears' production on the ground took a dip last year as they finished the season with just 1,580 yards rushing, the second lowest in Thompson's four full seasons leading the group.

The positive is that the Bears will return key pieces at the running back position including Jaydn Ott and breakout star Jaivian Thomas plus will add incoming four-star recruit Anthony League to the mix as well.

Alma mater: Louisiana-Monroe (2008-12 | WR)

Hometown: Gladewater, Texas

2013: Texas A&M-Kingsville (running backs/wide receivers)

2014: Texas A&M-Kingsville (co-run game coordinator/running backs)

2015: ULM (graduate assistant/offense)

2016: Central Methodist (special teams coordinator/wide receivers)

2017: SMU (quality control/offense)

2018-19: Arkansas (quality control/offense)

2020-24: UTSA (running backs)

2025: Cal (running backs)

Cal lost defensive backs coach Tre Watson to TCU over the weekend clearing the way for the Bears to bring back one of their own. Allen Brown is set to take over as the new co-defensive backs coach alongside Terrence Brown following Watson's departure from the Bears after four seasons.

Brown returns to Cal after spending the 2022 season as a quality control assistant on the defensive side of the ball that allowed him to work with the defensive back group during his time in Berkeley.

He was hired by Colorado State just a few weeks ago to take over the secondary in Fort Collins following one season at Washington State in 2024. Last season the Cougars were among the best teams with 14 interceptions as a group.

"Coach Brown is a young, extremely talented and experienced coach," said new CSU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers after announcing the addition of Brown to his staff back on Jan. 10. "He has strong recruiting ties on the West Coast and will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the defensive room. He has a great coaching background with multiple defenses and is an elite teacher, and I'm excited to have him coach our defensive backs."

Brown, like Griffin, has been on the rise in the coaching ranks since his playing days. The Eastern Washington alum had previous stops at Florida and Cal Poly as well as his alma mater.

A native of Alaska who grew up in Tacoma and played at Foss High School, Brown will help continue to the Bears' connections to the Pacific Northwest. He was tasked with recruiting Washington, California and Nevada during his time at EWU and has continued that at his previous stops.

Alma mater: Eastern Washington (2009-13 | DB)

Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska | Tacoma, Washington

2014: EWU (defensive assistant)

2015-19: Cal Poly (cornerbacks)

2020-21: EWU (cornerbacks coach/defensive pass game coordinator)

2022: Cal (quality control - defense)

2023: Florida (quality control - defense)

2024: Washington State (cornerbacks)

2025: Colorado State (defensive backs)

2025: Cal (co-defensive backs)