In news broken by George Wrighster III, Cal defensive back coach Gerald Alexander will be the next defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins. Alexander confirmed this via Twitter.
With Alexander leaving the program, Cal will be looking for their fourth new assistant of the offseason, after Bill Musgrave, Angus McClure, and Aristotle Thompson were hired on offense. Alexander goes back to a state where he played in the pros, playing 20 games total for the Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Alexander spent three years at Cal, molding a defensive back group into 'the Takers,' helping to turn the defensive backfield from a weakness into one of the Bears' strongest units. Under his tutelage, former walk-on Ashtyn Davis grew into a potential first round draft pick, Jaylinn Hawkins became a three-year starter and potential draft pick, Traveon Beck didn't allow a touchdown over three years, and both Cam Bynum and Elijah Hicks are poised to be four-year starters.
What this Means
Let's be frank, it won't be easy for the Bears to replace Gerald Alexander. He was a force of personality in Berkeley, a personality that pervaded through his defensive back group. His DBs were confident in their game and would let wideouts know when they won. It made 1 on 1s in practice a ton of fun to watch.
Alexander also brought fundamentals into the mix. He helped teach rugby style tackling, an underrated piece of Cal's defensive resurgence. He wanted the Cal DBs to change the course of the program, and there's a strong argument to be made that they did.
This is the development Justin Wilcox wanted not only with his players, but his coaches. Professional development is something Wilcox has talked about before, that if their coaches are wanted for promotions like this, it makes the Cal spot all the more valuable. And it should be, given that the Bears have plenty of returning talent at the position and a recruiting class of DBs that Alexander called the 'Fab Five.'
The pressure will be on for the Bears to make a new hire before Junior Day next week, as they look to ride some of their momentum from the end of 2019 into the 2021 recruiting class, and whoever it is will have a tough act to follow.
