Cal Football: On Beau Baldwin and The Plus One
Beau Baldwin was the second hire made by Justin Wilcox when he came to Cal, on January 16th of 2017. The former Eastern Washington head coach came in with experience taking down Pac-12 schools, with upsets over ranked Oregon State and Washington State teams, along with frequent trips to to the FCS playoffs.
At Cal, the Bears went 19-18 with Baldwin running the offense, as he didn't have the same sort of success that he did at Eastern, with the Bears finishing near or at the bottom of the conference every year in yards per play. He did have some successes, with Chase Garbers emerging before and after his injury this year, Patrick Laird turning into a 1000 yard rusher, and a few solid QB recruits for the future (Spencer Brasch, Jaden Casey, and Zach Johnson). The numbers didn't favor Baldwin however, as the Cal offensive coordinator is taking the vacant Cal Poly job, taking him back to the Big Sky conference.
I have a few possibly conflicting thoughts about Baldwin:
1. Baldwin is a good coach
2. Baldwin may be better as a head coach than as a coordinator
3. This is not necessarily a reset for both sides, but probably the best move optically for both Baldwin and Justin Wilcox.
4. Cal has a chance to take the next step as a program if they find the right person to take over the offense.
Over the last three years, Wilcox has either put in coaches within a few days (Baldwin was hired two days after Wilcox was announced as head coach), immediately with an internal hire (see Andrew Browning at defensive line coach for Tony Tuioti earlier this year), or after a month (bringing in Peter Sirmon and Burl Toler nearly a month after Jerry Azzinaro departed for UCLA).
Baldwin will be staying on for the Redbox Bowl, something he announced at his Cal Poly press conference, which may mess with the timing of a search, but that will be something to ask Justin Wilcox during the Bowl press conference tomorrow.
Wilcox now has his work cut out for him, and in the grand Wilcox scheme, I expect this search to be quiet and looking for the 'Plus One' of a candidate.
The Plus One
Back in May of 2018, Wilcox held a seminar for media, entitled Football 101. Wilcox walked the group through coverage schemes (where I learned what cover six meant) and more importantly, how the Bears recruit. Every position had various characteristics that the Cal staff looks for, like production for running backs or 'play like a bear' for interior defensive linemen. With the quarterback position and wide receiver position, they look for an extra 'plus one' that sets the player apart, whether it's arm strength or running ability for a quarterback or speed/size/route running for a wide receiver.
Every candidate for the job is going to be qualified, so the plus one becomes that much more important. Let's go through a few of the names:
(Originally Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor was on this list. He told the Sacramento Bee that he's not looking to go anywhere, even though Cal can pay him more than what he is currently making as he is making 240k a year at the helm of the Hornets)
Zac Hill, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, Boise State
Plus One: Recruits well (Hank Bachmeier being a big one), put together a solid offense despite plenty of injuries at the quarterback position.
Brian Lindgren, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, Oregon State
Plus One: Helped make Jake Luton into one of the most efficient passers in the country, while creating an explosive offense with two solid run threats and one of the best receivers in the conference.
Marques Tuiasosopo, Cal Tight Ends Coach
Plus One: Built up the base as Garbers QB coach over his first two years, if you believe that Garbers can be the main key to getting Cal to the next level, he's the guy who helped build that and the familiarity with personnel
Jedd Fisch, Assistant Offensive Coordinator, LA Rams
Plus One: Knows Sean McVay. But in all seriousness, has experience at multiple levels, experience in the UC system, Wilcox has seen what his offense can do first-hand.
Brennan Marion, William and Mary Offensive Coordinator
Plus One: Innovative on offense (Runs the Go-Go, a spread style with tempo that led to the largest upset in terms of spread in 2018), Plenty of Bay Area ties (At De Anza College before a transfer to Tulsa, coached at James Logan in Union City and St. Patrick-St. Vincent's in Vallejo)
This is an early list, one that's going to change. Whatever hire ends up being made, the effects won't be truly seen until a year down the line. Remember that Baldwin was seen as a slam dunk hire when he came to Berkeley, but also remember that this is an opportunity for an inflection point for the Cal football program. You don't get many of those.