Justin Wilcox moved quick after the departure of Gerald Alexander to the NFL, hiring Marcel Yates to coach the secondary for Cal, as . Yates previously served as the defensive coordinator for Arizona, but was let go midway through the 2019 season. Yates also served as the defensive coordinator for Boise State from 2014-15, as well as the co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M from 2012-13.

Yates has familiarity with the current Cal staff, having coached under Justin Wilcox at Boise State from 2006-09, where Yates was the secondary coach under Wilcox (defensive coordinator). He also was on Rich Rodriguez's staff at Arizona with special teams coordinator Charlie Ragle.

“We are excited to bring someone with Marcel’s experience and resume onto our staff as our defensive backs coach,” Wilcox said in a release. “The staffs he has coached on have won a lot of games, and Marcel has a tremendous skill set as a coach, teacher and top recruiter.”

“The foundation for great success has been put in place over the last three seasons at Cal,” Yates said in the release. “The progress Cal has made under coach Wilcox is not surprising. I enjoyed working with him when we were at Boise State and am thankful that I will have the opportunity to do it again in Berkeley. I’m looking forward to joining the excellent culture at Cal.”

Yates' recruiting territories were Orange County and Dallas while at Arizona, areas that Alexander covered while in Berkeley. In a coincidence, Yates was Alexander's DB coach while at Boise State.

For the Bears, this gives them four coaches with defensive coordinator experience, in Wilcox, Tim DeRuyter, Peter Sirmon, and Yates.

From the release:

During Yates’ two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Boise State (2014-15), the Broncos’ attacking-style defense ranked highly in several notable categories, including being one of two teams nationally to post top-10 finishes for turnovers forced both seasons, collecting 31 in each campaign while ranking tied for fifth in 2015 and tied for ninth in 2014. His 2014 unit also ranked seventh nationally in both tackles for loss (7.8 per game) and sacks (3.4 per game), while the 2015 squad turned in the nation’s fifth-best rush defense (108.2 ypg), 12th-best total defense (318.3 ypg) and 18th-best scoring defense (20.2 ppg).

Yates spent a total of 11 seasons over two tenures at Boise State, Prior to his run as defensive coordinator, he coached the team’s cornerbacks from 2003-05 before taking over the entire secondary from 2006-11 while adding a passing game coordinator title in 2011. The Broncos had tremendous success during Yates’ time in Boise, compiling a 127-18 (.876) overall record including unbeaten seasons in 2006 and 2009, and winning eight conference titles and seven bowl games. Boise State was ranked in the final national polls eight times and as high as No. 4 in 2006.

Yates coached five defensive backs during his final six campaigns at Boise State who were selected in the NFL Draft

Yates also coached on a pair of winning staffs at Texas A&M. The Aggies won 11 games for the first time since 1998 in the first of his two campaigns in 2012 and finished the season ranked fifth nationally in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Texas A&M then went 9-4 in his second season in 2013 and ranked No. 18 in both final polls.

During his recent stint at Arizona (2016-19), Yates coached three players who earned Freshman All-America honors including Colin Schooler, who was also named the Pac-12’s Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2017. Arizona intercepted 19 passes in 2017 to rank tied for seventh nationally and the most for the program since 1985, while forcing 25 turnovers to tie for 23rd in the country.

Yates began his coaching career an assistant secondary coach at Montana State from 2001-02. In his second season, the Bobcats won their first Big Sky Conference Championship and earned their first NCAA Division I-AA Playoff appearance in 18 years.

Yates' Coaching History

2001-02: Montana State – Assistant Secondary Coach

2003-11: Boise State – Cornerbacks (2003-05); Secondary (2006-11); Passing Game Coordinator/Secondary (2011)

2012-13: Texas A&M – Co-Defensive Coordinator

2014-15: Boise State – Defensive Coordinator

2016-19: Arizona – Defensive Coordinator/LB (2016, 18; Defensive Coordinator/CB (2017); Defensive Coordinator/S (2019)