Justin Wilcox is hoping the fourth time is a charm. As Cal moves into 2025, the Bears will have their fourth offensive coordinator in four years after naming former Auburn and Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin as the successor to Mike Bloesch on Tuesday.

The news comes following reports that surfaced Monday linking the Boise native and Boise state alum to the job. Harsin and Wilcox spent several years together while with the Broncos under then head coach Chris Peterson.

The Cal head coach is hopeful that adding someone with Harsin's experience brings new life to the Bears on the offensive side of the ball.

"Coach Harsin is one of the best offensive minds in football and we are excited to welcome him to Cal," Wilcox said in a statement released by the program announcing the move. "I have spent several years of my coaching career on the same staff and in the same room with Coach Harsin. He is a proven winner whose record speaks for itself and he will make an immediate impact on our offense and in recruiting."

Wilcox announced last week that there would be a change in leadership on the offensive side of the ball for the Bears and that the program would open a "national search" for its new coordinator. Sunday, the eighth-year Cal head coach said there had been "a lot of progress" made in the ongoing search while teasing an upcoming announcement.

In Harsin, the Bears add a coach who comes with plenty of experience having been a head coach at three different programs including Arkansas State (2013) in addition to his stints leading Boise State (2014-20) and Auburn (2021-22).

The 48-year-old coach holds an all-time record of 85-36 with 69 victories during his time leading his alma mater. Harsin guided some of the top offenses in the country during his time with the Broncos including serving as offensive coordinator in the 2006 when Boise State running back Ian Johnson led the nation with over 1,700 yards on the ground and 25 rushing touchdowns.

Cal currently has the 27th-best passing offense in the country but ranks 107th in rushing despite having one of the most talented running backs in the country, Jaydn Ott. The Bears had to deal with injuries up and down the lineup on offense, including playing without Ott for a portion of the season.

Several injuries up front along the offensive line compounded the offensive problems for Bloesch.

"We're looking to supplement what we're doing on offense," Wilcox said last week. "There are some very difficult circumstances on that side of the ball this year, with some moving parts at O line, for example, some injuries to key players."

Blosech was tasked with guiding both the offensive line and the offense as a whole this season after bringing success up front in his first year with the program in 2023. Wilcox has remained adamant that the current staff remains intact heading into the bowl game but specifics about how the offensive staff will take shape with Harsin now on board remain unclear.

Sterlin Gilbert is in his first year leading the quarterback position while also serving as passing game coordinator. College programs have previously been permitted to have only 10 on-field assistant coaches and Harsin's hiring means the Bears would be above that number.

However, new rules that went into place ahead of the season allow analysts and other staff members to have a more active role leaving Wilcox some flexibility to keep his staff intact.

"With the way that the college football is changing, and the rules have changed on who can coach and who can't and countable recruiters and who's not countable, there's just a lot more flexibility than there used to be," Wilcox said last week. "So, like I said, we have some dang good coaches. There were some very difficult circumstances that they were in this year at times, and it's also an opportunity for us to grow and get better with the new rules and coaching and who's available to coach and not coach."

Harsin was last a coordinator at Texas where he shared the duties with Major Applewhite for two years beginning in 2011.

The new Cal OC will have the benefit of a proven quarterback already on the roster when he arrives following a breakout season for third-year Bears signal caller Fernando Mendoza. The Miami native is in his first full season as a starter and has passed for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions.

Mendoza's 68.7% completion percentage ranks 10th nationally among all FBS quarterbacks this year.

The Bears are set to face UNLV in the LA Bowl on Dec. 18 though Wilcox didn't confirm who would call offensive plays in that game when he last spoke with the media Sunday.

Hometown: Boise, Idaho

College: Boise State (2000)

Coaching history

2000 – Eastern Oregon

2001 – Boise State (graduate assistant)

2002-05 – Boise State (tight ends)

2006-10 – Boise State (OC/quarterbacks)

20011-12 – Texas (co-OC/quarterbacks)

2013 – Arkansas State (head coach)

2014-20 – Boise State (head coach)

2021-22 – Auburn (head coach)

2025 – Cal (OC/quarterbacks)