Jake Spavital leaving Cal for Baylor OC position

Cal offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital is set to become Baylor’s next offensive coordinator, as first reported by Colt Barber of SicEm365 Thursday. The school has since made the news official.

Spavital was in his first year as the Bears’ play caller after returning to the job he held previously in the 2015-16 season.

Spavital was hired by Justin Wilcox Dec. 7 of last year. He replaced Cal’s previous offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, and has considerably revamped the Bears’ offense this past year. After some early-season issues at quarterback, the Bears have solidified their offense under signal caller Fernando Mendoza and other key talent on the offensive side of the ball, including star running back Jaydn Ott.

In 2022, the Bears ranked 86th in total offense, with 366.6 average yards per game and averaging 5.6 yards per play. This season under Spavital, Cal has improved to No. 56, averaging 395.7 yards per game, though at 5.5 in average yards per play. The Bears are also up nearly eight points on average per game, with 31.6 this year compared to 23.9 in 2022. This was also the Bears’ first six-win season since 2019.

"I am excited to get back to Texas and thankful for the opportunity to work with Dave (Aranda) and his staff," Spavital said in a statement provided by Baylor announcing the move Thursday. "I've admired Dave from afar for quite some time and have always viewed him as a coach that would be great to work alongside in the future, if I ever got that chance. This is a tremendous opportunity to join a great Baylor staff. I can't wait to get to Waco and get to work getting this offense ready for 2024."

This will be Spavital’s fifth stint as an offensive coordinator and marks his return to the Lone Star State; he previously held the position at Texas A&M from 2013-2015, followed by Cal and West Virginia. Between 2019-2022, Spavital served as the head coach at Texas State, where he went 13-35 during his four-year tenure. Spavital was fired a year before his five-year contract was due to expire before coming to Cal last December.

Now, Spavital heads back to Texas to take over for former Baylor play caller Jeff Grimes, who was fired following this past season after serving as offensive coordinator since 2021. In his first season at Baylor, Grimes went 12-2 to earn the Big 12 Conference title. In the two following seasons, however, Grimes’ offense went 9-16 — 3-9 in 2023 — and Grimes was dismissed earlier this week.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jake to Waco to lead our offensive attack," Aranda said. "Jake brings so many things to the table and will be a tremendous asset to our program. Jake is one of the best offensive minds in the nation, having worked with some of the most innovative offenses in college football, and brings a great perspective to the offensive side of the ball as a former head coach in the state. He has coached elite quarterbacks throughout his career and has developed an offensive style that is exciting and challenging on the defense. I'm proud to welcome Jake and his family to Baylor."

With a young offense for Cal — and with a redshirt freshman quarterback at its helm — the future for the Bears’ offense is unclear. The program has not responded to comment as of publication time.

While there are many questions that remain unanswered, a presumed candidate for the job is offensive line coach Mike Bloesch, who joined Cal this past offseason after serving as offensive coordinator at North Texas.

Per USA Today, Cal will receive $810,000 from Baylor as part of the buyout owed with Spavital's move to Waco. He signed a multiyear contract with Cal last year and was due to make $950,000 in 2024.

Matt Moreno contributed to this report. This article was updated Thursday evening with comments from Spavital and Aranda.