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Why They Coach: Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox, Part Two

With football in a nebulous position and the recruiting process in a relative holding pattern, we at Golden Bear Report are looking to do interviews wherever we can. I got Justin Wilcox on the phone, this being the second half of our conversation, as we discuss what brought him back to Cal in 2017

READ: Part one of this interview

TT: There are so many coaches to come from that Boise State tree, why do you think that is?

JW: It’s a little bit of the Outliers situation, where you get the right people in the right place at the right time. We had coach Pete, who was phenomenal, as we all know, super person, great coach. We had all these similar people in terms of the wiring of the guys involved. Then obviously it takes players.

We had some really good players, people don’t realize the talent and character we had, not that other teams didn’t, but there were some really talented guys who knew how to work, and they competed really hard and put themselves out there, whether it was in workouts or meetings or practice.

That was the culture that was developed and just continued to build and grow. I think we all learned from it, everybody benefited from being a part of that. I certainly take a lot from my time there.

TT: As a broad question, why come back to Cal at the beginning of 2017?

JW: Little bit of the same, right time, right place. I’ve said this before, but I never really set out to, first time I get a head coaching opportunity, I’m going to do that. I hadn’t really approached it that way. I’d had a couple other things come up along the way.

For me, probably the primary (reason) was being able to recruit the type of guys we’re able to recruit. Living here is great, don’t get me wrong, the people that surround the program are fantastic, whether it’s support staff members, administration, the alumni support we have, those people are great and I knew about that.

More than anything, it’s a place where you can recruit high quality people, smart guys, and it’s in a location with an education that is pretty tough to beat. We all have challenges, every school does, but to me, the education, the location, and the ability to recruit the type of people we get to recruit, to build a team with the right kind of guys, I thought that would be an awesome opportunity.

TT: In that vein, how proud does it make you to see those types of guys that you’re excited to recruit, like Elijah Hicks, Chase Garbers, Zach Angelillo and the like, doing what they’re doing now during a pandemic (with Hicks and Garbers raising money for No Kid Hungry and the Central California Food Bank, Angelillo distributing groceries to those in need)?

JW: It’s awesome, and it speaks to Cal and the type of people we, as an institution and as a program, get to be involved with. Whether you look at Elijah, Zach, Chase, Justin Baker (who organized a protest against the firing of two LGBT teachers at his Catholic school), how those guys can think on their own, they have really fantastic intentions. That goes a long, long way and that carries over, whether it’s in the locker room, down on campus, or if it’s 3rd and 6.

Those things matter, and it should make us all feel proud, anybody affiliated with Cal, myself, the people associated with the program and the institution, I like to think it makes all of us proud.

TT: And those guys are probably the guys who are doing stuff more publicly, there’s probably more guys doing stuff we don’t see, right?

JW: That’s probably fair to say, but in a time like this, when it’s pretty rough, and it’s scary for everyone, it shows leadership and what they’re made of. We talk about it all the time in football and this is just an example outside of the lines, that this stuff does matter.

TT: Back onto the coaching piece, was there a point when you knew you were ready to be a head coach, or did that thought even play into it?

JW: Really, I think you look at it and say, ‘can I make the decisions necessary to do this,’ and I felt good about that. I’m not 100% about that by any means, but it’s somebody’s job to make a decision that’s in the best interest of the program, and I felt good about doing that.

I don’t know if you’re ever 100% ready, because if you haven’t done it, you don’t necessarily know what the job is all about. It’s certainly a different role than anything I’ve had prior, it’s just a very different job in so many different ways. I felt comfortable jumping in with both feet, which is how you have to do it, you don’t second guess it, you make your decision and then you go.

TT: What do you feel has been the most rewarding part of the job at Cal so far?

JW: Just seeing the teams come together, you’re proud of what you see. You’re never satisfied with the results that you get, but you can be proud of the team that you’re a part of and how that team responds to adverse times and situations, because we all have those.

That’s probably the most rewarding, and that shows up in games, and it also shows up in times like this, like you mentioned. It shows up when people are doing great things in their communities, the Kuony Dengs of the world, Patrick Laird doing what he did and Mike Saffell carrying it on, that’s pretty special.

TT: On the flip side of that, what are some of the more challenging obstacles that you didn’t expect coming into this?

JW: That’s a good question, I guess part of the reward is the challenge and vice-versa (laughs). It’s challenging in recruiting for example, the team is made of 115 or so players, then there’s staff members and support units, to get everybody aligned and moving in the same direction, that’s a challenge, but a great one. Getting the right people in the building and the games, they’re obviously challenging because they’re really talented people that we’re competing against.

I don’t know if there’s any one part of it that’s the most challenging, I think that’s part of the joy of it. I’m kind of a problem-solver by nature and like to try to figure out how we do things best, that’s part of the joy of the job.

TT: Last question, I watched the NFL Films clip on your dad recently, has he ever apologized for punching Joe Kapp in the head (2:38 in the clip below)?

JW: (Laughs) You’d have to ask him and Joe that, that’s the Vikings clip? I think the rules were a little different in those days as to how you tackle, so some of those guys, the way the game was played was just a little bit different (laughs). I don’t know if they spoke of it.

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