nypost
Cal's football season has been a letdown, and first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi is already facing scrutiny. Former NFL head coach Ron Rivera, now Cal's athletic director and general manager, made that clear during an appearance on KNBR's Murph & Markus morning show Thursday.
Rivera pointed to Lupoi's inexperience and the staff he assembled. "Tosh came in as a first-time head coach. He did bring a couple of inexperienced coordinators with him. Things didn't work out the way we needed them to work out on offense," Rivera said.
Lupoi, a former Cal player, previously served as an assistant at Alabama and as Oregon's defensive coordinator before the Golden Bears hired him. Rivera noted that Lupoi "has bumped his head a lot" and that the two have had extensive conversations. "We have talked a lot, tried to give him a lot of advice, point him in the right direction. Some of it, he's been very receptive, and other portions of it, he hasn't. And it's those things that sometimes you've gotta learn for yourself before you think, 'Oh wow, this is it,'" Rivera continued.
Rivera then shifted to what sounded like a warning. "But I'd like to continue to stress that this is a guy that's learning, growing. But now it's time. We have to show that we are growing, there has been some growth and development of our players, our team, and the culture is getting stronger. Those are all things that you have to have going forward."
He added: "We've got to get this foundation put down, we've got to show that we have solid roots in the ground, we are ready to go forward. We're doing the things that we need to do. We're putting the players in position, so let's roll. And that's what we have to do."
Key Analysis
Rivera's comments strongly imply that Lupoi's future as head coach will be decided by how Cal finishes the season—unless Rivera has already made up his mind. The public nature of the critique adds pressure on Lupoi to deliver immediate results.
Originally reported by nypost.