Reminder: Livechat today with Jeff Tedford at 10:30am. List of questions within.

JO has outdone himself again.  Last month he had Jahvid Best as a special guest and today he has the one, the only, the almighty Jeff Tedford.  The chat is from 10:30am until 11:30am.  Click here for the link to the chat. 

Thanks to Spazzy's original post about potential questions, we have a list of questions readers asked and wanted answered.  The list of questions (ordered by number of recs) follows the jump.  If you're available to ask any questions during the livechat, comment on this post and say which ones you'd like to ask so we can avoid too much duplication of questions.  Last time we had long delays between submitting questions and having them answered and sometimes a question had to be asked multiple times before it got through.  Hopefully we can learn some qwality information from Tedford and obtain a few new nuggets of wisdom.  Good luck and Go Bears!

6 recs

What has been your top three favorite moments as a head coach for Cal Football? Baylor 2002? Insight Bowl 2003? Beating U$C in triple OT? Others?

It has been mentioned from time to time in articles that you and Urban Meyer are friends. How close are you two (i.e. sharing information), and does Urban follow Cal football in any capacity?

Beginning with the Tennessee game in 2006, Cal has not played to the same level on the road that it has achieved at home. What factors have you identified as causing this tendency and what steps do you plan on employing to negate these factors? Can the wider Cal community play a role in aiding the team’s road performance?

5 recs

What did you learn from the spread years?

What was your most memorable win as head coach? What was the most crushing defeat?

How do you feel and deal with recruiters from other school programs that will use smear tactics or speak ill of Cal’s program in order to lure recruits away?

What college football rule would you most like to see changed?

Do you think naming the starting QB (either privately or publicly) early on at the start of practice will help build continuity in the passing game? Does this theory apply to other passing game positions like WR, TE, and FB? What date do you have in mind for naming starters (again, either privately or publicly)?

4 recs

Have you felt that the consistent turnover of offensive coordinators has hampered consistency on offense over the past couple years? Or has the team been able to transition well from each offensive coordinator’s style?

Complete this sentence: “I want to punch ________ in the face.”

Recently you were quoted saying that Beau Sweeney has the most potential of all the QBs you’ve ever had at Cal. You mean to say that he has more potential than Aaron Rodgers? Please tell us what really stuck out to you as you watched Beau Sweeney’s highschool highlight reels that made you interested in recruiting him.

Were you aware that former Cal wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins hosted a free football camp for 300 youths in Stockton, California, recently? He was assisted by other notable Cal Football alumni such as Marshawn Lynch, Worrell Wiliams, Desmond Bishop, Robert Jordan, and current starting cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson. How does that make you feel to see Cal players giving back to their communities and maintaining connections after graduating from Cal?

Are you superstitious about anything game-related? Do you go through any rituals, have any lucky items, or discard any supposedly unlucky items (like the OSU 2007 headset)?

What do you do with your play card and coded wristband after a game is over?

Which Pac-10 Head Coach do you respect the most for their off the field character?

Which former player of yours do you think is most likely to become a college head coach some day? Is coaching a career path that you strongly encourage your players to pursue?

Any truth to the rumor Cal and Texas are scheduling a home and home? If so, how far along are negotiations?

Any chance we’ll see Jahvid Best reprise his role as Gunner this year? Because by my calculations, Anger + Best = game-winning field position.

3 recs

Which team do you think was better? 2004 or 2006?

It’s 1st and 10 on your own 20. If you had a choice, who would you rather have as your running back, Jahvid Best or Marshawn Lynch?

What made you hire Tosh Lupoi in the first place and did you ever think he’d ever be the recruiting guru that he is?

What would you say is your biggest weakness?

Which would you choose to be coach of: 100,000 screaming fans in a packed home stadium every week, but a fractious/trouble-filled team that goes 12-0? Or a close-knit, happy team in a tiny stadium that doesn’t sell out and goes 3-8? There is no middle ground.

Say the team is down by 17 at half. Your voice is gone and the coaches are nowhere to be found. What song would you play to inspire the team?

Do you have a special pre-game meal you like to eat?

Last year you said you gave up playcalling duties to Cignetti. Nevertheless, it’s always been understood that you still call some plays. Approximately how many plays a game last year did you call yourself?

After the 2007 season, it was reported that you had the team read John Maxwell’s book Talent is Never Enough. Are there any other books you have found to be quite influential for yourself or your players?

Do you have any pets? What are they and what are their names?

You’ve long been described as a quarterback “guru”, yet your teams at Cal have arguably produced a longer list of great running backs. We know you preach balance on offense, but if push came to shove, which extreme would you rather have: an offense that can run the ball at will but struggles in the passing game (a la the great wishbone offenses of the ’70s and ’80s at Oklahoma and Nebraska) or an offense that piles up the passing yards a la the old Houston teams, or more recently, Hawaii and Texas Tech? In other words, would you rather coach Barry Sanders 1988 or B. J. Symons 2003?

What coaches of the past—guys who are now retired—serve as your biggest role models? How about coaches, past or present, in other sports?

You once showed an MMA match to inspire the Bears to an important victory (over I believe Tennessee). What other ways have you tried to motivate the players before big games?

If you were to teach a class at Cal open to all undergraduate students, what would the course topic be and what would be covered during the semester?

What selling point do you reinforce the strongest with recruits?

California defeats have consistently featured poor special teams play. Has any extra attention been given to this unit and if so, what changes are we likely to see?

Of all the coaches on roster, Cal fans have been the most critical of Pete Alamar due to special team failures that have led to losses. Many Cal fans want to see Alamar replaced. Can you tell us the positives that Alamar brings to the program that has kept him around?

Can you please put the names back on the jerseys?

Have you given any consideration to expanding Cal’s Wildcat package, for example to include some of the fly sweep/play faking aspects Arkansas and other teams have used?

Have you had a chance to take a look at what Chris Ault has done with the Pistol formation at Nevada, and if you have would you consider adding it to Cal’s offensive repertoire?

2 recs

Do you have any interest in scheduling your alma mater Fresno St as an OOC opponent in the future?

Has anyone on your staff directed your attention to the California Golden Blogs or a post on the California Golden Blogs?

Fat Slice or Blondies?

Be director of the Student Section for a moment. Does it make a difference if students make noise while the opposing offense is still in the huddle? Are there cheers you are particularly fond of? Would you encourage more participation in “Fourth Quarters, Ours!”? When should the band play, and when should they not? Should the Student Section be gender segregrated like olden times? Would it make your year to hear the Trojan Marching Band start to play “Conquest” at Memorial Stadium, then hear the partisan Bear crowd in unison, “Beat… the TROJANS!” ? Are you a proponent of rushing the field after significant victories? Does screaming when the opposing punt return fields a catch have any meaningful impact? What should be chanted after the ball is kicked off: “Ooooo0o0o0oo…. (ball is kicked) ___blank______.” When playing on the road, do you notice a difference between student sections on the 50-yard line versus elsewhere around the stadium? Would you please talk to security guards to allow free access between student section and young alumni sections?

Your relationship with Athletic Director Sandy Barbour is fairly well-established. Could you please elaborate more on your relationship with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau?

Any discussions with a local radio station for a weekly “Jeff Tedford Show?” If not, is it something you’d be interested in doing?

This might elevate me to Stalker status, but I’ve searched and searched for pics of you in your playing days to no avail. a) Do they exist, b) any chance JOkanes can post a few?

We’ve seen this offseason that the new arms race in college football is top-notch assistant coaches. Cal has some excellent assistant coaches who could be viewed as highly valuable additions to other programs. I’d be shocked if the names of Lupoi, Gould, Marshall, and Thompson aren’t familiar to the major players in college football. Is Cal in a position to financially keep up with this latest trend and retain these coaches? Or are we going to get outbid by other “football” schools?

1 rec

How have you developed as a head coach over the years?

What’s your favorite musical group or musician?

What’s your favorite type of food?

How active of a role do you play in recruiting high school players? Do you make weekly phone calls? Do you hand write letters very often?

Since this is your first head coaching job, I’m sure you’ve learned a lot since 2002. But is there one really important piece of advice that you’ve learned as a head coach that you would impart to other young coaches in their first head coaching gig?

Do you and Mike Montgomery ever cross paths and pick each others’ brains?

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in college football from your days as a player to today?

Was it yours or McHugh’s decision to change caterers last Fall Camp? Do you agree, though, that the hushpuppies were really good while they lasted?

Aside from USC, who do you see as the toughest matchup with Cal this season?

Who is your favorite musician?

Mt. Tam or Mt. Diablo – which one will you miss more if the Governator closes the state parks?

Could you please discuss the motivation behind and decision process you employ when making early recruiting offers?

What motivated you to start recruiting nationally?

Are you included in the group to have to take a paycut and or furlough? I figure your salary gets paid by booster and/or football revenue. Nonetheless, many UC researchers get their salaries paid by federal and private sources. Should they be furloughed while you are not?

0 recs

We get pestered by Furd, UCLA, and USC fans as well as the Liberal Elitist Media™ who all say “Meh, Cal is improved but are they ever going to turn the corner?” How would you respond to that?

Would you ever do an interview with a college football blog?

Do you wish the Bay Area (i.e., the fans that have not set foot in Memorial but attend several pathetic Raiders, Warriors, Niners, Giants, and A’s games, as well as the May-version of the Sharks) actually got excited for Cal football? Is it frustrating that we don’t have sellouts for every game as well as better radio and TV coverage since you’ve assembled one of the best athletic teams in the area?

What is your favorite olympic sport?

If you had the choice, you’d award a Nobel prize to _____________, and throw ____________in jail.

What would you be more proud to see, Cal winning the national championship after a great season where the team worked their tails off to get to where they got, or to see your son make the game winning catch in the state championship game?

If the Cal football team could be “adopted” by any Pac-10 school (have their facilities, fans, location, etc—basically play at that school), which school would you choose?

What are Quinn Tedford’s chances of seeing playing time next year?

You are affectionately referred to as “God” on the California Golden Blogs. Many of the blog’s writers and commenters are huge fans of you. Any chance that you can allow some of the California Golden Blog writers to follow you around for a day to see what your typical day is like? While many of us aspire to be even 1/100th of the man that you are and do what you do, we’re not really sure what you do. We’d love to get an inside look at what God does on a day-to-day basis.

If you could change one thing about all incoming players, what would it be? Basically, what is your biggest pet peeve?