Golden Nuggets: More on Gregory's Departure

Tedford had a chance to talk about Gregory's departure during yesterday's Tiny Bates Award banquet.

Gregory shook up the Cal football program Wednesday when he announced he's leaving to become a defensive assistant coach at Boise State. Gregory had been the defensive coordinator during all eight years of Tedford's tenure at Cal, and the two were together for three years previous to that at Oregon.

"It's going to feel odd because it's a guy who I've totally entrusted with the defense, a guy who knows the ins and outs of what we do every day and how we do it," Tedford said Wednesday night before a banquet in Sacramento. "We all wish him well. He's a great friend, a great person. We've worked together for a long, long time."

Gregory didn't return multiple phone calls Wednesday but did say in a statement that "I am grateful to Coach Tedford for the tremendous experience I had at Cal. I loved working with him and will really miss all the coaches and players, but this decision is a great move for my family."

Tedford immediately squashed speculation that Gregory was forced out since he essentially is taking a demotion to move to Boise. Gregory was the Broncos defensive coordinator in 2001 before moving on to Cal after Tedford was named the Bears head coach.

Tedford said Gregory wanted to reduce his workload to spend more time with his family, which includes two young boys.

"He wants to spend more time

with his kids and take a step back from coordinating," Tedford said. "He's been at Boise before and likes the quality of life there. People's priorities change.

"I think Bob has done a great job. I would entrust him with the defense anywhere I would ever be. I know what kind of worker he is. He's loyal, he's great with the kids. He has great values. The philosophy that we have both on and off the field, he totally believes in."

Tedford said he hoped to name Gregory's replacement quickly. In fact, he left Wednesday's banquet early to return to Berkeley to conduct an interview for the position.

After the jump Tedford has more quotes about Gregory's departure, various writers give their opinions of the move, OSU calls out Jorge's inability to attack the 1-3-1 defense, Cal's seniors benefit from a reduced workload, and more.

Cal Football

• JO has a few more quotes from Tedford which he couldn't fit into his CCTimes article.
• Ted Miller has a good piece on the surprise of Gregory's departure.   Wilner was also surprised and still has a few questions about the sudden loss of Gregory (questions which have since mostly been answered by Tedford).
• The Idaho Statesman talks about Boise St's recent acquisition.  Boise St's SBN site OBNUG gives its perspective on their recent hire.