Which California Golden Bears first year coach between Justin Wilcox and Wyking Jones do you think is likelier to succeed (1) in the short-term and (2) in the long-term?
Andy Johnston: I actually think both coaches can be relatively successful year one. Neither program is an entire rebuild so short term success can be very similar. Long term I love our position as a football program. They know how to sell the best aspects of the university and we have a plethora of dynamic recruiters. I expect us to be a Pac-12 title contender in two years in football, I am that excited.
Alex Khalifa: Based on current personnel and especially the state of football recruiting, I doubt that expectations will be sky high for either one out of the gate. Jones does have a reputation as a quality recruiter. I choose Jones for short-term success and Wilcox for the longer term.
Kevin Wu: It depends on what "success" means to you. For me, success is mostly predicated on winning. In that sense, I think both hires won't come with much success. I think Cal will occupying the mid-Tier 2 (and maybe even top-Tier 3) level of the Pac-12. Doesn't feel like success to me...
Nick Kranz: I think the answer has to be Wilcox either way. That's partly because, as of this moment, Jones hasn't assembled his staff and there's an air of uncertainty. In comparison, Wilcox has already made a series of solid to excellent staff additions. But I also think that the coordinator-to-head-coach transition in football is a little more predictive than a similar transition in basketball. Coordinators in football have already proven that they can handle the responsibilities of everything that goes into making sure a large group of players succeed on one side of the ball, and are typically given a wide degree of oversight and latitude to make that happen (or at least the ones that get promoted do). There are unknowns and uncertainties with both hires, but I think we have more evidence with Wilcox.
boomtho: I'm such a nega-bear compared to Andy Johnston! I think both coaches are facing a pretty damn difficult road in Year 1. Coach Wilcox, as a defensive guy, is coming in to a relatively bare cupboard of defensive talent. Coach Jones will at least have great familiarity with most of the players, but is losing Ivan Rabb, Sam Singer, Jabari Bird, and Grant Mullins... so an already impotent offense is likely to get worse. I don't see Cal finishing better than 4th in the Pac-12 North in football and 6th in the Pac-12 in basketball. Womp womp.