Two Cal coaches take coordinator jobs at other schools
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
The price of success has caught up to Cal football. Two assistant coaches are leaving, and a third might be going, all upward moves. Cal coach Jeff Tedford confirmed Monday that wide receiver coach Eric Kiesau is the new passing game coordinator at Colorado and linebacker coach Justin Wilcox will become Boise State's defensive coordinator. Another Cal assistant, offensive coordinator George Cortez, is being rumored for the same position at Mississippi. "It's a tribute to the work they've done here," Tedford said of Kiesau and Wilcox. "When you have the success that we've had, your coaching staff is going to have opportunities." This is the first coaching change on Tedford's staff in three seasons. Kiesau has been with Tedford all four years at Cal. Wilcox, son of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Wilcox, joined the staff in 2003. Cal's record under Tedford is 33-17, and the Bears have been to three straight bowl games, winning twice. "Eric and Justin have earned their stripes," Tedford said. "For Eric, it's a step up for him to become the passing coordinator. For Justin, to be a defensive coordinator at 29, that's a great break." Last week, Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory turned down a lateral move to Colorado at a reported salary of $200,000, nearly twice what he's making in Berkeley. Now Cortez is being courted by Ole Miss, according to a source close to the Rebels football program, who said Cortez could be looking at making $300,000 a year. "It's a possibility," Tedford said of Cortez's departure, "but I don't know if he has talked to them or not." Cortez told an Ole Miss newspaper Monday that he hasn't been contacted by the Oxford, Miss., school. Tedford, who expects to replace Kiesau and Wilcox in the very near future, was reached in Southern California on a recruiting trip. "We feel good about it," he said of the recruiting process. "We'll get a couple of nice commitments (this week)."
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