Saturday, January 07, 2006

Cal Athletics: Tedford Reaffirms Commitment To Cal

Tedford has no plans to leave the school for the NFL

Jan. 6, 2006

BERKELEY - University of California head football coach Jeff Tedford, whose four-year run in Berkeley has been the most successful at the school since the 1950s, has no plans to leave the school for the National Football League.  "I have been contacted by NFL teams, some directly and some indirectly, about coaching vacancies," Tedford said on Friday. "Although I am flattered by the interest, I am firmly committed to remaining the head football coach at the University of California.  "This is an exciting time for our program," he added. "We have a lot of young talent returning to the team, and we are on the verge of another strong recruiting class. The stadium project is now underway, and our student-athletes are excelling in the classroom.  "The attention we have received from the NFL is due to our success as a program and the tireless efforts of our staff," Tedford said. "We look forward to continuing that process and reaching even higher levels."  Cal is coming off of an 8-4 season and ended the year ranked No. 25 in the final balloting of both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. Two early preseason polls for 2006 have California ranked as high as No. 10 (Sports Illustrated) and No. 15 (ESPN).  In four seasons at Cal, Tedford has a record of 33-17 with four winning seasons, three bowl appearances and two bowl victories. In each of the last two seasons, Cal has reached the top 10 in the national polls. He has twice been named as the Pac-10 coach of the year.

 

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