The Pacific-10 Conference is a fickle world for college football coaches.
Oregon’s Mike Bellotti is the dean of the conference, this being his ninth season with the Ducks. After that, only Arizona State’s Dirk Koetter and USC’s Pete Carroll can attest to being in their third season with their respective programs.
In other words, the conference tends to chew coaches up and spit them out with regularity.
Yet it’s a former Oregon coach that may be making the biggest waves this season. California head coach Jeff Tedford led the Golden Bears to a 7-5 record last season in his first season at the helm in Berkeley.
Granted, he’s led the team to a .500 record — 5-5 — so far this season, but that’s a remarkable feat considering the Golden Bears haven’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 1990 and 1991 . That’s when Bruce Snyder patrolled the sidelines, and since then, California has had Keith Gilbertson, Steve Mariucci and Tom Holmoe cycle through the system.
Only Mariucci led the team to a non-losing record, and that was a 6-6 year in 1996.
Tedford’s teams have played with enthusiasm, intensity and focus since he arrived last season. His players have adapted so well to his style that California has been nicknamed the “Fighting Tedfords,” showing just what kind of an effect he has had on that campus.
Tedford was widely recognized as one of the brightest offensive minds when he was with the Ducks and Fresno State. He helped developed Trent Dilfer way back in the day and Joey Harrington with Oregon. It wasn’t until last season, however, where he truly showed off his talents.
To be able to take Kyle Boller, an underachieving quarterback in his first three seasons, and make him NFL quality is a testament to Tedford’s ability. Boller looked like an entirely different quarterback last season, and now that he’s a professional, he looks like he could be the next Brett Favre, in both physical ability and mentality.
Tedford’s style has been perfect for the Pac-10. His ability to lead a team that attacks the defense with crisp passing routes and timely running plays has shown this season, a year where the Golden Bears have defeated their opponents by an average of more than 19 points in their five wins.
When Tedford left Oregon, there were doubts in the college football world that he would be able to change the program, simply because the Golden Bears looked like a sinking ship. But he’s adapted perfectly to the style of the Pac-10 and he’s using that to the team’s advantage.
The hard part for California athletics director Stephen Gladstone is retention of the bright young coach. The last time California showed any kind of promise, Mariucci up and left for the San Francisco 49ers after just one season in Berkeley.
The program fell into the dark despair of the Holmoe era — he finished 16-39 in five seasons — that fell to a 1-10 record in 2001.
If the second-year coach continues his success, keeping Tedford would be a coup for Gladstone. The Golden Bears couldn’t keep Mariucci, and that was just after one season.
Bigger programs could soon come calling. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops are always mentioned as possibilities for NFL jobs, and Tedford would be a choice selection for either the Hawkeyes or Sooners if either scenario unfolded.
But that would be a shame. Tedford has a chance to build the Golden Bears’ respectability.
For the sake of the Pac-10, having California as a potential BCS team anywhere in the near future would be a boon. Even consistent berths in bowls would be enough.
It’ll be interesting to see if Tedford can do just that.