Tedford set to coach 100th game
Eight years ago, with the Cal football program caught in embarrassing turmoil from top to bottom, a young man, age 41, who was still unknown around these parts, walked into Memorial Stadium and patiently waited to make his first official public statement. When introductions were finished, he made a beeline to the podium with stern authority, exhibiting a business-like manner that would later define his current persona to the loyal and battered fan base that has grown with him through both modern era successes and head banging frustrations.
His words were concise.
His statements were descriptive and yet right to the point.
His message was clear.
He was going to rejuvenate the football culture in Berkeley.
Eight years later, as he prepares for his 100th game as head coach of the Cal football program, the evidence is strikingly clear. After years and years of obscurity, Cal football matters now, and the main reason why is Jeff Tedford.
“He strives to be the best,” said wide receiver Quinn Tedford, the youngest son of the current Cal head coach. “My Dad has worked hard his whole life. It’s great to see.”
Attempting to get the man himself to talk about himself however has never been an easy task, especially while in-season. That certainly didn’t change much this week, as Cal (7-3, 4-3 in the Pac-10) prepares for its biggest “Big Game” in years, as Tedford preps his team for what will undoubtedly be the best Stanford squad the Bears will have faced in the Tedford era.
Forget the fact that Tedford has been at Cal longer than any coach in the last half century.
Forget the fact that Tedford (66-33) needs just one more victory to tie the legendary Pappy Waldorf (67-32-4) in wins for third on the school’s all-time list.
Forget the fact that only two other coaches in Cal history have even been around long enough to hit the 100 game plateau (Waldorf 103, Stub Allison 102).
Forget the fact that No. 100 will come in the most iconic and ironic of ways, pitting Tedford on the field in the Big Game against the school’s most heated and most despised traditional rival.
Forget the fact that Tedford’s potential record-breaking win to tie Pappy can also ruin Stanford (7-2, 6-2) and its now all-too-real Rose Bowl aspirations.
Forget all of that, because for Tedford, it’s always been about one thing and one thing only when it comes to his football legacy: If it has nothing to do with the present, it doesn’t matter.
CHANGING THE CULTURE
In all honestly, who knew what to expect from Tedford?
Every new coach who is hired makes grand promises.
Every new coach gives the fan base something to look forward to.
Every new coach says his team will play hard, play smart and win.
Not every coach lives up those promises. Many, as Cal fans know all too well, don’t even come close.
With Tedford though, his serious demeanor to change the losing culture of the Cal community was noticeable from Day 1.
In many ways, the Bears needed some good news, any news really. The Tom Holmoe era was a disaster. Not only did Cal not win at all on the field, but the program was also eventually put on probation by the NCAA due to a serious academic cheating violation.
What was once a thriving program in the early 90’s needed to be reinvigorated, rebuilt, redefined. Basically, Cal needed to start over in the worse of ways.
So when then athletic director Steve Gladstone walked up to the podium on that December afternoon in 2001 in Memorial Stadium, Cal fans were cautiously hoping that Tedford, and his grand total of 13 years of coaching experience, could do something to push the program forward that so many coaches before him failed to do.
It was certainly a “wait and see” attitude. Cal fans had heard too much and seen too less to be fooled. Tedford needed to prove it on the field … and boy has he.
“I have a goal and a vision that the University of California, through hard work and dedication, can get to where we are competing for the Pac-10 championship and at a national level,” Tedford said during his introductory press conference. “I know that they have worked very hard on this process in a search for a head coach. I want to thank him for the opportunity to come here, and his belief in me that I can get this done.”
“I will not let (Gladstone) down when it comes to this endeavor.”
ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Between his initial days as head coach of Cal way back in 2001 to where is he is now, there have been a plethora of noteworthy accomplishments that have happened to the Cal football program and Tedford himself.
Among them?
And while the ultimate goal of a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl appearance has still yet to be reached, there have been more than a couple positive signs that suggest Tedford will indeed lead the program to the “promise land” - eventually.
No one believes that more than current athletic director Sandy Barbour, who herself has done wonders for the Cal athletic department - both men and women - since taking over for the retired Gladstone in 2005.
“To have under his leadership, our football program perform at a really high level to take us to seven straight bowl games has really meant a lot not only to the athletic department but to the entire university,” Barbour said. “Even more importantly, his leadership with the young men in this program has really set an example to how all of our coaches should be in the way that they care about developing young men.”
There have been times when Tedford had the option to leave Cal for more profitable job, especially after seeing promises of new facilities fall flat to the ground.
There have been times where maybe in other parts of the country, Tedford wouldn’t receive as much leeway as he does around here in the midst of losing streaks and inconsistent play on the field.
There have been times where Tedford looks like a future Hall of Fame coach.
There have been times where Tedford has been outcoached.
All in all though, the overwhelming belief from fellow coaches, staff members, players and the majority of fans is that Tedford was the right call and more importantly, still indeed, without a doubt, the right person for the job.
“You look at how he’s built the program, the steps that he has made without the facilities that he was promised eight years ago, I think it’s just a matter of time before he breaks through to that BCS game, that Rose Bowl, that National Championship that we all aspire to,” Barbour said. “He’s certainly known as one of the best coaches in the country and he’s such a great fit for us.”
As Barbour has shown throughout her short and yet very wildly successful tenure so far at Cal, a head coach’s connection and relationship with the Cal student-athletes are just as important as actual wins and losses on the playing field. Just as Cal coaches tend to recruit “Cal” athletes, the Cal athletes should play for a “Cal” coach as well.
Through her various moves throughout the athletic department, Barbour has shown that student-athletes are the No. 1 priority and if a particular coach doesn’t fit that spectrum, it wouldn’t be long before both sides moved on.
More than anything else, that understanding is a big reason why Tedford is described as a “great fit” for the Cal community.
“What the student athletes will tell you is that they know he cares,” Barbour described. “He may have to get on him about something on or off the field, but he has their long term health, safety and best interest in mind and when you have that, you have everything.”
CONNECTING WITH ALL
No more are Tedford’s connections with his student-athletes vividly striking than his recruitment of young men from the inner city throughout his tenure.
Without getting into a racial discussion, fans could probably imagine that there is more than just a small barrier that some coaches have to cross when they recruit the inner city.
From social, cultural to many instances economic differences, these various obstacles are, at times, not easy to conquer in the recruiting world. As ESPN highlighted back in 2004 however, Tedford’s own personal story tends to help him relate and cross those barriers that stretch much deeper than just skin color.
For West Oakland native and current Cal starting nose tackle Derrick Hill, the character that Tedford - along with the entire Cal staff - exhibited along the way helped make his decision to become a Golden Bear that much easier.
“I remember talking to him throughout the recruiting process and he was always open and willing to tell us the truth when it came to recruiting,” described Hill. “A lot of coaches lie when it comes to recruiting. They tell you what you want to hear. Coach Tedford was one of those coaches that didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear but he told me the truth.”
And as Hill explained, the “truth” goes a long way.
“That helped bring us here,” he said. “If you could handle the truth, great. If you couldn’t, having to deal with those moments helps you become a man and learn how to deal with it.”
Coming from McClymonds High School in Oakland, a prep program that has been home to the likes of Bill Russell, Paul Silas and M.C. Hammer among many others, Hill - one of the school’s all-time great football players - had the choice to attend a litany of high profile when his senior year rolled around.
There was USC. There was Arizona. There was Washington. And there was Cal.
And in the end, it was Tedford’s ability to connect and relate to many different young men, especially those in the inner city, helped spring Hill down Telegraph Ave and towards the UC Berkeley campus.
“Opening those doors (to the inner city) is the biggest thing,” Hill said. “His first recruiting class made a big difference because he got a lot of SoCal guys and a few guys from up here.”
“The first thing is to get that initial person from our type of neighborhoods to break that wall down,” Hill continued. “With him going to get Brandon Mebane and Dante Hughes, David Gray and Marshawn Lynch, that opened the door for people like me and Chris Little and other guys.”
While Hill and Tedford has butted heads on more than one occasion since he’s been at Cal, with very public spat about Hill’s work ethic back in the 2006 season in which Tedford brazenly called out the young lineman at the top of the list, those meddling issues, Hill explained, pales in comparison to what both Hill and Tedford has learned from each other over the years.
Even in the darkest, roughest of times, Hill has always expressed respect for Cal’s head honcho.
“I specifically remember two years ago when we going through adversity back in 2007,” Hill explained. “We were in Texas for the Armed Forces Bowl and yet again going through more adversity in that game, I remember how he kept us motivated.”
“That moment has always stood out about Coach Tedford.”
While the seriousness and competitiveness of the game - such as 21-point comeback win in the Armed Forces Bowl - will always be at the top of the list for a player and coach, especially a coach of Tedford’s workman-like personality, there is also a comical and lighthearted side that the entire Cal staff and the players they recruit exhibit from time-to-time.
Maybe the funniest story we’ve heard to date came when Tedford and then defensive line coach Ken Delgado pursued Hill back in 2005.
“I remember when I was getting recruited, I played a little prank on him and Coach Delgado,” Hill said. “The night before the Vegas bowl, I told them I wasn’t coming. I told them my Mom said I couldn’t come to Cal anymore and that I was taking Cal out of my top 3 and go somewhere else.”
“To this day, they still promise that they were going to get me back,” Hill explained with a smile. “I’m still waiting on Coach Tedford to get me back.”
FATHER FIGURE
Of course, Tedford’s relationships with his players extend much farther than just the dynamic he has with his players from the inner city. His relationships and positive influence extends to his entire team, no matter what neighborhood they grew up in.
Sometimes, Tedford is the hard-ass of a coach that demands high precision execution on the field.
Sometimes, Tedford is the teacher who helps his student better understand the nuances of the game.
Sometimes, Tedford is every family’s funny uncle who you try to avoid at all costs because you know a joke about you is coming at you sooner rather than later.
Maybe most importantly though, Tedford is also a father figure to many of his players.
That was most evident after a practice session earlier this season, when Tedford roasted his team about various minuscule responsibilities they weren’t taking care of inside the team locker room and eating area.
“Well, there’s tough love that has to be given, like today,” said Tedford at the time. “I don’t like doing that, but it’s something that has to be done to get a point across. It’s no different than my children or in essence they are my kids because I’m here for them in a lot of different areas, as is the coaching staff. That’s definitely part of the job.”
As BearTerritory has learned over the years through covering the recruiting world, a coaching staff doesn’t just recruit the young man, they also recruit the families, especially the mother of the young men.
As the saying goes, “If you get the Mom, you’ll get the kid.”
Tedford and his entire staff has done an excellent job of not only selling what Cal has to offer as an entire university, but also showing parents and guardians that they - meaning the Cal staff - is both mature and responsible enough to in essence help the young men they recruit continue to mature away from the comforts of home.
From Tedford, to defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, running backs coach Ron Gould, defensive backs coach Al Simmons, linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson, wide receivers coach Kevin Daft, defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, special teams coach Pete Alamar and new additions to the staff Andy Ludwig and Steve Marshall, along with recruiting coordinator Kevin Parker and a host of other notables, the Cal staff as a whole has performed exquisitely in that particular department.
Parents simply trust Tedford.
“That’s actually a very gratifying part of this job is seeing how the growth of development as a person as they come through,” Tedford explained. “They’re all going to have challenges in one way or another, whether it be in school, whether it be socially, athletically, academically, there’s always challenges for guys.”
Like anything else in life however, things aren’t perfect by any stretch.
Not every player Tedford recruited has graduated from school, while a couple others have gotten in serious trouble with the law. In the end though, when you evaluate the entirety of the Tedford era and what he’s done for the student-athletes he’s recruited, Tedford and his staff’s track record speaks for itself.
“You need to be there to be the father figure or kind of an extension of parental arm form as they’re growing, and discipline is a big part of this job,” he said. “But understanding that people are going to make mistakes from time to time, you need to be here to educate them as much in that department as anything.”
“JEFF, YOU BETTER GET THAT”
It will never be publicly known whether it was actually DeSean Jackson on the other side of the phone call.
However, one thing that was an undisputable fact was that Tedford’s phone was buzzing all day during those particular 24 hours.
It was February 3, 2005 and Tedford had joined the local media in Memorial Stadium to publicly introduce Cal’s latest and by far most accomplished recruiting class.
Go down that list of players today Tedford and his staff nabbed that season and it reads off with one Tedford era great after another.
Zack Follett, Worrell Williams, Desmond Bishop, Syd’Quan Thompson, Tyson Alualu, Cameron Morrah, Lavelle Hawkins, Mickey Pimentel and a host of others.
At the time of Tedford’s press conference with the assembled media however, there was still one name out there that no one knew for sure whether Cal would nab.
The player was obviously Jackson, the dynamic and flashy 5-star ranked wide receiver from Long Beach Poly who wasn’t going to publicly announce his decision until later that night.
Right before Tedford walked into the pressroom that day, one veteran beat reporter plainly said that he didn’t think Jackson was coming to Cal.
“In my experience,” he said. “From what I’ve heard of his recruitment, I just don’t think he’s coming.”
From past history, the veteran scribe was probably right. Players of Jackson’s stature simply don’t come to Cal. They go to USC.
So when Tedford’s cell phone rang right as he was about to make his initial statement, quizzical, curious and wondering looks peered around the room as Tedford dug into his pockets to see exactly who was calling.
“Jeff, you better get that,” another veteran beat reporter jokingly said.
Actually,” Tedford responded. “I think I should.”
For the next two minutes, Tedford - who had now stepped out of the room - spoke on the phone to whoever was on the other end.
As the door re-opened, Tedford could be seen putting the phone back in his pocket and going on with business as usual. At the time, no media member had thought much about that particular call.
Four hours later however, inquiring minds wondered whether that phone call was Jackson telling Tedford he was coming to Cal.
In what is unquestionably the biggest national recruiting story in the Tedford era (outside of the Kevin Hart fiasco), Jackson’s journey to Cal was certainly something to write about.
Three superbly productive seasons later, the 1 to remember left a permanent mark in the Cal history books.
While the flamboyant Jackson never led Cal to the “promise land,” he did help the Bears to several outstanding achievements while piling up tremendous personal numbers and giving Cal fans across the country one highlight after another to cheer about.
To this day, Jackson remains Tedford’s biggest recruiting coup, and that particular recruitment showed the pull Tedford could have with various big-time recruits if the chips lined up right.
It’s no surprise that Tedford and his staff landed the program’s best ever recruiting class a season after the team’s best season in over a decade. In the end, winning and recruiting go hand-in-hand.
While Jackson’s final season didn’t go nearly as planned however, and the “Chosen 1” became the burnt of frustration for some Cal fans at the tail end of ’07, the respect Jackson and Tedford had for each other never wavered, even in the midst of high-time controversy.
During his teleconference to announce his decision to turn pro, the confident and often misunderstood Jackson ended the phone call with a simple statement that in a symbolic way defines Tedford’s relationship with many of his players.
As his question-and-answer session came to a close, Jackson said thank you to the Cal fans and his teammates for their support and then said:
“I love you, Coach.”
To that, Tedford responded:
“I love you too, bud.”
THE ULTIMATE COMPETITOR
Quinn Tedford was asked to recall a funny moment he remembers about his Dad.
Thinking for a bit, Tedford’s face lights up as he begins his story.
“There’s actually quite a few,” he said. “We go on vacation each year. We’ve been to the Bahamas, Jamaica and places like that.”
“One time,” Quinn continued. “He was laying on a lawn chair to tan. He fell asleep and he woke up three hours later and me and my brother saw the brightest red line across his back.”
“It was hilarious.”
As much as Tedford a “father figure” to his players, his value and responsibility to his own family has never changed.
As Tedford has said on numerous occasions, it’s more than just about him.
While he might be entrenched in the X’s and O’s of football during the season, ask about his family and he’s always said unequivocally that they are “in this together.”
With his youngest son Quinn a sophomore at Cal and now on the team as one of the squad’s walk-on wide receivers, Tedford’s ability to be even closer to his family comes to the forefront on a daily occasion.
“Yeah, it’s definitely neat,” Tedford said. “I know (Quinn) loves his teammates.”
When it comes to the football side of things, no one wants to win more than Jeff Tedford.
While some fans might have a hard time believing that, stories of the man’s work ethnic are a great piece of evidence to dispute any claims of self-entitlement and laziness.
Tedford isn’t the perfect coach, and he makes mistakes on the field from time-to-time, but he has shown that hasn’t and simply won’t get outworked.
“My Dad has been a hard worker his whole life,” said Quinn, one of two - along with older brother Taylor Tedford - sons of the Tedford family. “He really strives to do well to get to that Rose Bowl.”
It’s difficult to put into words how much a person wants something. Especially a public figure like Tedford, where the public themselves are only witness to the finished product, the ability to gauge a person’s work ethnic and desire is often a far-fetched and trivial task.
One of the few people that can truly help answer that inquiry though in regards to Tedford are obviously the folks closest to him.
“There’s going to be criticism no matter where you go, and we know that, but he strives to be the best,” described Quinn. “He does his best to put his players in a position to succeed and he’s gotten some good recruiting classes. He’s trying to get it going.”
There was a point in time where Tedford seriously considered bolting for another job. Those opportunities came early during the Tedford era, fresh off of Cal’s most impressive season to date in 2004. However, one of the main reasons why a lot of Old and Young Blues alike have an adoring respect for Tedford has been because of the coach’s loyalty to the program and his desire to not only win, but win at Cal.
“We just love the Bay Area,” Quinn said. “There’s been job opportunities that’s come up in the past but the whole family just feels really comfortable here. There’s everything here. Supportive fans, great area to live, a lot of entertainment around here, all that.”
“His hard work has paid off,” Quinn added. “He’s been an assistant and now he’s made it. He deserves it because he’s worked really hard.”
And while that ultimate goal of a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl appearance won’t happen this season, there’s no reason to not believe it can’t happen in the near future.
“People criticize sometimes about how he may not call a certain play or whatnot, but he spends a lot of time trying to put us in good positions to execute and get to a Rose Bowl,” Quinn concluded. “That’s his biggest goal.”
“He wants to get to a Rose Bowl.”
Chris Nguon is the lead football writer for BearTerritory. He’s well known for his recruiting and game coverage in the star-studded Oakland Athletic League, plus his numerous contributions with The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s only independent, student-run newspaper. Nguon is also a correspondent with the Oakland Tribune, and will cover Cal football and men’s and women’s basketball in 2009.
