Update >> Cal has now announced this.
Cal gave Justin Wilcox nearly nine full seasons, but with one game remaining in the 2025 season, administration has decided it's time to head in a new direction.
Wilcox will not return to lead the team in 2026, as multiple outlets have reported the change. ESPN was first to share the news.
FootballScoop can confirm the news.
Yesterday, Cal was defeated handily by a Stanford team that has struggled all season to the tune of 31-10.
The veteran defensive coordinator was brought in prior to the 2017 season to replace Sonny Dykes, who went 19-30 over four seasons in Berkeley.
Wilcox went 5-7 in his debut season as a head coach, and improvement followed in his first two seasons that followed, withr records of 7-6 and then 8-5 with back-to-back bowl trips.
That upward trajectory was stalled when COVID hit during the 2020 season, as Wilcox led the team to a 1-3 mark, followed by down 5-7 and 4-8 seasons in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
He would lead the Golden Bears to bowl games in 2023 and 2024, finishing 6-6 before bowl losses dropped them under .500 each of those seasons.
Wilcox has the program bowl eligible at 6-5 this season, with their season finale set to take place at home against SMU on Saturday.
A renowned defensive coordinator, Wilcox carved out a name for himself as the architect of stingy defenses at a number of stops including at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, USC and a season in Madison at Wisconsin in 2016 before being hired by Cal.
He leaves as the fourth-winningest coach in program history after leading the team to three straight bowl games and five total postseason berths total in his nine seasons.
His tenure as an assistant was spent learning under some of the most well respected head coaches the game has to offer including Jeff Tedford, Chris Petersen, and Steve Sarkisian.
Wilcox was ranked 48th in terms of coaching pay, with an annual salary of $4.8 million, not including bonuses. That salary ranked 8th in the ACC (with private school salaries not available for Boston College, Duke, Stanford, Syracuse, and Wake Forest).
If terminated without cause, Wilcox's buyout called for a buyout of $10.88 million if dismissed after December 1, 2025. Safe to say the parting of ways will be a bit more expensive since it came just over a week before that date.
His contract also called for a $250k payment if he remained head coach through the 2025 season, a payment that obviously will not be made as the move comes entering the final week of the regular season.
Cal hired former NFL head coach Ron Rivera, a former Cal standout and All-American, as their GM back in March and he's a figure that will loom large in their path forward.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.