It's plenty common for college football coaches to work without a signed contract. It's not at all common for unsigned coaches to work for more than a year under such an arrangement.
That was the case at Cal for 15 months, until a signed agreement between UC chancellor Richard Lyons and football general manager Ron Rivera was finally executed earlier this month. According to documents obtained by Sportico, the deal was signed June 16 with an effective date of March 24, 2025.
Rivera's contract dictates that he reports directly to Chancellor Lyons, and shares oversight over fundraising and scheduling with the AD and has sole oversight of Cal football's revenue-share program. If you'll recall, this was a source of controversy in Berkeley, with the head of Cal's only collective stopping his donations and encouraging others to do the same unless and until Cal gave Rivera full autonomy over all things Golden Bears football.
Working without a contract did not stop Rivera from working. At his recommendation, Cal fired head coach Justin Wilcox and replaced him with Tosh Lupoi in December.
As was reported upon Rivera's hiring nearly a year and a half ago, he is set to make $800,000 in salary on a 3-year term, with up to $800,000 in annual performance bonuses.
The appointment is Rivera's first in college football since leaving Berkeley as the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1983. The entirety of his 27-year coaching career, lasting from 1997-2023, was in the NFL prior to taking the GM job at his alma mater.