BERKELEY — Cal interim head coach Nick Rolovich wants the Golden Bears to play for each other in Saturday’s regular-season finale against SMU. But also for their former coach, Justin Wilcox, whose firing left them grieving.
“I think that’s exactly what it should do for the love they have for coach Wilcox,” Rolovich said. “That’s the best opportunity they have to really celebrate him as their coach.”
This will be the Bears’ first game since 2016 without Wilcox on the sideline. He was fired Sunday, the day after Cal lost 31-10 in the Big Game at Stanford, leaving his nine-year record at 48-55.
The Bears (6-5, 3-4 ACC) are hoping to complete their first winning season since 2019.
Players were not made available for media interviews this week, but several of them saluted their coach on social media.
“I will be forever grateful for Coach Wilcox and the impact he had on me,” linebacker Cade Uluave wrote on Twitter. “He gave me an opportunity that changed my life and helped me become a better player and a better person. I’m truly thankful for everything he gave to us.”
Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, a freshman from Hawaii, quoted a bible verse and added, “Thank you Coach Wilcox for your guidance and leadership, Our team is lucky to have had you and your legacy lives on through the Cal coaches you taught. Mahalo!”
Rolovich, a Bay Area native with head-coaching experience at Hawaii and Washington State, was elevated to the interim position this week from his role all season as senior offensive analyst.
His priority this week has been to manage the emotions of Cal’s players. “Sunday was tough,” he said. “Monday, I wouldn’t call it a hangover because it was out of love. . . . That’s a tough thing for a young man to go through, for a guy that they had true love for to not be there for them was a shock.”
It will be an unusual Senior Day in another way, as many of those players have only been on campus since arriving as offseason transfers. Still, Rolovich is encouraging them to play hard and play for each other.
“Yes, the pain is real, the hurt is real. But look to your left and right and see the young men you’ve been grinding with,” he said. “I think they’re leaning on each other through this.
“It’s not run a post route, it’s not play Cover 2. It’s how is this group going to get to a point where they feel great about going into the stadium Saturday and playing together?”
General manager Ron Rivera, who made the call to move on from Wilcox, is eager to see how the players respond on Saturday.
“I think what it does is finds out the character and poise of all of our players,” Rivera said. “Adversity strikes at any time. How you handle it talks about who you are. This is an opportunity for us to gauge where we are with our players and our coaches and staff.”
Cal, which became bowl eligible after its 29-26 overtime win at Louisville on Nov. 8, will learn its bowl game assignment and opponent on Dec. 7.
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