California officially enters the coaching carousel in search of Justin Wilcox’s replacement. The Golden Bears fired their head coach immediately following their 31-10 loss to Stanford on Sunday. Amid the search, their GM Ron Rivera dropped the biggest clue about their next head coach.

“At least one thing is making sure they can answer the question, why Cal?” – Cal GM Rivera on what he will look at during the hiring process in finding the Bears’ next coach. Not sure if it was a slip-up but he added “why they want to come back to Cal” @CalBearsOn3. 

According to California Insider Matt Moreno’s report on X, Ron Rivera seemed to hint that someone of Cal roots is in the bid for the head coaching role. Rivera’s hidden message narrows down to two possible options– Delaware State coach DeSean Jackson and Oregon’s defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.

DeSean Jackson is one of the hottest names on the market. He’s a former All-America wide receiver at Cal. Jackson’s unreal revival at Delaware State has brought him into the conversation. The first-year coach led a 1-win FCS program to an 8-4 season and eventually finished the season as MEAC runner-up. It was one of the biggest comebacks in FCS football history, which made him an Eddie Robinson Award finalist.

On the other hand, Tosh Lupoi could be a terrific fit. The 44-year-old former Cal DL earned a reputation as a ‘dogged recruiter’ when he helped bring a bunch of blue-chip prospects to Berkeley while on Jeff Tedford’s staff. He possesses the experience that Jackson lacks, being the assistant of Nick Saban at Alabama and currently leading Oregon under Dan Lanning.

This is a developing story