Wilcox’s Son Named Cal Bears Head Coach

The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dave Wilcox, Justin, was recently named head coach of the California Golden Bears football team.

“We are so proud of our son. We taught our kids at an early if you start something, you finish it and evidently he’s not finished yet. But I did always want to know why in the heck he wanted to be a coach and have 18 and 19 year olds determine whether you had a job or not,” joked his Hall of Fame father, Dave during an exclusive interview with ProFootballHOF.com. Listen here for the full interview with HOF Dave Wilcox:

Wilcox’s climb to his new position started as linebackers’ coach at Cal from 2003-05. He then moved up the coaching ranks to become a defensive coordinator and for the past 11 seasons Wilcox has led defenses at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, Southern California and Wisconsin.

After one season leading the Badger’s defense which was ranked seventh in total defense, fourth in scoring defense and ninth in the AP poll, Wilcox returned to where it all started.

During his first three seasons at Cal, the team went 26-12 and earned three appearances to bowl games.

“It has been a dream of mine to lead a college football program, and there’s no better place than here at Cal where I got my start and at a school that means so much to me,” Wilcox said during his first press conference at Cal. “I’m looking forward to getting to know our team and hiring our staff, and we will get to work immediately recruiting student-athletes of high character who are good fits for Cal both academically and athletically.”