So’oto, Brown has appointed co-defensive coordinators while CAL finalizes the staff moves

Justin Wilcox did not seem to be in a hurry to appoint a defensive coordinator earlier this spring when Peter Sirmon chose to leave CAL for the NFL and a place on the staff of the Saints of New Orleans.

At the time, the ninth year head coach said that the staff would adjust and add more responsibilities to the current staff members in the meantime. During the spring ball, Wilcox suggested that there could be more than one coach who directed the show on this side of the ball.

On Thursday afternoon, the Bears announced that the rear defensive coach Terrence Brown and the coach of the seconds outside Vic So’oto will divide the functions of defensive coordinator before the 2025 season.

The two coaches enter their fourth seasons in Berkeley and the two have added tasks to their titles since their arrival on board for the 2022 season. So’oto has been the coordinator of Cal’s special teams since 2023, while Brown has recently been promoted to the game coordinator before spring training after the departures of Sirmon and its colleague coach of the defensive back.

Brown will continue to work with the defensive rear unit despite the addition of the role of the co-defensive coordinator in its title on Thursday. So’oto will continue to execute the outside secondary group for the Bears, but it is not clear if it will remain in the role of the special team coordinator who goes forward.

In addition to the widened roles for Brown and So’oto, the defensive line coach Andrew Browning received additional tasks while the new racing game coordinator for bears coinciding with other personnel changes.

Announced with the coordinator’s plan, Cal presented the hiring of two new defensive staff members to complete the group on this side of the ball for Wilcox. The two new coaches have an experience prior to the search for CAL, led by the former defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, who returns to the Bears as a new senior defensive assistant after her visit to Stanford as a coordinator of the special teams / special teams.

Gregory guided the defense of Bears from 2002 to 2009 in what was a long career as a university coach. He worked with many seconds throughout his career, and he should spend a majority of his time working with this unit helping the coach of the seconds inside Michael Bruno this season.

The native of Washington has a story with Wilcox and is only one of the new assistants with previous links with Cal’s head coach. His first full -time position in a division I school occurred at Oregon in 1998 when he guided the defensive back group in Eugene overwhelming with Wilcox time as a defensive back with the Ducks.

The changes in recent rules have enabled the programs to extend their staff and add new positions to the field opening the way to Gregory to have instructions on the ground. Nick Rolovich was brought for a similar role on the offensive side of the ball during the offseason.

Keith Heyward is the other coach who comes back to Cal after being appointed the new defensive back coach for the Bears on Thursday. The former Oregon State recently left his post as a defensive coordinator at his Alma Mater and will join the Bears after being coach of the outside seconds during the 2021 season.

Heyward is yet another assistant on the new CAL staff with an experience of coordinator who held the position at UNLV during the 2022 season. The native of Woodland Hills, California, is a full -time coach since the 2007 season in Cal Poly, most of his goal being in secondary.

His addition gives the Bears three defensive coaches after Wilcox added Allen Brown to the group This off -season after the departure of Watson. Both will operate alongside Terrence Brown in secondary school.

This was an occupied off -season for the Bears with almost basically in attack and the latest addresses on the defense. In all, the Bears have added eight new trainers on the ground this offseason in addition to additional tasks for several others already on the staff.

All this was added to Ron will rive in Berkeley as a new director general of the Bears.

Cal has been looking for his first winning season since 2019 and finished 6-7 in the past two years.