CBS Sports Ranks Justin Wilcox 55th Among Power Four Head Coaches

CBS Sports, in conjunction with 247 Sports, recently ranked all 68 head coaches in the Power Four football conferences heading into the 2025 season. And it probably comes as no surprise that Cal’s Justin Wilcox ranks near the bottom of that list based on the Bears’ recent results.

Cal has not had a winning season since 2019 and has not finished with a winning conference record in any of Wilcox’s eight seasons in Berkeley. (In fact, Cal has not had a winning conference mark since 2009.)

Wilcox is No. 55 in the CBS Sports rankings, but he is ranked ahead of four other ACC coaches and is just one spot behind North Carolina’s Bill Belichick, who has been getting plenty of publicity lately because of his girlfriend.

Here is what CBS Sports said about Wilcox:

55. California

Justin Wilcox: The situation at Cal feels tenuous for Wilcox. The results have certainly been consistent, but there have been few highs. This year, Wilcox has new coordinators coming off a 6-7 season and 2-6 mark in the Bears first year in the ACC. There's also a new general manager in town in Ron Rivera, and that doesn't feel like great news for Wilcox. 2024 rank: 57 (+2), High: 47, Low: 57

That first sentence is interesting: “The situation at Cal feels tenuous for Wilcox.”

We’re not sure that’s the case, but that’s the perspective of people observing the Cal situation from afar.

Here are the rankings of all 17 ACC coaches (with their overall ranking in parentheses). You will note that only one ACC head coach is ranked among the top 15. Georgia’s Kirby Smart is No. 1.

--- 1. Clemson’s Dabo Swiney (3 overall)

--- 2. Louisville’s Jeff Brohm (17 overall)

--- 3. Miami’s Mario Cristobal (20 overall)

--- 4. SMU’s Rhett Lashlee (22 overall)

--- 5. Florida State’s Mike Norvell (25 overall)

--- 6.. Georgia Tech’s Brent Key (30 overall)

--- 7. North Carolina State’s Dave Doeren (31 overall)

--- 8. Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi (37 overall)

--- 9. Duke’s Manny Diaz (44 overall)

--- 10.. Syracuse’s Fran Brown (46 overall)

--- 11. Boston College’s Bill O’Brien (50 overall)

--- 12. North Carolina’s Bill Belichick (54 overall)

--- 13. Cal’s Justin Wilcox (55 overall)

--- 14. Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert (56 overall)

--- 15. Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry (63 overall)

--- 16. Virginia’s Tony Elliott (65 overall)

--- 17. Stanford’s Frank Reich (67 overall)

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