10 Power Four college football coaches on the hot seat in 2024

9. Justin Wilcox, California

Here is a name that many probably don't expect to be here. Justin Wilcox has been the head coach of Cal since 2017. You would think that Wilcox has done a good job at Cal since he's stayed for so long. However, that isn't the case. California has been to three bowl games with Wilcox at the helm but the Golden Bears have been mediocre at best.

The best single-season record that Wilcox has under his belt is an 8-5 finish in 2019. Cal won the Redbox Bowl but overall things haven't been pretty. Last season, Cal went 6-7 and lost in the Independence Bowl. The bowl game is probably why you won't find or hear Wilcox's name in conversations about coaches on the hot seat.

A 36-43 overall record in seven years is valid enough for him to be on here. If you count 2020's four-game campaign, California has suffered through four consecutive losing seasons. If another mediocre year occurs, it will be easy for second thoughts to be made on is Wilcox is the guy to lead this program. It the Golden Bears miss the bowl season, he might be in some major trouble.

Over the last four years, Wilcox has failed to bring in great recruiting classes. However, that has more to do with the school prioritizing academics over athletics, which has been the norm at Cal for the school's entire history. To make matters even worse, this is Cal's first year being a member of the ACC. If they struggled to compete in the Pac-12, why would anyone believe they could do it here?

This year's schedule might be a tough break for Wilcox and it isn't a walk in the park. The Golden Bears have to play Florida State on the road and have home dates with Miami and North Carolina State. In non-conference play, they also have a road game against Auburn and watch out for their third game of the season against a high-powered San Diego State passing attack.

There are winnable games across the schedule for sure, but California might be in for another losing season. Nobody is expecting Berkley to make any noise in their inaugural ACC season. There's going to be lots of close fights throughout the season but Wilcox is facing some adversity here. If things go badly, he could be gone.