Jeff Tedford is the winningest head coach in Cal football history. Tedford established the Golden Bears as one of the elite football programs in the Pac-12 and lifted the team into the national discussion on a consistent basis during his 11-season run as the Cal's head coach from 2002-12. Now in his 11th season at the helm in 2012. He led the Bears to final rankings among the nation’s top 25 four times and spots among the top 10 at some point of five seasons.
Cal posted a school-record seven straight bowl appearances from 2003-09 and has played in a bowl game eight times in the last 10 campaigns with the Bears 5-3 in the postseason under Tedford, including a school-record string of four consecutive bowl wins from 2005-08, making him the only Cal mentor with more than two postseason victories. The Bears also won enough games to be bowl eligible with a seven-victory season in his first campaign in 2002 but were ineligible for a bowl. In addition, Cal put together a school-record-tying eight consecutive winning campaigns from 2002-09 and added a ninth in 10 seasons in 2011. Cal twice posted a school-record-tying 10 wins under Tedford, the sixth and seventh times in school history, in 2004 and 2006.
Tedford posted a career record of 82-57 (.590) in a school-record 139 games at Cal, setting the school’s win mark for head coaches when he recorded the 75th victory of his career vs. Presbyterian at AT&T Park on Sept. 17, 2011. He is also the school’s all-time leader for victories in conference games (48), road contests (28) and bowl games (5). To top it off, he was 7-4 in the Big Game, equaling Pappy Waldorf’s school record of seven wins against Stanford.
Tedford had 47 of his Cal players selected in the NFL Draft.
All of this at the head of a program that won just one game in 2001, the year prior to his arrival, rates the Cal football renaissance during the Tedford era as one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football history.
Tedford also earned a reputation as a strong recruiter, with his last three classes in 2010, ’11 and ’12 ranked as high as No. 11, No. 13 and No. 15 nationally. Prior to the 2011 campaign, Sporting News bestowed the honor of the Pac-12’s best recruiter on him.
Tedford’s teams not only got it done on the field, they’ve also got it done in the classroom with his players have recognized as conference All-Academic honorees 110 times in 11 seasons.
Tedford’s success with the Cal program resulted in local devotion and national attention. Cal averaged more than 57,000 fans per contest for seven consecutive seasons from 2004-10 before moving to the 45,000-seat AT&T Park in 2011 while California Memorial Stadium underwent an extensive renovation and retrofit prior to reopening for the team’s 2012 home contests. The seven-year stretch included a string of 43 consecutive games in front of at least 50,000 fans at California Memorial Stadium (Sept. 11, 2004 – Nov. 20, 2010). In 2006, the Bears set school records for average fans per home game (64,318) and overall spectators (450,223). The following year in 2007 Cal established a school record with 41,366 season-ticket holders.
Nationally, Cal had multiple Heisman Trophy candidates under Tedford’s tutelage, with J.J. Arrington (2004), Marshawn Lynch (2006), DeSean Jackson (2007) and Jahvid Best (2009) among top candidates for the prestigious honor at some point in each respective season, and Arrington finishing eighth in the final voting.
Other national recognition came the Bears' way including 2008 Draddy Award (often referred to as the Academic Heisman) winner Alex Mack, while Mike Mohamed was one of 16 players across the country in the National Football Foundation’s Scholar-Athlete Class of 2010 and a finalist for the prestigious honor won by Mack now known as the William V. Campbell Trophy. Giorgio Tavecchio was a semifinalist for the same honor in 2011. In 2006, the Bears had a pair of players collect national awards. Jackson was the recipient of the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top returner in the country, while Daymeion Hughes earned The Lott IMPACT Trophy given to the nation’s top defensive player to equally recognize his athletic performance and personal character.
Despite his success and notoriety, Tedford remained devoted to being a mentor.
“Football is more than a game,” he said. “I think it teaches so many values for young people as they move on into life – teamwork, sacrifice, dedication, hard work – all those things are very valuable to their futures. I’m going to be a person that they can trust and talk to while they’re here. But I really hope that when they leave, they understand that they can come back to Cal and ask for anything and count on me and our entire staff in any situation.”
His legendary work ethic, exemplified by the well-used air mattress in his old office that was replaced by a small bed in an adjacent room to his office in the team’s remodeled football facility, showed the coach’s drive, which was not geared towards individual success. His true goals were success as a team and success for his student-athletes.
“Jeff is the hardest worker I have ever encountered in this business,” Cal Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour said. “He is not going to be outworked, because he believes he owes that to his student-athletes. The future of the Cal football program is bright and stable under the leadership of Jeff Tedford.”
That relentless drive developed in Tedford as a young football player at Warren High School in the Southern California city of Downey. After a solid prep career, the undersized quarterback went on to a standout two-year stint at Cerritos College (1979-80) before a record-setting two-year stay at Fresno State (1981-82). During his days as a Bulldog, he established several school passing records, including career marks for passing yardage (4,872) and touchdown passes (35), while earning honorable mention All-America notice in 1982 when he set single-season Fresno State standards for passing yardage (2,993) and TD passes (24).
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Fresno State in 1983, Tedford played professionally in the Canadian Football League for six seasons with Hamilton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. He appeared in the league’s championship game (Grey Cup) with Hamilton in 1984.
Tedford used his own signal-calling experience to build a reputation as a quarterback guru. During 21 seasons of collegiate coaching at Cal (2002-12), Oregon (1998-2001) and Fresno State (1992-97), Tedford was integral in the development of six quarterbacks that became first-round picks in the NFL Draft – Kyle Boller, David Carr, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, Aaron Rodgers and Akili Smith.
Rodgers, an under-the-radar junior college transfer like Tedford, ranked No. 8 nationally in pass efficiency in 2004 when he completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,566 yards and 24 touchdowns with only eight interceptions for the Bears. He put up similar numbers the previous season when he completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five interceptions. After being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers has become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and followed his first Pro Bowl selection in 2009 by earning Super Bowl XLV MVP honors the following season after leading the Packers to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2011, he was named the NFL’s MVP and earned his first All-Pro honor from the Associated Press.
“As far as a gameday coach, he was incredibly demanding in a way that pushes you to strive for perfection,” Rodgers said of Tedford. “I think we’re both perfectionists, we like things to look a certain way, we’re both fierce competitors. I loved how he got our offense into a rhythm with his play-calling and I loved his energy. That second year there was a fun year … he and I still have a special friendship and bond.”
Dilfer was selected sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1994 NFL Draft and played for five teams over 14 NFL seasons in a career that was highlighted by leading the Baltimore Ravens to a win in Super Bowl XXXV following the 2000 campaign.
“I believe Jeff’s one of the finest minds in all of football,” said Dilfer, who went on to serve as a football analyst for ESPN after a 14-year NFL playing career from 1994-2007. “He’s certainly the finest coach I’ve ever been around. He’s a great leader and great teacher. He has very high expectations for himself and the people around him. And he will work tirelessly to meet those expectations. Jeff taught me more about toughness and the game of football than any coach I’ve ever played for, and I’ve had some awfully good coaches.”
In addition to his success with quarterbacks, Tedford’s Cal teams featured balanced attacks and become notorious for their ferocity on the ground. In nine of his 11 seasons at Cal, Tedford had at least one running back post a 1,000-yard rushing campaign, including a string of seven consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher from 2002-08 and then again in 2010 and 2011. In 2004, Arrington broke Chuck Muncie’s single-season school record with 2,018 yards on the ground, which led the country (168.2 ypg) as Arrington rushed for at least 100 yards in each of his 12 contests. In 2007, Justin Forsett’s 1,546 rushing yards were briefly the second-best in Cal history before Best’s four-game flourish (814 yards) at the end of 2008 gave him 1,580 for the year to move past Forsett. Lynch had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2005 and 2006, while Adimchinobe Echemandu (1,195 yards in 2003), Isi Sofele (1,322 yards in 2011), Shane Vereen (1,167 yards in 2010), and Joe Igber (1,075 yards in 2002) also reached the mark under Tedford. In addition to the 1,000-yard rushers, Cal was known for having two strong running backs every year with the top two backs combining for 1,500 or more yards each of his final 10 seasons in Berkeley.
While offense was Tedford’s forte, Cal’s defense toughened considerably during his reign as well, allowing an average of just 23.6 points per game that was second-best in the Pac-10/12 over that period. His 2004 team ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 16.0 points per game. In 2005, the Bears led the Pac-10 in scoring defense, giving up only 21.2 points per contest. In 2008, Cal led the Pac-10 in the two key categories of red zone defense (68.2%) and takeaways (34). The Bears were second in the conference in rush defense (112.0 ypg) in 2009. Cal then had a stellar season on defense in 2010 in their first year under former Super Bowl coordinator Clancy Pendergast, leading the league and ranking among the top 25 nationally in sacks (2.83 spg, No. 13 NCAA), total defense (319.08 ypg, No. 18 NCAA) and pass defense (187.0 ypg, No. 21 NCAA). In 2011, Cal again led the Pac-12 in total defense (332.92 ypg) and pass defense (204.23 ypg), ranking 25th and 37th nationally. Cal also continued to make big plays on defense in 2011 as the Pac-12’s top team in tackles for loss (7.69 tflpg, No. 7 NCAA) while ranking third in the conference in sacks (2.62 spg, No. 19 NCAA). In addition, the Bears led the Pac-12 in opponents’ first downs, allowing only 17.4 per game.
Prior to his arrival in Berkeley, Tedford was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon, serving in that role for four seasons, including the 2001 campaign when the Ducks finished with a No. 2 national ranking.
Tedford played an integral role in the rise of the Oregon program during his tenure in Eugene – a period in which the Ducks posted the Pac-10’s best record (38-10) while finishing progressively better each year (8-4 in 1998, 9-3 in 1999, 10-2 in 2000 and 11-1 in 2001). During his first season as offensive coordinator in 1998, Oregon set school records in passing yards, total offense and points scored. Tedford’s passing acumen was clearly evident in the rapid development of Smith, who earned Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year accolades as he finished second in the nation in pass efficiency and was later chosen third overall in the 1999 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.
Duck quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Harrington combined to pass for 3,131 yards and 24 TDs on the Sun Bowl champion team that ranked 13th nationally in scoring in 1999, while the 2000 club tied for the Pac-10 crown and defeated Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Tedford’s last Oregon squad in 2001 showcased one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks in Harrington, who won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
In 1992 as the quarterbacks coach at Fresno State, Tedford began honing the skills of Dilfer. Under Tedford’s guidance, the Bulldogs’ quarterback earned first-team All-WAC honors for an offense that led the nation in scoring (44.2 ppg), ranked second in total offense (541.9 ypg) and beat USC in the Freedom Bowl. A season later, Tedford became the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator, and Fresno State ranked third nationally in scoring and total offense while earning an Aloha Bowl invitation. Dilfer ranked first nationally in passing efficiency (173.1 rating) and won the WAC Offensive Player of the Year award. He was later chosen by Tampa Bay with the sixth overall selection of the 1994 NFL Draft.
Tedford’s coaching career began with two seasons as volunteer assistant at Fresno State (1987-88) before he joined Calgary of the CFL for three seasons (1989-91), including the 1991 team that advanced to the Grey Cup title game.
Despite his success as a coach and mentor, Tedford still followed a basic philosophy.
“We tried to focus on one game at a time and trid to reach our full potential,” he said emphatically.
And he still valued each and every member of his football team.
“Whether it is the guys who are suited up, the guys who are going to play 50-60 plays, or the guys who aren’t going to play at all, I want them all to understand that they are very important to the success of the program,” he said. “Their contributions are invaluable.”
Tedford’s hard work and dedication not only inspired his players, it also made him a role model to the young men in the Cal program.
“Coach Tedford wasn’t just a coach, I think of him as more like a father figure,” said Desmond Bishop, an All-Pac-10 linebacker and key member of the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl XLV winning squad. “He taught us lessons about life. He taught us to have integrity, to have character. He prepared us to be men.”
