Cal Football: Jeff Tedford Fights For His Job The Rest Of 2012

EDIT: This roundtable was conducted before Cal's graduation rate was revealed to be the lowest in the Pac-12, which should only increase the pressure on Tedford to produce a strong finish to remain Cal's head coach.

Do you believe Jeff Tedford's job is in danger? If so, what does he need to do to save his job this season? If not, what would put his job in danger?

Unclesam22, California Golden Blogs: Yes. At the beginning of the season I think most Cal observers agreed that for Tedford to keep his job he needed to show some upward trajectory with the program. Clearly that has not been the case this season and given the sloppiness and poor play seen on the field, I think that Tedford's job has to be in danger.

I think Cal would have to win out to save his job. That would put their record at 7-5, provide a ton of momentum heading into a bowl, give Cal two huge upsets over ranked teams and probably provide a recruiting bump. If this doesn't happen (and it might be the most unlikely of all scenarios), I think Cal finishes at 5-7 at best and he's done. Losing out would definitely seal it.

TwistNHook, California Golden Blogs: More than in danger, I think that his time at Cal is over and there is not much he can do to save it. He pretty much has to win out for a chance to keep his job. If he were to beat Oregon at home and Oregon State on the road and win out, we'd be at 7 wins. Win a Bowl Game and we get an 8 win season. Unlikely, in my view.

Kodiak, California Golden Blogs: Yes. Increased expectations coupled with the hefty price tag of the facilities upgrades puts a lot pressure on the program to win. While many programs have down years or rebuilding years, it's disconcerting for an established program to show a downward arc without any plausible excuses. Cal football has become hard to watch. That's not going to help sell the ESP program or entice people to fill New Memorial.

Winning 3/4 to become bowl eligible might buy him another year. 2 and 4 puts him on the bubble, but might still be okay if the team shows improvement. Doing something decisive like playing the young players to help build for the future might also factor in his favor. More of the same stubbornness could put the nails in the coffin.

Berkelium97, California Golden Blogs: Absolutely. Opening Memorial Stadium with a loss, routinely looking sloppy/undisciplined/unprepared, and losing the Big Game will make it extremely difficult for anyone to have any optimism heading into 2013 if Tedford is retained. The ATO needs to sell ESP seats to pay off the Memorial Stadium renovations and bringing back Jeff Tedford is not going to generate much demand for any season tickets, let alone ESP seats.

He has to beat Utah, UW, and either Oregon or Oregon State. Then he needs to win a bowl game. That might be enough that he can scrape by another season. Even then, it will be hard to dismiss the feeling that we are simply prolonging the inevitable.

Atomsareenough, California Golden Blogs: Are you kidding? If his job *isn't* in danger, something is seriously wrong with the administration. We're now on our 3rd straight year of mediocrity (some folks would say the 6th year, but I thought 2008-2009 weren't bad enough to complain about), and apart from the UCLA game, this inaugural season in our renovated stadium has gone pretty much the opposite of how we would have hoped. The fanbase is restive, to put it mildly, and the current state of affairs isn't acceptable. A blowout loss at home to our archrival with our season on the line may be the final nail in the coffin.

To me, at minimum, he needs to find 3 more wins on the schedule to reach bowl eligibility, AND he would probably need to win the bowl game if he got there. However, at this point it probably means beating Utah on the road, beating Washington at home, and either upsetting Oregon at Memorial (which doesn't seem remotely plausible), or beating Oregon State in Corvallis. Now, if we go 5-7, even though I think that he should be fired for that, do I think he will be? I don't know.