The Case for Keeping Tedford

I haven't written anything for SCF since I posted a tale of my breakup with Jeff Tedford. Here's a snippet from that piece last month:

I'm not saying Tedford will be fired. Athletic Director Sandy Barbour has many factors to consider when making that determination, and not all of them are related to wins and losses.
I'm not even saying Tedford should be fired. He is the most important figure Cal football has ever had (sorry, Pappy, but leather-helmet football isn't real football), he changed the nature of the program, and he stuck with us despite NFL offers when nobody else would (*cough*Mariucci*cough*). He is the only Cal coach I have never known, and seeing someone else pace the sidelines with a clipboard and a headset on Saturdays would be as alien an experience as I can imagine in football.
What I am saying is this: It's time for me to break up with Tedford.

Now, as the 2012 season braces itself, finally, for its mercy killing in Corvallis on Saturday night at the hands of an impressive Oregon State squad, the time for Barbour's ultimate decision has come:

"We'll probably get together on Sunday and we'll go from there, however long it takes us. We need to resolve quickly what are the solutions to getting Cal football moving in the right direction," Barbour said in a CBSSports.com article on the subject. "Football to this university is really important. It's a huge emotional driver, a huge financial driver and in seeking solutions to get us back on track, we'll be really thoughtful ... we have to decide what that solution set is very quickly and let's move in that direction."

A ringing endorsement that most definitely is not.

So, Tedford's time in Berkeley seems to be up. I'm sure my colleagues here at SCF will have a lot to say next week once the news officially does (or does not -- I supposed this is still a possibility) break.

As for me, I was torn the Tedford conundrum for most of the last three seasons, during which, assuming the Bears lose to the Beavers (currently ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the BCS standings), the team compiled an overall record of 15-22. I tried dealing with my internal conflict through apathy -- "Just make a decision and leave me out of it." But now, I have made up my mind:

I want him to stay.

Fully aware this view puts me firmly in the minority among Cal fans, I will try to explain myself via the awesome power of bulletpoints:

• Tedford is only on the hot seat because of of the culture he created. If you had polled fans in 2001 and asked would they keep or fire a coach who led the Bears to nine winning seasons in 11 years, you wouldn't need Nate Silver to figure out the the results. Tedford is a textbook example of "victim of his own success."
• He stood by us in the face of better job offers (the Chicago Bears, for example) when others (Mariucci, for instance) did not. Cal should return the favor by standing by Tedford now. He clearly wants to be our Paterno. It's a matter of preference, sure, but I'd rather have a lifelong coach who grinds it out year in, year out than a Jim Harbaugh-type who rockets to success then bolts for greener pastures.
• Look at what's happening with Kansas State right now with Bill Snyder. All his many years in the Little Apple were not diamonds. The Wildcats went 4-7 in 2004 and 5-6 in 2005. Then Snyder retired, came back three years later and continued his mediocre ways, going 6-6 in 2009 and 7-6 in 2010. Maybe fans screamed for his job (I apologize, I choose to spend my time in ways other than trolling K-State message boards), but regardless the school stood by him. They even named the stadium after him! And now look at the Wildcats: After a 10-3 season in 2011, they are undefeated national title contenders this year with the country's leading Heisman candidate at quarterback. Sometimes turing things around just takes a tweak or two, a recruiting steal (see: Johnny Football at Texas A&M) or a new coordinator or something.
• Let's use the visualization technique on this decision. It seems realistic that Cal hires an NFL retread like Mariucci or a mediocre college coach like James Franklin at Vanderbilt (we're not snagging a guy like Boise's Chris Peterson, unless the Bear Backers are ready to hardcore open their wallets, SEC-style). Meanwhile, Tedford takes a new job at a midlevel school in a big conference (something along the lines of Indiana in the Big Ten). Can't you just see the Bears meandering along with the same 7-6-ish seasons Tedford has been giving them lately, and meanwhile an invigorated Tedford leads the Hoosiers to the Rose Bowl in three years?
• When talking about the Tedford situation, a friend of mine, who is in the "he's gotta go" camp, said he fully anticipates Tedford to be a top five job head coaching candidate the minute he leaves Memorial Stadium. I completely agreed with him. So ... if a guy who will undoubtedly be a top candidate for other schools is currently our coach ... why would we fire him??
• Let me summarize the above: WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANY BETTER THAN JEFF TEDFORD!!! He's our guy, and he has been awesome in the past. We need to have faith he can get there again. We should dance with the one who brung us.

In conclusion, for old time's sake one more time: Tedford is God.