Tedford isn’t messing around this off-season. As previously reported, O-Line coach Steve Marshall left before he could be given the ax. Now it has been announced by the school that wide receiver coach Kevin Daft has been fired.

It’s also been confirmed that strength and conditioning coach John Krasinski has been let go too.

On offense that just leaves running back coach Ron Gould and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig left. I’d say only Gould is 100% safe at this point, although I get the feeling that Ludwig has at least one more season in him, particularly since the lower too were fired, giving him some “cover” for the weak performance of the offense this year.

Don’t underestimate the value of the strength and conditioning coach. I haven’t felt the last few years that the team’s conditioning was particularly strong. At the same time, I wouldn’t say it was weak. But you can tell those well conditioned teams from the rest of the pack. They’re the ones that always seem to have a 4th quarter comeback in them. When’s the last time the Bears were known for that?

I keep hearing over and over how “Nevada destroyed Cal”. And I do mean over and over. It doesn’t seem to matter which media outlet is covering it, that’s the stated result of the game.

Why am I bringing it up now?

Well, Ted Miller’s annual review of the Bears season, that focuses on that game, that’s why. Going further, when Ted Miller remembers that the Bears were driving for a go-ahead score when Riley threw a pick-6 in the 3rd quarter, you’d think he wouldn’t mention in the SAME STINKING VIDEO that the game was “a shellacking.”

The Nevada game was a shootout that found the Bears on the losing end, getting more desperate as the game wore on. In fact, starting in the 2nd quarter, Nevada and Cal merely traded scores, Cal coming up short with a field goal and Nevada getting the last score.

It bears repeating… this was not “a shellacking”.

The post-mortem. Stanford and Washington losses recounted. Jim Harbaugh’s future divined. A Pac-10 bowl roundup. (Go Ducks!) A Pac-12 2011 season previewed. All of this and a farewell to our podcasts for this year. Merry Christmas to all, and dream of Rose Bowls.

You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

The athletic department announced today that our first game in 2011 will be a neutral-field site, Candlestick park, against Fresno state. They also state that our game on 9/10 will be an away game and that our game on 9/17 will be a home game (at AT&T of course).

They don’t say exactly how it’s going to work, but the indication is that the Fresno St. game won’t be included in the season tickets. So, for those of us who hope to buy tickets for all games in the region, we’re looking at two non-season ticket games (Fresno and Stanford) we’ll have to purchase separately for a total of 7 games (5 home, 2 “regional”). Since we’ve been told through the grapevine that season tickets will cost about the same as last year, we’re looking at a more expensive season once all is said and done.

The cost issue aside, I like the idea of playing Fresno St. and the neutral field during our “banished” year is not a bad idea. We won’t have to worry about paying Fresno a fixed lump sum in a “pay for play” game, but we also won’t be losing a home game in the future that a home-and-home would.

Add to that, that Fresno is not the team they used to be (and no Nevada), so it should be a winnable game, and it feels right for next season.

I first saw this on BearTerritory.net, who linked to BuffStampede.com, who says that Steve Marshall is headed to Colorado to be their O-Line coach. So far the CC-Times and Mr. Okanes, our most on the ball paper, hasn’t been able to confirm it.

I suspect it’s probably true.

As for whether this is a good thing, it’s hard to say until we see how his replacement does. There’s no doubt the offensive line has been under performing. But it could be that we were so used to exceptional coaching in Michalczik that we’re spoiled. It may be that whoever we get to replace him may not be any better.

What it does show, assuming it’s true, is that Tedford is already starting into his off season changes. Will others find themselves on the chopping block as well? I suspect this won’t be the end of it.

OK, the key caveat here is that this assumes, something I’m most definitely NOT willing to concede, that Tedford goes into a downward spiral… but that caveat aside:

Now that Urban Meyer has stepped down at Florida, I think he deserves a couple of years off from the stressful world of Florida football and I wish him well during his extended vacation. But may I suggest that he not get in a mortgage that has him locked into the state of Florida starting in 2013, or perhaps 2014. We here in Berkeley would love to have him. And we can promise a few things most other programs can not:

• One of the most beautiful settings in the world
• Brand new facilities, both workout AND stadium
• A friendly, laid-back media
• A far lower set of expectations from boosters and alumni
• A guaranteed path to the granddaddy of them all

Trust me coach, you’d love it in Berkeley.