Cal announced Tuesday night Jake Spavital will return to Berkeley to serve as the Bears offensive coordinator again.
Spavital, 37, was Cal’s offensive coordinator in 2016 when the Bears’ “Air Raid” offense set several school records while ranking fourth in the country in passing offense and 10th in total offense under then head coach Sonny Dykes.
Spavital was fired last week as Texas State’s head coach after a 13-35 record over the past four seasons. Previously, Spavital was the offensive coordinator at West Virginia (2017-18) after leaving Cal.
“Jake is an elite offensive coordinator and recruiter with a terrific record of success in producing top-notch offenses and developing outstanding quarterbacks,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “We are excited to have Jake return to Cal and lead our staff on the offensive side of the ball.”
Cal fired Bill Musgrave with one game left in this past season while in the middle of a six-game losing streak. Under Musgrave, the Bears were ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in both scoring offense (23.2 points) and total offense (362.1 yards).
As an offensive coordinator, Spavital has piloted offenses on teams that finished in the top 20 in the country in total offense six times, reached seven bowl games, and earned a spot in the AP Top 25 in seven different seasons. He’s recruited and worked with a number of elite college and NFL quarterbacks, including Kyler Murray (Texas A&M), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) and Geno Smith (West Virginia).
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the culture Justin Wilcox and his staff have created at Cal,” Spavital said. “I got a taste of the potential this program has when I was in Berkeley previously, and I’m looking forward to bringing everything I can to the table to help us maximize that potential. We have a bunch of talented playmakers already on the roster, and I can’t wait to get to work with them and bring more talent in to join them.”
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