Cal general manager Ron Rivera acknowledged that first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi has encountered some difficulties en route to a 3-6 record that includes three straight losses.
"Tosh came in as a first-time head coach," Rivera said Thursday on KNBR’s "Murph & Markus Show." "He did bring a couple of inexperienced coordinators with him. Things didn't work out the way we needed them to work out on offense."
Lupoi stripped offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville of his play-calling duties in the middle of a loss to UNLV earlier this season. Somerville had no offensive coordinator experience when Lupoi hired him from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rivera said he's offered advice but suggested he and Lupoi haven't always seen eye to eye.
"He has bumped his head a lot," Rivera added. "We've talked a lot, tried to give him a lot of advice, point him in the right direction. Some of it, he's been very receptive, and other portions of it, he hasn't. And it's those things that sometimes you've gotta learn for yourself before you think, 'Oh wow, this is it.' I'd like to continue to stress that this is a guy that's learning, growing."
At this point in the season, Rivera said the team needs to start showing signs of progress.
"Now it's time," the two-time NFL Coach of the Year said. "These last three games, hopefully four, the trajectory has to be going north. We have to show that we are growing - there has been some growth and development of our players, our team, and the culture is getting stronger. Those are all things that you have to have."
