Former Arizona Wildcats defensive coordinator Marcel Yates has been hired as Cal's new defensive backs coach, the Golden Bears announced on Saturday.
"We are excited to bring someone with Marcel's experience and resume onto our staff as our defensive backs coach," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "The staffs he has coached on have won a lot of games, and Marcel has a tremendous skill set as a coach, teacher and top recruiter."
Excited to welcome @CoachYates77 to the #CalFamily! 🗞 | https://t.co/fEaI2R7jQT pic.twitter.com/1ioxQmhKi7
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) January 25, 2020
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Arizona fired Yates in October, while the Wildcats were in the middle of another subpar defensive season. At the time he was terminated, Yates' Wildcats ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in total defense and 12th in points allowed. Analyst Chuck Cecil finished the season as defensive coordinator; Arizona hired UCLA assistant coach Paul Rhoads as Yates' permanent replacement following the season. Yates spent four seasons at Arizona under coaches Rich Rodriguez and Kevin Sumlin. He made $560,000 annually as part of a multi-year contract that expired this month. Before coming to Arizona, Yates spent 11 seasons over two stints at Boise State and time at Texas A&M, where he worked for Sumlin.
Yates said in a news release that "foundation for great success has been put in place over the last three seasons at Cal."
"The progress Cal has made under Coach Wilcox is not surprising. I enjoyed working with him when we were at Boise State and am thankful that I will have the opportunity to do it again in Berkeley. I'm looking forward to joining the excellent culture at Cal."
Arizona and Cal do not play in 2020, the result of the Pac-12's scheduling rotation.
