Tosh Lupoi

Biography

Tosh Lupoi, a former California defensive lineman and assistant coach known for his dynamic recruiting ability and who has enjoyed extensive success both in college and the NFL, was named the 35th head coach in program history on December 4, 2025. Lupoi comes home to Berkeley after spending the past four seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oregon. He also won a pair of national championships during a five-year stint at Alabama, where he served as outside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. Lupoi has additionally spent time on the coaching staff at the University of Washington and in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. Lupoi was a defensive lineman for the Golden Bears from 2000-05 and earned Pac-10 All-Academic honors as a senior. He went on to coach Cal's defensive line from 2008-11, making him the youngest full-time coach in California football history when he joined the staff at age 26 in 2008. Lupoi proved to be a strong recruiter and talent developer, helping the Bears bring in two highly touted recruiting classes and producing two first-round NFL Draft picks on the defensive line. At Alabama, Lupoi worked under legendary head coach Nick Saban and spent two seasons as co-defensive coordinator and his final year as the team's sole defensive coordinator. He coached the outside linebackers during his entire time with the Tide while helping Alabama reach four straight national championship games. Whi