The way I see it

Alex Leon

Win or lose, Tom Holmoe’s expression never changed Saturday night at

the Rose Bowl.

Whether his California Golden Bears were ahead 3-0 early in the first

quarter, or trailing, 56-17, late in the game, the 40-year-old head coach

had his game face on from the first play to the last.

Saturday night’s Pac-10 game for his 0-6 Bears was another homecoming

for Holmoe, the 1977 Pacific League Defensive Player of the Year at

Crescenta Valley High, who grew up just a few miles away from the Rose

Bowl in La Crescenta.

Since he took over as Cal’s Head Coach in 1997, Holmoe can count on at

least one trip home each year against either USC or UCLA. But being home

was probably the furthest thing from his mind last weekend as he focused

on trying to turn the Bears season around and get that first win.

“I don’t think the task is the motivation, I think the tough task is

playing the game against these guys,” said Holmoe at his weekly press

conference last week. “They are good. You can get these guys motivated

and be ready to play and execute those plays,””When you’re playing a team

like UCLA, if [you’re] not motivated, you’re not going to win.”

Holmoe and the Bears did not win and the fortunes of the Bruins

continue to rise and the Bears are on track to finish with their worst

record under Holmoe since 1997, when they were 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the

Pac-10.

Before taking over at Cal in 1997, Holmoe was a winner at every level

he played, including the NFL where he earned four Super Bowl Rings, three

as a defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers from 1983-89 and one as

an assistant coach for the 49ers in 1994.

Despite an overall record of 15-35 and a five-year Pac-10 mark of

9-27, Holmoe is considered one of the best young coaches in football

according to former Stanford and 49ers head coach Bill Walsh.

“He has an outstanding football mind, he’s extremely intelligent and

he’s well-organized,” said Walsh about Holmoe on the Bears website. “He

just exudes class and he’ll be a great asset to the University of

California.”

***Bullett***

If it takes a player to know a player, that might be one of the best

things that Holmoe has going for him as a coach.

As a standout defensive back and quarterback at CV in 1977, Holmoe led the Falcons in passing with 1008 yards despite playing both ways as the

best defensive player in the league.

The Falcons were only 5-5-1 that year but Holmoe played a big role in

the team finishing 12-1 in 1976 as a junior and advancing deep into the

CIF Southern Section playoffs.

In college at Brigham Young University, Holmoe was starter at

cornerback for the Cougars from 1980-82 and led the Western Athletic

Conference in interceptions with seven as a sophomore in 1980.

Tenacity and a good head for the game served Holmoe well in his NFL

career as he recorded 151 tackles from 1983-89 from both safety positions

and as a special team’ player for the 49ers.

To illustrate his winning ways, the 49ers won seven consecutive

division titles with Holmoe in the lineup and BYU won five straight WAC

titles when he was part of that program.

But if Holmoe got anything out football as a player it was the

knowledge that nothing lasts forever. He retired in 1990 after the 49ers

won Super Bowl XXIV, 55-10 over the Denver Broncos and set his sights on

coaching.

His first stop was going back to school as he rejoined his former head

coach, LaVelle Edwards, at BYU as a graduate assistant in 1990 and 1991

and then joined former 49ers Head Coach at Stanford in 1992 and 1993.

In 1994, Holmoe rejoined the 49ers as a defensive backfield coach

under George Seifert and helped coach starters Deion Sanders, Eric Davis,

Tim McDonald and Merton Hanks in to the Pro Bowl. In 1995 the 49ers

intercepted 26 passes, their highest total in nine years, and Holmoe

solidified his reputation as one of the top defensive coaches in

football.

Cal was Holmoe’s next stop as the Bears Defensive Coordinator in 1996

and he was hired as the teams head coach in 1997 when Steve Mariucci was

hired as the 49ers head coach.

***Bullet***

After signing a one-year contract extension that extends through the

2002 season at Cal at the end of last year, Holmoe may or may not be

feeling the heat of a winless 2001 season after six games.

For Saturday’s game against Oregon State, 2-4 and 1-3 in Pac-10, the

Bears will be playing a team that has lost a game, something that will be

new to them after playing unbeaten teams the first six games of the

season.

How they will fare is unknown at this point with starting quarterback

Kyle Boller out for the second straight week and the Bears among the

nation’s leaders in fewest points scored this year with 105 and most

point allowed with 274.

But one thing that will remain a constant is that Tom Holmoe will be

wearing his game face from the first play to the last Saturday. No matter

what the final score reads.