Gerald Alexander is heading to the Bay Area to reunite with Justin Wilcox.
Montana State’s secondary coach for a single season will join Wilcox’s new staff at Cal, Alexander confirmed on Twitter Sunday evening. Two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed Alexander’s departure to Skyline Sports. Cal hired Wilcox, the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin last season, as its head coach earlier this month.
Montana State secondary coach Gerald Alexander has brought a new platform of experience to the Bobcat defense/by Brooks Nuanez
At 12:40 a.m., Alexander tweeted:
“Thank you Jeff Choate, the staff & the players at Montana State University. Thank you also to the community in Bozeman, MT for a great experience and treating me and my family well during my time there. Proud to have been part of the foundation of a program that will become special because of the incredible support from the community and the coaches and the players.”
A minute later, he tweeted a picture of former Cal running back Marshawn Lynch riding a golf cart with the caption “Fight for California.” His Twitter profile now displays “Defensive Backs Coach UC Berkeley”.
Cal has not yet officially announced the hire, but is expected to in coming days.
Alexander, a four-time first-team All-WAC selection at Boise State before being drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, played his senior season for Wilcox, Boise State’s DC from 2006 until 2009. Wilcox made a stop as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee (2010-11) before rejoining Chris Petersen’s staff, this time at Washington as the defensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013.
Wilcox spent 2014 and 2015 as USC’s defensive coordinator. Before the 2015 season, Wilcox and USC’s defensive staff hosted MSU position coaches Bo Beck and Kane Ioane for two weeks of professional development.
Former MSU defensive backs Gerald Alexander
Alexander played two seasons each for the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars before spending a brief stint in 2010 with the Carolina Panthers and stops in 2011 with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets before retiring due to injuries. His first college coaching gig came as a graduate assistant at Arkansas State before spending the 2014 season at Washington.
The former standout safety earned his first full-time job as Indiana State’s secondary coach in 2015. He was hired on Jeff Choate’s first staff in December of that year before speculation that he would return to his alma mater in a similar role. Boise State ended up hiring former NFL defensive back Ashley Ambrose and Alexander spent the next 13 months in Bozeman.
The charismatic, articulate 32-year-old has been a part of the Bill Walsh Minority Intern program, spending time with the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last two summers. The rising star in the coaching business helped Montana State make tremendous strides in 2016.
Alexander started the speculation of his hiring on Twitter, posting five photos and counting of famed Bay Area rappers. He tweeted a photo of Mac Dre at 10:25 p.m. on Saturday night. He tweeted photos of E-40, Too Short, Mistah F.A.B., and Keak Da Sneak midday on Sunday. Later on, he posted a picture of the rapper B-Legit and at 12:30 a.m. a video of Mac Dre’s song “California Bear.”
Former MSU defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander
Alexander helped Montana State rank in the top 30 in the FCS in passing yards per completion. The Bobcats improved drastically from a unit that gave up more than 41 points on six different occasions in 2015. MSU led the league in scoring offense and total offense in Rob Ash’s final season, yet finished 5-6.
In 2016, Montana State ranked second in the Big Sky by allowing 25.1 points per game. MSU ranked third in the league in yards allowed per game (388.6), third in run defense (145.9), and second in pass defense efficiency (123.6). The Bobcats snared 10 interceptions, including three by senior cornerback John Walker during an All-Big Sky season after transferring from Colorado. Alexander also helped Bryson McCabe earn second-team All-Big Sky honors as a junior strong safety.
Montana State finished 4-7 in Choate’s first season at the helm.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
