Here's the thing, however. Cal has been extremely competitive in their losses (yeah, yeah, so what):
2020 (Covid year)- 1-3: lost to OSU by 4 points and to Stanford by 1 point.
2021- 5-7: lost by 2 points to TCU, lost in OT to UW; Lost to #9 Oregon and to Arizona by 1 TD.
2022- 3-7: lost to Notre Dame, UW by 1 TD; lost to Colorado in OT; Lost to USC by 6 pts
Coulda, shoulda woulda? They seem close to turning a corner. They are near the bottom of PAC 12 in offense and near the middle in defense. In 2021 they were second in defense but near the bottom in offense.
Like I said above, Cal is loathe to spend money on buyouts and coaches.