Former Raiders coach Hue Jackson said he has not heard from Cal but that he would be interested in the Bears’ coaching position, calling it “a golden opportunity” for whoever gets the job.

“I think they can be as good as they want to be,” Jackson told this newspaper Tuesday in a phone interview. “They should have an opportunity to compete for the Pac-12 championship, BCS bowls, the national championship. Why not Cal?”

Jackson, 47, was offensive coordinator at Cal in 1996. Currently coaching defensive backs and special teams for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson led the Raiders to an 8-8 record in 2011, his only as head coach in Oakland. He was the Raiders’ offensive coordinator in 2010.

He stressed that he has not heard from anyone at Cal, but would welcome a call. “I’m sure I would. I see no reason not to,” he said.

Cal fired 11-year coach Jeff Tedford last Tuesday after the Bears finished with a 3-9 record.

“I think whoever they decide to bring in will inherit a golden opportunity,” Jackson said. “I’m not putting down coach Tedford. He did a great job. I think Cal is on the rise.”

Jackson has coached exclusively in the NFL since 2001, including stints as offensive coordinator for the Redskins and Falcons. But he downplayed the difficulty of transitioning back to college, where he also has experience at USC and Arizona State.

“In the National Football League you still have free agency, which is like recruiting. It’s not totally the same, but there a lot of parallels,” he said.

Jackson also is confident that the renovated Memorial Stadium and year-old high-performance center will help them attract top-level prospects.

“I know they’ve done a tremendous upgrade. It’s a place you can recruit to,” he said.

Jackson spent the ’96 season at Cal, working under coach Steve Mariucci on a team that featured quarterback Pat Barnes and tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Bears started 5-0, including a road win over 17th-ranked USC, then wound up 6-6 before Mariucci left to become coach of the 49ers.

“I know from my time there it’s a special place,” Jackson said. “It was a lot of fun and it was an environment where a student-athlete could go an get an unbelievable education while competing at the highest level you could.

“There was a sense they were very interested in Cal being among the elite teams in all of college football.”

Check back here for more on this developing story.

For more on Cal sports, see the Bear Talk blog at ibabuzz.com/beartalk. Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter at Twitter.com/CalBearsBANG.