Dear Coach Dykes,

As a former college baseball player, you should know that the worst thing you can do for team morale and effort is to blame your teammates for a loss and, worse yet, question their athletic ability as the reason for a loss. I watched your interview after the Stanford game and was thoroughly disappointed in the comments you made about certain position players being “not ready” and your generic questioning of the athletic ability of your players as the reason for a lack of tackling during games. How about coaching? How about blitzing the quarterback when you know you have inexperienced defensive backs? How about a game plan that involves something other than your three linebackers standing 15 to 20 yards down the field doing nothing while the opposing quarterback stands in the pocket indefinitely and picks out an inevitably open receiver?

Even more troubling were the articles I just read (which came out while you were courting other schools) indicating that staying at Cal was “not your first choice.” You need to make a decision. Either you commit to the job, commit to your players, commit to your coaching staff and commit to taking responsibility, or you move on … or should I say, move back to where you came from. Cal has given you an incredible opportunity to be a Pac-12 coach at the No. 1 public university in the world. Perhaps you should focus on deserving that opportunity.

Neil Cummings is a UC Berkeley graduate from the class of 1974.