Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi announced on Friday that Michael Hutchings has been appointed as the new defensive coordinator for the California Golden Bears football program.
Hutchings joins Cal after spending three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. He served as safeties coach for the past two years, following his promotion from assistant defensive backs coach in 2023. In total, Hutchings brings eight years of coaching experience at both collegiate and professional levels to the Golden Bears staff.
“The Vikings defense currently ranks fifth in the NFL, surrendering only 292.7 yards per game,” according to recent statistics from their 2025 season. The team also ranks third in passing defense, allowing just 168.8 yards per game through the air. Overall, Minnesota’s defense is ranked tenth in points allowed at 20.8 per game, with most teams yet to play their final regular-season matchups.
In 2024, Hutchings contributed to a Vikings squad that finished with a 14-3 regular-season record—the second-highest win total in franchise history—and made a playoff appearance. “His safeties played an integral role in, leading the NFL in interceptions (24), passes defended (95), opponent 4th-down conversion percentage (37.1%) and interceptions per attempt (3.8%) and tying for the league lead in takeaways (33). The unit also helped the Vikings rank second in the NFL in opponent scoring efficiency (31.6%), opponent runs of at least 20 yards (five) and opponents rushing yards per game (93.5).”
The Vikings achieved a takeaway in every regular season game during 2024—setting a new franchise record for consecutive games with a takeaway—and were unique among NFL teams by accomplishing this feat throughout all games that year. Their total of 24 interceptions was five more than any other team.
Former Cal player Cam Bynum and All-Pro safety Harrison Smith each led Minnesota with three interceptions during that season.
During his first professional season, Hutchings assisted Minnesota’s defense as it improved its overall ranking from thirty-first place in 2022 to sixteenth place by 2023 while leading the league with twenty-one takeaways; defensive backs accounted for fourteen of those turnovers.
Hutchings worked closely with his defensive backs group and helped Bynum reach career highs across several categories: tackles (137), passes defended (nine), forced fumbles (three), and matched his previous best mark for interceptions (two). Bynum’s tackle count was not only highest among Vikings defenders but also led all defensive backs league-wide during that year.
Prior to joining the NFL coaching ranks, Hutchings held positions at Western Kentucky University as outside linebackers coach during their nine-win campaign in 2022; he previously worked as a defensive analyst under Mario Cristobal at Oregon; and began his coaching career at USC, where he had played college football.
While at USC between 2019 and 2020, Hutchings contributed to significant improvements on defense—total yards allowed dropped from over four hundred per game down to under three hundred seventy; passing yardage allowed fell by thirty yards per contest over that span.
He coached safety Talanoa Hufanga—named consensus All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year—as well as Marlon Tuipulotu who earned All-Pac-12 first team honors.
A Concord native, Hutchings played four seasons at inside linebacker for USC from 2013–16 before earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees there.
