Oregon fired its head coach yesterday. Given that Mark Helfrich was just two years removed from coaching in a national championship game, the move had a real SEC flavor to it.
But Oregon managed to elevate the situation with some first-class dickishness. Check out what the school sent out yesterday.
Nice. I’d throw out some “stay classy, Oregon” advice, but that train appears to have already left the station. If there were any justice, that would chill the bidding for Helfrich’s replacement, but let’s face it — the Ducks can throw enough money around to make anybody swallow their qualms about that.
Get The Picture 
Their search and hire will be interesting to me. I think it’s a good job, but Oregon is weird.
Some people love the Pac NW, but it’s not for everyone. We’ll see I suppose.
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Have they posted the job for the required 2 weeks? I wonder who the 12 candidates are that will be interviewed?
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Oregon, I believe, has codified the Rooney Rule into law, so the AD will have to interview more than one candidate.
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(Oregon AD calls out to his assistant): “Phyllis…you want to be the head coach?”
Phyllis: “No sir.”
Oregon AD: “Great…then please get Mr. Knight on the phone so he can tell me who to hire, and be sure to fill-out the paperwork to show I interviewed other candidates. Oh…and some fresh coffee please.”
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Bingo.
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From someone who lived in the PNW and still goes back, yep it is not for everyone, but I do love it. Yep it is weird and that is part of the appeal.
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Love it there too. But I think a coach trying to go there when he’s never lived there before would be tough.
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Correction – Phil Knight can throw enough money …
Other than the Nike connection which no doubt is significant, what advantage does Oregon have in recruiting? Small state population-wise and not great high school football. Close to California, yes, but all the great high school football is in Southern California. With Washington’s reemergence under Petersen, Stanford’s position with David Shaw, and Washington State’s energy with the Pirate, it’s not a sure thing in the PAC 12 North. They had an advantage for a while with their HUNH. Everyone runs it now. It’s going to be a tough job because other than Phil Knight’s money, there aren’t a lot of advantages.
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Oregon has facilities as good as any program in the country.
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I’m very aware of that, and a big part of that is the connection with the swoosh. Until Phil Knight started throwing money at Oregon sports, Oregon football was a punchline. No one wanted to play for the Ducks or the Beavers for that matter. The facilities advantage has rapidly deteriorated as other powerhouse programs have their sugar daddy boosters. I guess my point is Oregon isn’t the shiny new thing they once were, and the programs around them have more built-in advantages – bigger populations and better high school ball. They need a Chip Kelly type of coach to get back to what they were.
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@eethomaswfne: a lot of teams need a Chip Kelly type of coach to get back where they were. U of O has a good of a chance as any. They still have fantastic facilities and the area around Eugene.
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You bite your tongue–Oregon has 197 different uniform combinations. Remember the really tough ones with diamond plate on the shoulders…then the feathers? I really don’t know how they ever lose.
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Yes, remember it’s all about the players. In addition to the colors, I think they should vote on the nickname for each week. Heck, they’d NEVER lose!
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Sounds like a good OC for a certain program if you ask me.
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Fit matters. NW guy that’s never lived east of the Rockies, much less the SE. Would be a disaster.
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Also Smart does not want to run his offense.
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IDENTITY
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Would Oregon go after a guy who is out west now who happens to run a blend of pro-style and HUNH spread and is known as a recruiter (has deep ties to recruiting hotbeds) and QB guru?
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That could be interesting, but I’m not sure if the timing is right. Bobo probably needs to stay at least long enough that he has at least one of his classes for 4 years.
Ultimately, you can do a lot worse in life than hanging around Fort Collins for a few years.
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I refuse to stop cracking up at a 7-5 Colorado State being ranked one spot higher than Florida in the latest S&P+ rankings. Shows how legitimately mediocre most of college football is this year after you get past the top eight or nine teams.
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Just do not see Bobo in Eugene.
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Kirby should at least take a hard look at him, as well as Sarkisian, or any other OC/former HC who’s had a lot of success. The idea that only someone from the east, or southeast, is narrow minded to say the least in today’s game. The little taste of innovation Bobo brought was a breath of fresh air.
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Take our OC Oregon, it is bound to make you put more emphasis on your defense. And think of all the swoosh opportunities there would be on his bright yellow “outfit” as he waddles along the sideline. Like having a 4 hour billboard for Phil Knight’s company walking along his sideline. We will pay for the packing and shipping.
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Typical Nike Win At All Costs Mentality.
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Oregon will go after a big name. They have 2 billionaires with ties to the program who will throw all kinds of money at the next coach. Look for them to make a serious run at McElwain.
While the media has played up his stops West of the Rockies, I don’t see this as a slam dunk fit since he doesn’t have a connection to the Ducks. Plus, it will be a huge job to reconfigure the roster to play the kind of offense that McElwain prefers. Another downside for him – he was Colin Cowherd’s roommate in college which should make everyone run because Cowherd sucks.
I doubt they will hire Mike Bobo because he wouldn’t be the type of name that they would be looking to take charge. I would be surprised to see them hire Scott Frost since he was Helfrich’s assistant until this season.
They could go after Bryan Harsin at Boise but is Harsin a Chris Petersen or a Dan Hawkins/Dirk Koetter?
Dan Mullen or Dana Holgorsen would be intriguing but to be successful Oregon has to recruit SoCal and Texas really well.
I think they will hire Lane Kiffin.
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Oregon’s greatest drawback is the geography. As spread out as the West is, getting to Eugene is another world of difficulty for recruits and their families. Great facilities, lot of pizzazz with the unis, cool home stadium atmosphere, and the, ahem, cheerleaders. But with all that going for them, they cannot miss on this hire. Another 3-4 years of being irrelevant could put them in a serious hole and concede the northwest to UDub. Knight is at the age where he will never see the Duck raise the crystal football if he doesn’t hit a home run. Look for him to open up the wallet and swing for the fences. I wouldn’t rule out an offer around $10MM if he has to buy a successful coach out of a comfortable setting, and also be generous with top assistants.
I would rule out Kiffin, and doubt he can lure Peterson from Washington, so there are no simple answers. Wouldn’t rule him out of any seemingly impossible top names below 60 years of age that have an impressive resume. Would be hilarious if he went after Herman and stole him from Texas before the deal is actually signed. Just kidding….sort of.
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Difference of view. To me one of the great sales of Oregon and Eugene is the geography. A great area. Just a difference of opinion. A lot of CA kids love going up there. Will admit my total bias, having lived there for a number of years.
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Not saying I wouldn’t love it either, but it isn’t for everyone and majority of the top recruits don’t line in bucolic areas. My reference was also about the difficulty of getting there from Dallas, Atlanta, or even LA.
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Chip Kelley part deux? I’m sure San Fran is willing to let him go at this point.
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Oregon started sliding just as soon as their bag man operation was shut down. I cannot remember all of the specifics but it was something to the tune of a third party company or individual getting money from Oregon to steer recruits their way. The Senator posted about it.
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Of all the places I have attended games, Oregon has the worse fans by far. Even worse than UF. So the out the door statement does not surprise me. Just matches the fans. This is from someone who went to school there for a bit and has two nephews there now.
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That is very surprising to me, wouldn’t have expected that at all.
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