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How important is a CO-OC and CO-DC? Both new coordinators were CO's. Not being involved in anyway with coaching duties does anyone have a good take on how much input they have with play calling and pregame analysis? Mehringer seems to have a decent resume and DL has been around him for 4 (?) years. Hampton's been there for 3 years so again DL has a better idea of his abilities. I guess the question is how much each will change what we had before.

If I'm Dan Lanning I might give Pete Sterbick (Montana State OC) a call about the open QB Coach gig. He was the D2 Coordinator of the year in 2022, gets hired at Montana State last year as OC/QB coach, and proceeds to call an FCS national championship offense. Any one remember who their only loss was to all season? 🙂

Well. One shoe dropped....waiting for the other. Good Luck Dillon. Thanks for being a Duck!

That’s what I would like to see.

I have a ton of friends, who are Eagles fans, and not one had a single good thing to say about Kevin Patullo.

Well, there is one question answered.

When you are mourning the DUCKS loss to Indiana and You are mourning the loss of Bobby Weir of The Greatful Dead

Can't blame him, and I assumed he was gone. He is being replaced at Oregon by the No. 1 portal safety from Minnesota?

This makes sense as he will be the 2nd or 3rd safety drafted after Caleb Downs, likely later in the second round. He probably wouldn't have elevated his stock much with another year at Oregon. Best of luck to him in the NFL, some team will be getting a true baller.

Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman Announces Decision to Enter NFL Draft Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman has declared for the NFL Draft after finishing as the No. 1 graded safety in college football by PFF, closing out a dominant season in Eugene.

Interesting to me that Moore and Theinemen have waited to the last day to decide. I don’t think it is for dramatic effect. I believe both of them, especially Dante, are getting as much input as possible from family, coaches, agents and even NFL teams that could potentially draft them before making the decision.

Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman has declared for the NFL Draft after finishing as the No. 1 graded safety in college football by PFF, closing out a dominant season in Eugene.

Today is the day. Will Dante stay, will be go. He has to declare today. Not just Dante, but what about Evan Stewart? Does he stay another year to build on his resume? Does he declare based on his body of work so far? What about Dillon Thieneman? Can you imagine having him and the Minnesota kid anchoring our secondary?? Today will bring a little clarity.

Mike, that is the perfect summation of the season we just witnessed. I keep going back to the 10-2 and 9-3, or worse, predictions from the talking heads. Some that had Oregon missing the CFP altogether. An O-line replacing two tackles and a guard. A defensive backfield with few proven performers. A transfer QB with great skills but erratic freshman play. Plenty of youthful 4-5☆ depth but not a lot of experience. I've been an Oregon fan since I moved here in 1987. Attended tons of games at Autzen, three Rose Bowls, a Fiesta, Cotton and a NC (Dyer was DOWN!). I've watched Brooks to Bellotti to Kelly to Helfrich (sigh..) to Taggart to Cristobal to Lanning. What Dan Lanning has accomplished with OBD is remarkable. The culture, recruiting, assistant coach selection and leadership are arguably the best ever. And he is still a very young head coach who would probably be the first to tell you he has a lot to learn. The sniping about the bad endings to the last two seasons will continue and there is much valid criticism to be had. But I would challenge any and all critics to propose an alternative head coach and system that will get Oregon it's first National Championship ahead of the current one.

It is the first time that Oregon has had two coordinators hired as head coaches in the same year. DL has had to hire three OCs after 4 seasons, and two are now head coaches. Mehringer can be heard calling plays in the US vs Them videos, and is considered one of the top recruiters in the nation. Promoting a guy that DL hired that has developed players he coaches into NFL talent seems solid. I am giving DL the nod here based on his knowledge of football, his staff, the team, and 48 wins in 4 years as a rookie HC. Who would you hire if recruiting is a large component of the criteria to be hired?

He has made a choice... by promoting from within he has opted to maintain some continuity which I think is needed. However, there are still two open coaching spots in his staff. He has to make another choice as to who to fill those spots with. Does he get a QB coach or a TE coach? Does he bring someone in as strictly a positional coach or does he look for someone older perhaps to be a positional coach AND a CO-OC? The same goes for the defensive side of the ball. He hasn't made those staffing changes yet and maybe I've been living under a rock for the past few days but I don't recall seeing an announcement that makes those promotions official yet either. I would be surprised if they're not. But I also think there is a very good chance Lanning brings in some new blood who take on Co-OC/DC titles. I have more faith in Hampton oddly enough than Mehringer but I'll trust Dan. At this point Dan needs to squeeze out a bit more from his staff and team to get over the hump to win it all. Seriously... In the last three seasons Lanning has lost a grand total of 2 regular season games! The problem has been rematches with top teams in the post season whether that is a conference championship game or a playoff game.

I'll always feel like Kenyon was a generational talent that we underutilized. When I think of some of the great college tight ends (Bowers from Georgia or Kincaid at Utah), you always knew they were going to have a major impact on the game in one way or another. The way WS used Kenyon, he was like Houdini, as in, "I come and I go." You never knew when he was going to show up, or disappear for multiple games. Here's to hoping OBD find ways to maximize more of our current and future mega stars like Dakorian Moore & incoming uber athlete Kendre Harrison. Go Ducks!

Very good post One thing I will say, I expected the defense to be much worse this year. Much much worse. So they totally over performed. That doesn't mean they didn't play their best on Friday. But they were supposed to get smoked. I know Ohio State was ready to embarrass that unit again. They didn't get the chance, and Indiana didn't get to completely show his much they could have scored had the offense simply played normally. The defense got beat like they should have been according to the level of talent the unit has. I expected the offense to light up the scoreboard. All it takes is execution on that side of the ball. They're not consistent.. yet. It's been my take that the offense needs to score 41, 42, 43, 44 or 45 on elite defenses. As in plenty of future NFL starters (not draftees, starters). I expected that all year because I had calculated the defense would be a major weakness. The offense isn't there yet. Way too many mistakes all season. Way too many. But this year's defense beat expectations by five galaxies as far as I'm concerned. Maybe even ten. Twice they held the most explosive offense in college football this year to 28 points (given our offense and special teams gave the Hoosiers opportunities Sheldon High could convert). I recall a similarly explosive offense netting 36 and 34 points against a more experienced defense just two years ago. I just didn't expect this year's defense to come close to being better. They were. That is beating expectations in my book. I also didn't expect the offense to have the potential to blow up any defense. That just didn't make sense to me. Not enough experience on that side of the ball. I expected an offense that could control games, but not run away from teams. Against elite defenses, the offense pretty much performed consistently. That was the case last year as well except when Lanning went for the jugular. Clearly that isn't good enough. The defense needs to shut down elite offenses like we've been shut down (less than 20 ppg), and the offense needs to average well over 40 ppg against NFL caliber defenses. That must be the standard. Physicality isn't the standard. It is a feature. Lanning has emphasized being a physical team. Scoring boat loads of points Always, and obliterating elite offenses is the standard. Physicality means nothing if you don't do those things in my mind. I believe Lanning gets the team there. I say that because I have seen enough to recognize Lanning and his staff gave Dante Moore more than enough opportunities to throw TDs in the October game, and Stein showed enough variety in Friday+too late in my opinion, but Stein is damn good enough for me)... If Lanning "goes to the doctor", I hope that doctor says you need to average 28 in the first half. You need to mop up the game with another 14 in the second half. That's just me though. Lanning isn't a dummy. I am sure he has figured out your best defense is your offense and vice versa. I'm hoping I see 16 or 17 slashed throats next year. And 16 or 17 broken bones from an oppressive defense.

Sometimes it takes a bit of luck. Dyer was down? Indiana has older players (including QB) and smart coaches, but recall for a moment these 3 games this season: With the score tied 13-13, Fernando Mendoza’s interception gave the Hawkeyes the ball at Indiana’s 29-yard line with 2:50 left. On third-and-5, Iowa’s perfectly called screen pass inexplicably was thrown short of the wide-open running back, which led to a missed field goal. Given new life, Mendoza moved the Hoosiers to midfield but faced a third-and-10 at Iowa’s 49. In the face of an all-out blitz, Mendoza completed a slant to Elijah Sarratt that went for a 49-yard touchdown with 1:28 left. Final 20-15. Omar Cooper Jr.’s toe-dragging touchdown catch in the back of the Penn State Beaver Stadium end zone to give Indiana the lead with 36 seconds left, and the win 27-24. Offense was largely a slog for the Hoosiers — hardly an indictment given the Buckeyes’ superlative defense — but it was the way Indiana flipped the script and bullied Ryan Day’s Ohio State offense into submission. Neither team scored in the last 22 minutes of the game in Indianapolis. Indiana got a TD with 8:00 left in the third quarter for the final lead/score: 13-10. The first two of these three were true road games, so kudos for that. But, luck meets opportunity were part of the equation.

DL has already made his choice. Of all the decisions DL has ever made I'm most nervous about his decision to promote from within for both coordinators. No need to take risks with unproven coordinators. Find proven performers anywhere in the country that did a lot with a little. We don't need continuity. We need the most mentally flexible coaches to adapt and scheme for the players we have each and every year, not the players we wish we had or used to have.

My understanding is today is the last day to declare for the draft. Let's see what the rest of the day brings.

For me, it's just very frustrating that indiana seems to have it all figured out. I need to remind myself that coach lanning is still very young in coaching and he'll get it in time.

The Ducks have proven themselves to be one of the Top 10 programs in all of college football. Money, marketing, Nike, and carefully-crafted branding have taken Oregon into the echelon of elite. But, to truly get into that unquestioned “blue-blood” status, the Ducks have to win a championship. Perspective Like a 16-year-old, upset that rich mommy and daddy “only” bought ... Oregon Ducks: The Last step is the Hardest

I don't buy into the 'we beat expectations' argument. This team has an abundance of talent, yet still a few weak spots. The program is NOT in the gutter. It is fair to say that the Ducks under performed in the biggest game of the year, twice in a row. It is also fair to say that Oregon lately has been getting closer and closer to being a 'complete' team, but not quite there yet. So how does Oregon get and keep elite talent at all 22 starting spots? Players come and go. Many of the transfers only play for one season. Developing players that should step in one day are jumping into the portal. Great players are leaving early for the pros. Lanning had to prep for Indiana while both his coordinators were doing other jobs. He had to recruit the portal at the same time that most every other team was done playing for the season. And he had to recruit the portal not knowing what players would return. Even if someone wanted to... it is still way too early to question the state of the program. Currently, college football is hard for any program to get it all figured out. Getting blown out deep in the playoffs is a function of the other team knowing your weaknesses and how to exploit them. Dan Lanning is a smart guy. He is bringing in an abundance talent like no other coach has. Chip and Mario have brought in some top players, but Dan is bringing in more. But there is still work to be done. We just have to be patient. According to my train of thought, Lanning is still learning what kinds of players he needs to get to the top and what kind of players he can sign. I don't want to mention names, but some players have not delivered and others are inconsistent. The 'program' doesn't have a crystal ball. As long as we keep seeing progress, the program is on an upward trajectory. We just saw this season what kind of improvements could be made to the secondary and how a unit of receivers came together even with injuries. I think he can do this kind of magic on the other position groups, but it won't be automatic and it won't happen all at once. I'll give a few 'what ifs'. What if the linebackers were a little bit faster? What if the O line was a little bit more athletic, quicker and more nimble? What if Dante was a better scrambler? What if the team had fewer key injuries? What if the edge players could get to the QB faster? These are things for the program to work on. Not reasons to throw in the towel and quit being positive. How much do you want to bet that most if not all of these issues will be worked out come fall?

I thought that was going to happen THIS season. Lets hope they stick around and don't jump ship.