David Marsh

Well there are a lot of players from Utah that MC and co grabbed from the state. I wouldn't be surprised if some take the opportunity to go home. All the more important for Oregon to make solid hire quickly.

Getting a new HC quickly is important to not miss the early signing period and keep some of this class intact. Granted... this will NOT be a top 10 class. Whoever takes over will need to work to ensure it is a top 20 class. It will be a set back in terms of incoming talent but there is so much young talent on the roster already that it won't hurt the program. The most important players the new coach must recruit are the ones on the roster to encourage them to not leave for the transfer portal.

In truth Utah was the only team that could execute the surefire way to beat Oregon this year. 1. Sell out to stop the run. 2. Have decent enough backs to maintain coverage on short routes long enough for the pass rush to force Brown to throw or run out of the pocket. 3. Force Brown to throw the ball downfield, ideally across the middle. Brown generally misses open receivers across the middle and also throws his worst passes across the middle. Brown will not make any significant deep passes. 4. Use all the time you get from Oregon going 3 and out to eat up clock and score points. 5. Brown plays hero ball and makes everything worse. Other teams tried to do this but failed because Oregon could maintain their run game all season. Utah was the only team to truly succeed at this. Stanford got lucky with a mixture of Oregon injuries, Moorhead being out for surgery and some highly questionable ref calls. If Oregon had a true passing quarterback then Utah would have had to devote more to coverage which would have opened up the run and Oregon would have potentially won the game(s). Oregon couldn't change their scheme to beat Utah because Oregon didn't have the quarterback to beat Utah. Yes, you could say maybe one of the freshman would have done the trick... but the coaches didn't believe them capable of doing what they needed... so that is a different discussion.

But will anyone on that list actually retain the current staff? Will the current staff just look at leaving? Mirabal is going to Miami... hasn't said it yet but he and MC are from the Miami area and it is only a matter of time until MC brings his best friend with him to Miami. Everyone on the list with potential Duck connections had connections to an old staff that is mostly retired at this point. Whoever they bring in they will have to recruit and maintain as much of the class as possible and THEN bring in their new staff most likely. It would be nice not to have as much staff turnover from year to year but unless they hire from within, this staff probably won't stick around.

But who is going to recruit? Probably Helfrich as he was the best recruiter of those three...

But will Kelly maintain the same level of talent? Probably not... he gets 3 maybe 4 years out of the talent that we have and then its a quick nose dive. We saw this story before. Kelly's first run at Oregon was magical because the timing was PERFECT and he got easy recruiting wins because of it. Skip forward three years and you have Helfrich, who did basically everything Kelly had done but the world of College Football had changed. Helfrich's offense was even better than Kelly's! But the model of reruiting didn't change and Helfrich was sacked because he couldn't recruit. Granted Helfrich also had some small sanctions from the Kelly era... but still.

Aww yes... in another game where Brown was literally throwing the game away.

I'm good for interim coach... Not sure about full time HC.

And... I don't like this list at all. I don't think any of these names get us to the promised land. I think Oregon would be a good team but only ever play for a Rose Bowl.

Just due to Phil's age I can see this being perhaps the last coaching hire he plays a major role in at Oregon... assuming it goes well. I think we will see Oregon pull out all the stops to get someone who get Uncle Phil the championship he wants.

I wouldn't say Cristobal burned him. MC didn't accept an extension and left after four years. Kelly left after four years as well for the NFL. I was shocked to hear MC was leaving but I'm not actually angry with him leaving. I know some fans are angry and feel betrayed but this is also football. I would like a lifer... but Oregon has had only two "lifers" in the past 20 years. Mike Bellotti and Mark Helfrich... Bellotti retired and Helfrich was fired.

Wilcox would need a MUCH better staff than what he has at Cal. His Cal staff is fairly underwhelming but I assume a part of that is due to a lack of resources. I'm not sure I want Wilcox though mostly because the Cal offense has been super underwhelming. I was willing to back Cristobal because he had a long term vision for the program and with the Moorhead hire I trusted the offense would improve.. and it sorta did. But the offense on the whole was really boring and boarder-line unwatchable. The next hire needs to bring an offense that makes Oregon fans feel like well... Oregon fans. POINTS people I'm talking about POINTS!

I think a BIG help for the coaching search was the deal that was released by Canzano yesterday about how much money Oregon and Phil were willing to pay for a head coach. I think that would bring a lot of interest because it shows Oregon is serious.

But in truth I don't know who else would be a solid hire. I think Aranda is my first choice but I don't think Oregon can pull him out of Baylor...but then again maybe Oregon can offer him more than what Baylor has. I don't like Matt Campbell from Iowa State... I don't think he would give the fans the offense we want to see and I think whoever Oregon hires they need to bring back the big time offense. Chip Kelly... no... Kelly might be good with offensive x's and o's still and the defense at UCLA right now is ok... but Kelly is in the middle of southern California and isn't bringing in big time recruiting classes, he isn't going to bring in big time recruiting classes at Oregon.

The majority will sit tight and see the who the next coach is before bolting. Also.. I am reading that this deal has been in the works for three weeks... it pre-dates the first Utah game. Did players know what was going on already then? The two games against Utah, Oregon played like a team that just doesn't care. Did Pittman bolt when he did because he knew MC was going to leave?

I don't know how likely Oregon could grab him... but I do think it is worth a shot. Oregon does also have the pull to generally play games when most of the country is mostly awake.... a couple after dark late start games but this last year was on the whole a lot better than previous years.. at least for just Oregon. And again... I can't believe I am saying the things I am about wanting Oregon to pursue Lane Kiffin.

Those three things are all big and important... sadly I think Oregon can only get two of those. Numbers 1 and 2 are more important in the short term... if they succeed at Oregon and they are able to get massive money to keep them then that will solve number 3.

For the right price absolutely he would. That's why I say Kiffin is the guy to take a swing at because he has shown time and time again he wants to coach on a big stage (Ole Miss is going to be stuck behind Bama) and he is always interested in a pay increase. So I think Oregon can get Kiffin... but can they hold onto him is a bigger question.

But boy do I not like the prospect of turning to Kiffin.... Lol Because if it is Kiffin then there is always a great risk of him running. Which only perpetuates the problem.

I spent too much time this morning thinking on this... There is one name I don't want but we may actually need if MC leaves today. Lane Kiffin I'm not thrilled with the idea because he has proven to be just a gun for hire but he could save the recruiting class and keep it as a top 15 and keep recruiting at a high level. He would also bring a solid offense with him and the roster will stay more intact. I'm not a Kiffin fan but that's the only name that comes up that is big enough and can get the job done... And for the right price can actually be brought to Oregon. Campbell and Aranda both are good but I don't know if they can be brought to Oregon, let alone fast enough.

Helf was also the one who found Herbert... who was mostly injured that year.

The last Alamo Bowl Oregon played in was a beautiful (and mostly terrible) allegory for the 2015 season. Healthy Adams, Oregon is offensively unstoppable and looked like a playoff contender... injured VA... well might as well concede now to avoid the embarrassment. I'm am now convinced that for Oregon the Alamo Bowl is cursed. Next time Oregon would make an Alamo Bowl... we just need to decline and take ANYTHING else.

In this day and age I wouldn't be surprised if someone at or connected to Oregon has already done some potential interest calls. They definitely have the list together and I am sure Phil has gone through it and ordered the candidates he would want. Starting to see the benefits of firing a coach half way through the season to get a jump-start on the coaching hire... granted we weren't looking to get rid of MC so it doesn't count for us.

No to Chip. I'd take Helfrich back as HC before Chip. Kelly won't recruit, period. Oregon was able to recruit so well during the Kelly years because Kelly had lightning in a bottle. The offense w as s amazing, the uniforms were amazing, and the coaches that made it all possible were at the peak of their careers. Oregon landed some big time recruits because of the timing and they fell in Kelly's lap. A few years later using the same recruiting tactics Helfrich missed on the same high level recruits. The magic had passed. And don't say that was because Helfrich wasn't as good of a recruiter as Kelly... Helfrich did more hands on recruiting than Kelly did as an OC and HC. Kelly hates recruiting. Oregon needs a coach who can recruit big time players and bring them to Eugene.

I loved Helfrich as a coach. The defense was aweful and in truth Helfrich wasn't good hiring other coaches and he had his major flaws. But you are absolutely right Charles, Helfrich was the most loyal coach at Oregon since Bellotti and he showed his loyalty in stepping down a few years earlier than perhaps he wanted to make way for Chip. College football has no real loyalty anymore. Saban is loyal to Bama because he is comfortable there and has built his program and Bama pays him through the nose for it all. Same goes for Sweeney at Clemson. Oregon is a good coaching job but it is not a top tier job because in the end we don't sit in the middle of a recruiting hot bed. Scott Frost was right people... Recruiting to Oregon is hard... Cristobal has made it look easy but that's only because he works it harder than anyone else in the conference. If MC leaves who do we hire? A big shot that will probably use us as a stepping stone unless we pay them some insane number (which is probably not likely before we see results) or do we search for someone like Bellotti or Helfrich who will be here for a while but the fans frankly will have no patience for slow results? Right now .. I think anything is possible between MC staying or going and I'm not trying to put a homer spin on it. I have heard he has cancelled recruiting visits tomorrow and regardless of the decision that makes sense... He wants to talk with his wife, talk to his mom (because his mom is what this possible move is all about,hl her health isn't great and can you blame MC for wanting to be close to his aging mother?). Then he wants to sleep on the decision... Especially if Oregon is working on a counter offer. So tomorrow morning he will have Oregon's offer and Miami's offer. He will have talked to his family. He will have slept on it. So tomorrow we will get the decision. If he stays, he will be here for a LONG time, like Bellotti. If he goes, Oregon needs to move very quickly on a coaching search but Mullens also has to make the right decision and answer the question... Big name or long term loyalty?