David Marsh

From the sound of it there might be some significant evaluations and changes within the program.

Most interesting... I think Mastro is a good coach as his previous stops have shown some pretty good runningbacks. Oregon needs some nice big fast backs. In real need of a Royce Freeman type. I like Cardwell as a bigger back and his speed seems good. Other big thing that is really worth mentioning about Oregon v USCs recruiting classes is that Oregon's is a pretty well rounded with an incredible offensive line class where USC has 2 quarterbacks, some Recievers and quite a few secondary players but it isnt well rounded. USC really lacks the beef on the lines. Picking up Foreman helps them in that regard but Oregon has something far more consistent.

The only thing I expect this off season is a spirited quarterback battle. Shough, Brown (assuming he stays), Butterfield, Ashford, Millen, and Thompson will all have opportunities to show their abilities. I do hope Millen thinks about switching positions though, I think he is outmatched and he delivered a real hit on special teams against USC. I think the competition will really come down to Shough, Brown, Butterfield and Thompson. Ashford is running pretty far back in the quarterback pack from this season but he could always surge to the forefront. With a rigorous off season we will know for sure we have the BEST option for quarterback.

We all know where to look if Oregon's pac-12 trophies go missing...

Happle has already said he is planning on staying at Oregon. He is enrolled in a master's program and he has always wanted to play for Oregon. I think he is a pretty smart kid and knows there isn't a realistic possibility of going pro whether he stays at Oregon or would theoretically go back to BSU. He'll get play time at Oregon next year. Doubt he is a starter but he can see the field as a reserve player. Might get himself another conference championship ring and might see another NY6 game or playoff game.

Glad he landed on a team that wears green so he can keep the green Oregon shoes.

I have soured on him pretty quickly personally... I'm sure he is a good positional coach but he has an up and down history as a play calling DC from the sound of it. And then there are some dubious stories surrounding him concerning recruiting. Oregon cannot afford a recruiting scandal! There is already enough negative recruitment against Oregon we don't need a scandal to make it worse. Also we are in the pac-12 ... So if there is a recruiting scandal we'll get all the punishment unlike sec schools.

Other side of the 4 down linemen is the flipped problem of needing four good linebackers.... a 4-3 needs 4 good, solid, powerful linemen on the field (which means at least 6 players who can play on the roster). Maintaining that year to year is pretty difficult or at least can be as some of the most coveted recruits are defensive linemen because of the physical attributes they must have to play at the College level. Though I suppose all these things are solved with recruiting. Personally, I like whatever puts the opposing quarterback on the ground with the most frequency.

I think in a normal year that might be the case... But this year their really aren't that many coaching jobs opening up. Some, yes, but if the desire is to get a new position and coach next year then their aren't many coaching vacancies. The pac-12 isn't desirable for many ... But Oregon is the big exception in many regards as I am sure there is a bit more money available as apart of Cristobal's coaching extension and back to back conference championships does set Oregon's future up in a big way... Especially with all the young talent.

He's got buyout money coming from Auburn. I know there are a lot of contracts out there that it can be advantageous for the coach and their new team to take a bit of a normal pay cut because of the way the buyout works for the contract for the team that fired them. Auburn still has to pay Steele a portion of his contract and there can be wording in there that concerns how much he may or may not be paid at a new destination and how much Auburn would have to keep paying him... if that makes sense. So Oregon (or another team) might be able to pick him up on the cheap because Auburn is still paying a chunk of the tab.

I don't know about gone... I can see quite a few coaches staying on in their current roles for some time. Maribal at offensive line for one... Though I agree that for the most part Oregon will become a revolving door of coaches who come and go. We just want coaches to leave for better jobs ideally... Because then we become a destination for that coaches want to come to develop and continue their careers, like the alabama model. It does put ever more importance on coaching hires though to make sure they are right from the start. With so many moving pieces there needs to be a connection from day one with the entire staff.

Need some speedsters. DAT had an effect on EVERY single play when he was on the field with or without the ball in his hands. The Opposing defenses needed to account for him every snap and that can pull defenders out of position and open it up for others to make big plays. Here is hope for this young man to develop and make it on the field. I don't know his background but how did he manage to sneak under the radar as a walkon?

An incredible year for Oregon Ducks in professional sports. I have watched far more nfl football than I ever do because of the Oregon connections. This is a huge boost for recruiting and a huge noon for fans.

Sounds exciting... With Cristobal potential talent both in terms of coaches and players is coming to Oregon in unprecedented levels. I am sure this will be a killer hire. I'm looking forward to the updated list tomorrow.

For the record I do believe Mario Cristobal is the coach to bring Oregon a National Championship. With that said I believe changes need to be made. It's a dynamic sport and nothing stands still long and constant evaluation needs to take place. I am obviously not in the room with the coaching staff so I can only make conjecture based on what I see on the field. We saw some flashes of offensive brilliance this season but when the offense needed to step up down the stretch they failed. I am looking forward to the spring game ... Probably more than any previous year. I do hope to see a far more dynamic offense by spring and fall next year.

I'm sure that giving walk-ons scholarships are planned for to a degree. Ryan Walk got a Scholarship this last year... Granted I feel walk-on scholarships tend to be something the coaches do that is nice for the players that have earned it if there are open scholarships out there. Oregon's scholarship limit is pretty tight right now so I think it will all depend on how many open scholarships they have by the time the season rolls around. The transfer portal has really taken away walk-on's possibilities as when there is a bit of surplus in scholarships most teams are opting to go portal shopping rather than handing out scholarships to those on the team. I'm not saying that it is right... just that it is...

I saw that list earlier... Difficult to say who is high on Oregon's list. I get the feeling that though Cristobal had a good chunk of money for his assistant coaches I don't think it'd make too much financial sense for him to go after Orlando... Buying out his contract and then paying him potentially more would be a high price. Steele could be good ... Good reputation and skilled recruiter but also comes with Auburn's continued payout for some financial support. Oregon is in a much better place than other pac-12 teams when it comes to coaching money... However, they still don't have SEC money do spending it wisely will be critical. Coaching serches are so exciting... Though a consistent coaching staff has some major benefits.

I wish him the best... as he hasn't broken out of the depth chart this year, I don't see it happening at all with so much talent at linebacker. It also opens up scholarships for Oregon which is kinda important.

Taggart and Leavitt seem like great buddies these days... it seems kinda funny to me how those two really seemed to click. Both also seem happier in Florida as well.

I know MC will pick whoever is the best fit... but personally I don't know if I want to see an inside hire or an outside hire. An inside hire would mean that the system may be tweaked but not drastically changed... but an outside hire would bring in new blood and potentially something better.

When it is something like 3rd and really long I tend to feel the same way. Though often these little passes can make the yards needed as the buffer provided by the opposing team's defense is such to prevent a first down and one missed tackle on the yards after catch would result in a first down. Often these passes are thrown to as the "hot route" where everything else is covered and the qb just needs to get the ball out of their hands. This will be a VERY important spring for Oregon... but it will be just as important for all teams in reality... as it will be a major opportunity to install the offense properly and run the offense hopefully at full speed. I feel we never saw this offense working at full speed for the duration of the year.

The real thing that I feel was missed was a lack of Verdell's blocking ability. He is actually a pretty good blocker. Dye just doesn't block with the same power as Verdell and CHL seems to miss blocks quite often. If you ask me why Dollars hasn't reached the field as much this year it is probably from two things... one he hasn't shown blocking ability in practice and also he has quite a few dropped passes when motioning out of the backfield.

Oregon is also looking at a transfer runningback I saw yesterday. I think they are diving into the transfer portal trying to grab anyone they see as the best potential players to help the team. Though if they are shopping safeties then they want a safety net.

I'm all for ditching the pistol and actually in the past three games we have seen a decline in the use of the pistol. I theorize that is in part due to Moorhead saying this doesn't work and taking action and in another part that Moorhead has been able to install more of his scheme, which has been difficult without having enough in person practice time. I would actually say that a large problem with the receivers not getting open has been as much of them not getting the ball passed to them when open. Quite a few of Shough's interceptions have been thrown too low where if he took a shot over the top his receiver would be the only one to make a play on the ball, was also open over the top and had nothing but green in front of them.

For the record I have written several articles about how Oregon's defense needs to improve. My most critical article of Oregon's defense can be found via this link... https://fishduck.com/2020/12/oregons-defense-is-a-cascading-failure/ Though the has been defensive growth and new leadership taking hold on the defensive side of the ball. https://fishduck.com/2020/12/a-new-defensive-era-has-arrived-at-oregon/ We do need our defense to grow and be the force it was in 2019 when they were the shut down defensive force in the pac-12. The offense needs to be more consistent and be able to win shoot outs. The offense needs to be better. The defense needs to be better as well but that is another discussion and I am sure I'll be talking defense again soon.