latracey

The letter was written close to the very beginning of the search for the new coach. It expressed concerns with the last two head coaching hires of people who had no connection with Oregon's football history from people who were intimately involved with that history and who are still passionate supporters of their team. I am also a passionate supporter of my Ducks and I completely understand and sympathize with the sentiments expressed in the letter. I'm sure most of you do too. John Canzano has a job to do and, love him or hate him, he does his job very well. He is a columnist for the Oregonian and a big part of what he does is to shine a prickly light into the dark corners and controversies of sports in Oregon. He is well connected and he digs deep to get his stories. The more he is able to raise controversy, the better he is doing the job he was hired to do. The only bad part about the letter being released, aside from the fact that its authors had no intention of it going public, was the timing of the article which made it seem like an attack on Dan Lanning's hire. The updated comments and posts of the author/authors make it clear that they are all in support of "Lanning Strip's" hire. Anyone who was surprised by the content of the original letter hasn't been paying attention to what people like Joey Harrington and other former player media talking heads have been saying since Helfrich was fired. Most of us can relate to the thoughts and ideas they were expressing. That all said, I don't understand the need some feel to demean or disparage Justin Wilcox. He's a wonderful person and an excellent coach, and I'm honored to count him among my friends. He was interviewed for the Oregon job, looked at it in comparison to what he is doing and building at Cal and, allegedly, decided to pass. If you feel the petty need to criticize him for that, you didn't want him anyway, so what's your problem? Although he is from here and he loves Oregon, he realized that the Oregon HC job wasn't a good fit for him. He should be commended for making a wise decision. Just in case you haven't noticed, it's never been an easy task for Oregon to "kick Cal's ass" since Wilcox has been head coach there, and I don't expect that's going to change any time soon.

I'm with Grandpa Duck. The timing here isn't good, but it is what it is. As many of the past and current players I've heard have said, Oregon, in and of itself, is a pretty special place for many reasons. The Ducks have a pretty solid roster at this point and none of the recruits in waiting are going to make or break the team. Some of the really good recruits will sign on Wednesday, and others will wait until February to see how Lanning's staff shapes up. As Grandpa pointed out, the ocean is vast and filled with big fish in addition to the fact that there is more talent in the transfer portal than ever before. Do as well as you can to add to the flock, but concentrate on keeping the current roster intact. Oregon is going to be just fine.

I'd be surprised if Lanning's starting salary is 6 to 8 million a year. That said, if Wilcox was even actually offered the job, he considered everything involved with the University of Oregon job and realized that he was satisfied where he was.

Canzano has his connections, that much is for certain. From the outside looking in, it's hard to believe that Justin Wilcox would turn the Oregon job down, but we don't know any of the things going on inside of Justin's world. Justin has been at Cal for long enough that he understands the system and expectations there, likes the staff he works with, and loves his players there. He lives in a nice house in a beautiful part of the Bay Area, and is able to lead a fairly low key life at a college where academics are world class and clearly more important to the university than sports. Not everyone dreams about coming home. Some are quite happy and satisfied with the the life they have made for themselves away from home. I think he likes what he has at Cal. I'm also certain that he noticed that a good percentage of the Oregon faithful all over social media were not excited about him coming back to coach the Ducks. Following "The Beast" who put in 90 plus hours a week every day all year would be hard enough without having to deal with disgruntled fans who weren't happy with your hire. Truth be told, I think he hit it out of the park when he interviewed. He's super smart, he knows Oregon football, he is personal friends with Oregon's biggest boosters and legendary former players, and I'm guessing he checked every single box that RM and PK had. It would definitely be a feel good story that they could promote to high heaven to have him come home, but he is a low key, salt of the earth kind of person who isn't a rah-rah, break out the T-shirts kind of person. He realized that life in the fishbowl as the head football in the Eugene wouldn't work for him. As it turned out, I think Lanning will be a much better fit as Oregon's football coach. I'm really excited to see what he brings to Oregon's table.

I've heard and read all about Kiffin in the last couple of days. The man has a train load of baggage. Although he showed interest in the Oregon job, rumor has it that Phil Knight wasn't interested. I've heard that Phil was more hands on with this hire than any before. Quality of character was one of the big boxes that needed to be checked.

I have no idea who Lanning has in mind, but he has quality people in mind that he thinks he can get for OC and he communicated those names to Mullens and Knight. I wouldn't be surprised if Lannning announces his OC and his DC in the next couple of days.

I've read on here that some believe Lanning should forego his chance to coach Georgia in the CFP, but I don't agree. Winning a national championship only adds to this young man's credibility. In addition, the goal in college football today is to make it to the CFP and win. It the the primary objective and the dream of every football coach and staff, and getting a chance to coach in it will only make Lanning better in every way to lead our Ducks back there some day. I'll be rooting for Georgia. Listening to Oregon Twitter Spaces yesterday gave me a finger on the pulse of what the players and recruits think of this hire. The short answer to that is that they are ecstatic. Lanning is enthusiastic, young, hardworking, and by all accounts a great coach. According to Mullens, he has been planning to be an HC for a long time and he has a list of of competent staff members, offensive coordinators most importantly, that he believes he can hire. Mullens and Phil spoke with and interviewed many candidates for the job who covered a wide range of experience and success. Each laid out their plan to maintain or supersede the success Mario, who is perhaps the hardest working man in college football, had at Oregon. Lanning came away heads and shoulders ahead of all of the other people interviewed. Regardless of what anyone else thinks, Mullens and Knight think they hit a grand slam home run. Who we now have at Oregon is not the "Dan Van", it's the "Lanning Strip". Think sleek jet airplane taking off to bring the very best and most talented recruits back to Oregon. I feel like we are heading into some very special days ahead for Oregon football. You know that makes me want to SHOUT!

It's wild who has been popping in and it's very addictive because the people who pop in know their stuff. It also seems to be going 24 hours a day at this point.

The Oregon Twitter Space chat has been nothing short of absolutely fascinating to listen to. Former players, coaches, current players, parents of current players, Lanning's brother, and Oregon fans from across the nation and the world have called in to weigh in. You don't need a Twitter account to listen in. If your interested, you can find it here: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1DXxyDnZbzyJM

About a week ago, some Oregon football fans started an Oregon Twitter Space chat room focusing on the coaching hire. If you haven't listened in, it's been fascinating. Rob Mullens called in and talked about his hire of Dan Lanning. Here's a link to a recording of what he had to say:

By the way, if you guys haven't listened in on Oregon Twitter Spaces, it's absolutely fascinating. They have Oregon players, Oregon players' parents, local media folks, former players all commenting on this coaching hire. It's absolutely fascinating! You don't have to be a member of Twitter to listen. You can find it here: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1DXxyDnZbzyJM

I have to disagree about this being a "lousy hire". I think it was a great hire, and I trust that Rob Mullens and Phil Knight know what Oregon needs to be successful and who is needed to maximize the likelihood of that. I'm told Phil Knight was more personally involved with this hire than with any other coaching hire at Oregon. We are talking about one of the most successful businessmen in the world. If Phil Knight, with all of his experience, can't identify someone with the "IT" factor required to be successful in another human, then no one can. As difficult as it is to fathom, not all of the people who may have been on our dream coach lists may have been available. No amount of money can replace the happiness a lot of today's successful college coaches feel in their current jobs. You can only go after people who are actually available and interested. Mario and his coaches put in more jet miles to recruit than almost any other college in the nation because we don't have a big talent pool in our back yard like they do in Los Angeles or Miami. Coaching at Oregon comes with very high expectations and it's hard work. I'm sure that Mullens and Knight went in with a check list, and I'm sure that the only box Lanning didn't fill was HC experience. Otherwise, the guy knocked their socks off; and I must say, the more I learn about him and hear people who are familiar with him sing his praises, the more my socks are knocked off as well. I'm told when Mario got the head coaching job at Oregon, those in the know called him "The Beast" because he is such a hard worker. I'm told that the same people call Dan Lanning "The Beast 2". I think we are all going to end up really liking this guy.

I think this is a great hire. Lanning is the DC of one of the best defenses in the country. In fact, his Georgia team could be the National Champion this year. He is one of the best recruiters in the country, and for someone like him, Oregon is going to be an easy sell wit the recruits. I don't agree that we will never see another 5 star quarterback again, but the fact of the matter is that we already have one in our stable just waiting for his turn. Defenses are what wins championships, and I haven't seen great defense at Oregon since the days of Nick Allioti. The next key will be getting a blockbuster OC hire. I think this is going to work out really, really well for Oregon. I'm interested to see how many recruits, especially defensive players, jump back on the Oregon bus.

It's the beginning of a new era. Now to get back some of those recruits who opened their commitments back up.

Yup. Canzano just tweeted that it's a DONE DEAL !!! Lanning is Oregon's next coach. Defense wins championships my friends. This is the kind of home run hire I think Mullens and Knight were going for.

What did Dan's brother have to say?

I'm hearing Lanning all over the place. I really think this is the guy. He fits the bill of a hit it out of the park hire. Georgia's defensive coordinator. Oh my! Wouldn't it be something if they could get Joe Brady as offensive coordinator?

Everybody seems to be going home. That might be a trend to carefully look at.

While I predicted Chip when this whole shooting match began, the more I hear and read, the more I think he's going to stay put at UCLA. Coaching hires are a great chance for wily coaches to up their deal with their current employer, and Chip is nothing if not wily; plus Sexton, his agent, is about as wily as they come. Chip knows what living in Eugene is like, and life for a man with means in Southern California is pretty sweet. Head coach at the University of Oregon is life in a fish bowl; head coach at UCLA, not so much. He has struggled to get UCLA where he wants them, and 8 wins and counting tells me he is making good and steady progress. While some of the UCLA faithful are dissatisfied, there is nothing like another place courting your guy to make you truly appreciate what you have. I think Chip loved his time here, and has a true appreciation for Oregon's facilities and resources, but I think his final word to Mullens will be thanks, but no thanks. While rumor has it that Oregon is willing to pay their next coach a king's ransom, money isn't going to buy anyone on the wish list. I am almost certain Mario wouldn't have left for any other program than Miami. Most of the great coaches have spent years, and a fair amount of blood, sweat, and tears to build their programs. They love where they live and they love their players and their staffs; and they know that money can't buy you that kind of love.

I understand the need for rule number 34 stating that there be no false information regarding the coaching hire. I'm truly hoping that the rule isn't relevant very often, and that Oregon will be successful in hiring a coach who will decide to stay around for a while and finish what they start. I understand the disrespect associated with posting information that a person posts knowing full well it was completely fabricated by them. There is a big gray area, however, as it applies to someone who, in good faith, posts information they got from a seemingly reliable source. We, all of us, have our perhaps unique sources of information that have been dependable for us over the long run. That said, this is 2021 and the internet is completely out of control with regard to what is actual and accurate information and what nothing more than someone's opinion; or even worse, a diabolical attempt to report misinformation. The frustration for actual doctors, scientists, and learned people is palpable. What I love about this site is that there is an extraordinary effort to be respectful, and that people here make an effort to honestly honor each others' opinions. I've been everywhere man, and there is nothing quite like this anywhere. I've seen wrong information posted with good intentions or an attempt at humor, but I haven't seen much in the way of purposeful attempts to steer people in the wrong direction. My hat is off to you Mr. FishDuck, and to the moderators here. It's obvious we all love our Ducks, but it's also obvious that we also have a good measure of love for each other and the thoughts of others here. Kudos !!

Heck. Why WOULDN'T Rob Mullens and Phil Knight interview Lane Kiffin? Chip Kelly is there for the taking, he knows the ropes, and I think he'd do a great job at Oregon... But why not shoot for the stars?

According to a tweet just posted by John Canzano, Oregon hasn't made their final decision yet. Behind what he is calling "Door Number 1" is an NFL candidate and a college coach mystery candidate. Behind "Door Number 2" is Kelly and Wilcox. That all said, I originally said that I had heard it was going to be Chip Kelly, and I think when it's all said and done, it is going to be Chip Kelly.

The word floated by Canzano last night was that Kiffin was off of the table. Word has it that Canzano has an in with Phil Knight, and that Phil Knight doesn't like Kiffin. Take it for what it's worth because the buzz out there is so loud right now that it's hard to know which end is up. It's strange, however. Kiffin has leaked that he's interested. He is one of the best offensive minds in college football today, and he is perhaps the only name on the list who would easily be able to go toe to toe with Lincoln Riley on the recruiting trail. He is exactly the kind of big, splashy hire that would make the major waves I'd think Oregon wants to make. Why isn't Kiffin getting any Love from the people who are calling the shots?

You hit the nail on the head Hayward pertaining to my real problem with Cristobal. A testament to his great recruiting was his ability to be a great salesman, but his words rang hollow when put to the test. So much of what he said in his interviews was filled with the blather of coach speak with very little substance. There was most definitely a narrative he was trying to create. How many noticed some of the same ideals and platitudes being rehashed for the eager Miami supporters at his acceptance speech the other day? I'm sure it brought tears to the eyes of some, but I had the feeling that I'd heard it all before. He always talked about the "real relationships" he had with his players, but I've seen a lot that's come out from players and parents of players since he left that suggest that he was less than honest about the things he promised them. A "real relationship" can only truly happen if you have a real relationship with The Truth.

Swinney is not out of the question, but I'm under the impression that he is deeply rooted in the life he has at Clemson. The article is correct, however. "Game done changed". In a world driven by the mighty dollar where mighty dollars are no barrier, anything seems possible. I could be wrong, Lord knows I am a lot, but I have a funny feeling we are about to witness something along the lines of extraordinary with Oregon's next coaching hire. After all, the game done changed.