Following Oregon’s second humiliating loss to Utah in as many weeks, I found myself drawn to the growing mob of Ducks fans calling for Coach Cristobal’s head. I even rummaged through my garage searching for my pitch fork, but alas I could only find a plastic rake.
It’s understandable that so many Oregon fans are upset. We’re disappointed that this year’s team ostensibly underachieved. We’re frustrated and bored with an offense that looks like it was stolen from Nick Saban in 2007. We miss the “Oregon brand” of football.
And so we call for Cristobal’s firing. We hope and pray that Miami makes an offer that he can’t refuse…
…We should be careful about what we wish for…
Coach Cristobal is an elite recruiter. Being elite at anything is very difficult. Does he need to evolve as a coach? Absolutely. Does he need to make better personnel choices? A resounding yes. But how many college coaches are really elite at anything? USC spent the last decade searching for an elite coach and finally made a marquee hire, but only after pulling off one of the biggest coaching coups college football has ever seen.
Coach Cristobal’s coaching chops, or lack thereof, are well documented. But he’s learning, and he will learn from this season. Hopefully, he hires a offensive coordinator that will help implement a dynamic offense. I have my doubts, but we will see.
In any event, with MC at the helm, Oregon will continue to be pretty good by playing a boring brand of football with top shelf talent. Oregon will be competitive most years, and every so often they will put it all together and be included in the national championship conversation. If the alternative is roaming the coaching wilderness for the next decade looking for a coach that is elite at anything, is that so bad?