The Kamikaze Kid

Maybe they should have Larry Scott lead the parade. The grand daddy of them all has not aged very well.

LH, This subject is worthy of it's own topic. Taggart goes 7-5 in his first P5 coaching gig and FSU just HAS to have him no matter what the buy out is. Mario eeks out a Rose Bowl win with a future all pro QB, our OC out foxes an tOSU DC in over his skis and Miami just HAS to have him regardless of the buy out. Dilly does a nice job at calling the first few games of his career and ASU just HAS to have him. I think what they all want is a piece of the Oregon magic but it does not leave with the coach which they all either found out (FSU) are finding out (Miami) and will find out soon enough (ASU).

This feels like the classic Las Vegas wedding. Dilly's going to wake up the next morning in a dumpster fire. ASU's going to wake up next to a 32 year old guy that called a few nice games for a year without any other meaningful credentials or experience. Soon, they'll both be looking over that contract with a huge hangover and bloodshot eyes.

UNLV probably hopes to fast track football success to get that Pac 12 invite.

I think Dilly has a lot to lose. If he had stayed and UO was in the playoff hunt the next few years, he could have walked right into a UO level type job like Lanning did. Now, to me it looks like his career path is going to be 3-4 years at a dumpster fire, 2-3 years back as OC somewhere then 2-3 years at another dumpster. If he manages to put that fire out then 2-3 years at a WSUish low expectation school. Then if he exceeds expectations there he may find a UO type job. I'd rather have stayed at UO a couple more years, really build up my buzz and fast track my career.

Great stuff. We're all mad, puzzled, concerned that the Ducks had two abysmal forth quarter melts downs that cost them an 11-1 season. I think it's best to take a glass half full approach and appreciate the fact a first year first time head coach was in position to win both games in the forth quarter and be 11-1 in year one. Jonathan Smith got to play with house money year one and just get his feet wet guiding a horrible team and look where he is now. It should also be noted that if UW and OSU were both playing at the level they were last year, Lanning would be 11-1 right now. The Pac has vastly improved this year and has many of the top ten offenses/ QBs in the country. Mario would have been much closer to .500 this year if he stayed. Even if they did finish 11-1 this year, they would not have been a real threat in the playoffs due to the weak D. The bitter way the season ended may be a long term blessing in disguise much like the UGA game. The honeymoon is over. Lanning has seen the Ducks weaknesses and will have to go to work and address them. He has also seen his own coaching flaws and will work on them as well. From everything I've seen so far, I'd say he'll have the problems fixed sooner than later. The glass is much more than half full.

A few Thoughts. Former head coach = See ya after another good season. OC/ Receiver coach = See ya by Junior Adams. OC with their own system = Relearning a 3rd offense in three years. = Portal storm + unknown results. I'm pretty sure who ever the new OC is going to be will be one of the top three guys on Lanning's speed dial list. Barring an OC who's already on a playoff caliber team, I'd bet he could get anybody on that list he wants. I'm also pretty sure Lanning (and the team) likes this offense and will want someone familiar with it (Someone from the Norvell tree).

I think Lanning's gambles fall into two different categories. First is the river boat gambler. He's a fierce competitor looking for any opportunity to seize the advantage. This shows up well in his middle eight dominance but doesn't look so good with so many 4th down failures. Like any gambler that seeks long term success, you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. He's in the learning process at this point. I predict he'll be better in the future. The next category I'd call crises management. When all hell is breaking loose, desperate times call for desperate measures. Against UW he was watching his D get destroyed the entire second half and knew giving back the ball was going to end badly. I think he thought a 50/50 shot at converting that 4th down was better than the 0% chance of stopping UW so he rolled the dice. Against OSU, pretty much the same scene unfolded except this time his punter dropped the ball on the one yard line after having a punt blocked. No trust in the punter, no trust in the D equals another desperate gamble. I'd way rather be a UO fan watching our young head coach figure things out while nearly making the playoffs than be a Miami fan wondering what the heck did we just get ourselves into.

Dilly got to coach the most talented team in the Pac with the best offensive line in the country. Pretty much every position coach was top notch and every position group seemed to all play as well as any other UO offense in recent memory. He was coaching for a team with the best fan support in the Pac, the largest TV audience in the Pac and a school of interest for many of the best recruits in the nation. And that will continue into the future. All of these things working together made his offense a true thing of beauty but at ASU, he won't have any of that. With looming sanctions, I don't see any way things get better before they get worse there no matter who is coaching. Seems like a disastrous decision to me.

Since Lanning has known about this for awhile, I'm pretty sure he has already contacted the number one guy on this list and he's been a "quite commit" until the deal is done. I think he promotes in house, keeps offensive continuity and brings in a real QB guru.

I think it might be best to just promote from within and go grab a top notch QB coach. UO already has the offense they want. No need to reinvent that wheel. Just stabilize the offense and put the focus on reviving the D.

Dante to Dilly on joining him in the ASU dumpster fire:I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

I think Lanning is a great hire. He just needs to grow into his head coaching shoes. Stabilize the offense with a solid hire and get the D up to respectable and this is a legit playoff contending team. He made some mistakes, took some unnecessary gambles and took some risky gambles because his D totally fell apart and his punter literally dropped the ball. I think a big problem we're dealing with is that maybe Mario was more about recruiting star power instead of building cohesive offensive and defensive units. This may be why the collection of defensive talent seems to have way under performed the last two years while looking impressive on paper.

I think who ever is at the top of that list Lanning says he keeps, is going to be the guy. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's article by Dazed that will break down this question.

It would sure be nice to finish a season with coaches focused on finishing the season. Two years in a row we squander a Pac Championship opportunity with a coach with one foot out the door.

When Lanning first got hired, he said he had been preparing for that moment for years. He said he had developed a list of potential assistants before he was ever offered a job. He seems like a one step ahead type of guy and he has seen this coming for a few weeks now. He seems to prefer working with people he has built relationships with in the past. Anyone have any insight who he may have worked with in the past that may be OC potential? It has also been proposed on another post that he may keep things in house to retain the same system. Thoughts?

Dilly won't have a bunch of 4/5 stars making his offense look great. He won't have a top notch group of assistants coaching up position groups. He won't have a bunch of 4/5 star recruits beating down the door until he shows results. He won't have a national brand to market to 4/5 star recruits. He will be at a lower tier team at a time when the upper half of the conference are all legit top 25 teams. He will be at a school that will have an unknown amount of sanctions heading it's way. He will have a three year contract meaning he's got two years until the hot seat fires up. All in all, I'd say he just made a huge career mistake.

Staying and building a better resume then leaving for a solid gig like Lanning did was the smart career path. Taking a promotion to captain of a sinking ship will set him back several years. This reminds me a lot of Lane Kiffin. He was also the young wonder boy assistant that was promoted to head coach way to soon. After a humiliating firing from USC on a tarmac after coming home from another loss, he eventually needed to return to assistant coaching to build back his reputation. I see a similar career path for Dilly which is why I also predicted he'd do the smart thing and stay awhile longer. Sometimes predictions assume people will follow the head not the heart.

Thanks Coach Shaw for those epic battles for Pac supremacy. Stanford is a difficult school to take to the top let alone stay there.

Great proposition. Keeping it in house and maintaining the same scheme would be better than another offensive reset.

Yes, I think a stronger Pac is good for UO. Having many top 25 teams gives it cred. If they just don't allow a late 62 yard td pass and a punter just catches and kicks a ball, they'd be ranked #4 and a win from the playoffs right now. I'm more worried about the Ducks being their own worst enemy than the other team. Not many teams will be able to hold up against UO's A game. They just need to learn how to bring it every time.

I think you're on to something. 1. Coach at UO. 2. Let UO success build your buzz. 3. Let desperate team open the bank vault to get you to save them. 4. Sign top dollar contract. 5. Fail spectacularly. 6. Enjoy early retirement.

Dilly just had his first year of calling plays. Riley has lead OU to the playoffs and several Big 12 championships. Most of his also staff came with him to USC. Big difference.

It's funny how Taggart can go 7-5 and FSU just has to have him. Mario manages to win a Rose Bowl with Herbert as QB and Miami breaks out an $80 mil 10 year contract. Dilly literally calls a few good games at UO and is offered a head coaching job. Seems like they are all way over reacting to the success coaches can achieve at UO. The coaches may leave but the UO magic stays at Autzen.

If Uncle Phil considers it his staff, there will be plenty of incentive to stay.