Seems like a stretch that he would leave his job with a Super Bowl contender to be a college OC. I'm guessing he would already have a head coaching job if he wanted back in the college game. Nice to dream though.

On 12/3/2022 at 12:02 PM, Ktmguy2018 said:

Very interesting article on why Caleb Williams DESERVES the Heisman for playing hurt in the PAC-12 championship....

 

Caleb Williams, battered+bruised, gives Heisman-worthy effort in loss

TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM

---

Caleb Williams in the 1st quarter: circus-like plays. Caleb Williams in the 4th quarter: heart of a warrior. His...

 

Uh sure a guy who paints his nails then cries with a towel over his head when he loses has the heart of warrior. Gimme a break.

Can't stop laughing, boo hoo turncoats!

On 12/1/2022 at 9:44 AM, David Marsh said:

It feels silly to want to put my hopes and dreams in backing a 5-star quarterback who hasn't played any college football, but I do feel Dante Moore will probably be the guy. If Nix stays we are fine for this year. 

 

If Nix leaves... I feel we may need to consider a transfer quarterback so we could at least have a back-up. This assumes that Moore is everything we think he can be... I am not sure that Thompson is going to stick around. We need an actual back-up. 

 

Granted in this new age of NIL and Transfer Portal... I feel every major school's qb room will probably only be 2-3 deep at most. 

Agree with you on this one, at one time TT was a highly-rated 5* too.  Sure seems like DM could be the man, but at this point he isn't even officially a Duck so it would really be rolling the dice if we don't have a Plan B.

Clearly with Butters gone and TT not showing much ability to lead the team at this point, we're extremely thin in the QB (and that's assuming TT stays, certainly not a given).

 

I think I would be hesitant to bring in a young transfer, but a senior with a year (maybe two) of eligibility would seem to fit the bill.  Despite the fact that our recent QB transfers have done pretty well, I sure would like us to bring up our QBs through the system.  Not sure that's possible anymore, but still think it should be a goal.

On 11/29/2022 at 1:39 PM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

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

Too funny, but sad at the same time.

 

The times they are a changin'

On 11/29/2022 at 11:30 AM, David Marsh said:

He is going to have to post a record of improvement. 

 

That goes without saying, but 3-9 is a pretty low bar don't you think?

There's really not much downside for KD.  He gets his dream job, triples his pay and because of looming sanctions and past patience with coaches at ASU he probably gets a bit of latitude for a couple of years.

 

If he fails, he'll most likely still be in high demand as an OC, then he could go the rehab route and probably get another HC shot down the road.

 

In this scenario it could be similar to the Kiffin to USC move (his dream job).  Didn't work out, but he worked his way back into HC spot and now in high demand.  Same with Sarkisian to a certain extent.

 

And of course there's a real possibility he'll succeed at ASU.  He's not Arroyo or Taggart or MC.  Will it be harder to succeed at ASU as compared to Oregon? Absolutely, but certainly possible nonetheless and he's betting on himself, who could blame him for that?

 

You can't just assume that if you pass on your dream job now you'll get another shot at it.  It's a cliche, but strike while the iron is hot and right now he's one of the hottest young stars.

He's a local hero in Florida, I don't see how that translates in Boulder.  Seems like a desperate move on the Buffs part.

 

 

 

 

On 11/28/2022 at 2:40 PM, Log Haulin said:

No, I don't. Lanning had his last OC hired within a week. The portal opens the 5th. Early signing comes right after. Seems likely Lanning will have his staff in place beforehand. 

 

Lanning has a ton of contacts and Oregon is a top job. Won't take long to fill the OC position. Lanning has probably already known for a week or two that he needs to fill the position.

 

Oregon came within 7 points from going to the CFP. It wasn't the offense that gave up those seven. Oregon is right on the edge of being great. Everyone knows it.

 

Not going to be hard to find the right guy.

Hope you're right and don't disagree with your points, but I'm still not convinced we'll know that soon.  I've been wrong before though.

On 11/28/2022 at 2:22 PM, Log Haulin said:

Lanning will have his OC in place by end of the week. I trust Lannings ability to hire. He has shown he has the ability to draw high level talent with both player and staff.

 

Once a new OC is in place Bo will know what he wants to do pretty quickly. He is probably going into draft, but maybe Lannings next hire will change Bo's mind.

 

Everything hinges on who Lanning hires. Portal opens on the 5th followed shortly by early signing. We will know inthe next 3 or 4 days.

Seems unlikely to me we'd know anything that soon, do you know something I don't?

On 11/28/2022 at 1:04 PM, GeotechDuck said:

I think Junior Adams will end up getting it.  He is killing it in recruiting, he knows what Lanning wants to do, and he has the receiver group playing like all-stars.  That keeps continuity and a similar offensive mindset.  

 

Adams has been an OC at Western Kentucky and was very good there.  While he was OC, the Hilltoppers led Conference USA and ranked 7th nationally in passing offense at 335.0 yards/game.  They also ranking eighth in the nation in completion percentage at 66%. They passed for 4,177 yards and finished second in passing touchdowns with 25.  All three of their starting receivers finished in the top-15 in the league in receiving yards.

 

That means I think we are ultimately looking for another coach to help him with the receiver group.  

I think this makes a certain amount of sense.  Using the same system and coaches sans KD could possibly sway Nix's decision to return.  Also in my personal experience, hiring from within yields better returns and is good for morale.

 

I doubt KD sticks around for the bowl game, so DL will probably have to name an interim OC.  If he picks Adams it could be an audtion.  To me it seems unlikely he'll have anyone named by early signing day as advantageous as that could be.

 

 

That show of faith deserves the best OC/QB coach we can get.  Could be a great win-win partnership for a 5* and new OC that can make the most of each other.

Bo's a smart guy, he's not going to fall for that one.

 

That said, the odds of him staying are way down after KD's departure IMHO.  I would be amazed if he came back.

On 11/28/2022 at 8:05 AM, DazeNconfused said:

56-year old 'retread" Todd Monken spent 4-years in the NFL as the OC of Bucs and Browns before he was hired at Georgia and they won the Natty in his second year with a walk-on QB. 

 

Retread isn't a very nice label

Not dissing on your article, just disagree with the "seasoned" coaches you suggested.  I guess I'm still a little bitter about the late-season developments, not feeling like soft-pedaling my opinion.  Your list is obviously well thought out, no disrespect intended towards you.

On 11/28/2022 at 7:23 AM, Haywarduck said:

The list of coaches who have struggled in their first year was telling. Not just Smart, but Saban at Alabama in his first year there, and Meyer at Florida. 

 

My take was always a Rose Bowl win would be the highest Lanning could rise in his first season. The key there is I want a bowl game win. That is still possible.

 

The idea this young team should have gone to the playoff was wishful thinking. We would have been slaughtered 8-9 out of 10 times in a playoff game this season. 

 

The slow build is what we should expect, and we should support Coach Lanning on that journey. I know I am all in with where he is taking us. Failure is just part of the learning process.

Mostly agree here, although personally I'm a little snake-bitten by our former coach who was incapable of adapting to changing circumstances.  A lot of us were hoping for a return to a bit of stability (perhaps naively), now going into year two we're already losing our best coordinator, most likely our QB with no apparent replacement and major question marks on defense and special teams.

 

Despite our relatively weak non-conference schedule next year, a regression is certainly possible with us having to play Utah and the Fuskies on the road, plus USC.  No point in deluding ourselves, the P12 is getting better and next year is going to be a tough one IMHO.

With all due respect, thumbs down on the retreads.  I just don't see Dirk Koetter being able to recruit at the high level we need.  No way Mullen takes an OC job IMHO, he's got a pretty good broadcasting gig.  Tom Herman maybe, but DL's personality tells me he's going to stick with the youth movement.  Garret Riley would be a slam-dunk IMHO, not sure we could get him out of Texas though.

 

Regardless, DL needs someone who can completely take over the offense so he can devote his time to fixing our woeful defense.  I don't know how he deals with Lupoi (I doubt he gets fired after one year), but it feels like he's already at a crossroads coming into year two.

No disrespect, but thumbs down on Shaw, b-o-o-r-r-r-i-i-ing.  

 

I don't see Helf fitting in as an OC, but maybe as a special analyst/QB coach?  He's got a ton of football knowledge and he's financially set, so maybe he'd be interested in a lower stress coaching job?  Just speculating here.

I'm trying hard to have some perspective.  On paper a 9-3 record for a first-year head coach is respectable, especially considering he was just about guaranteed to start 0-1.

 

I actually predicted 9-3 at the start of the year, going 2-2 in September and dropping another game in November.  I certainly didn't anticipate losing 2 out of our last 3, especially to both the Fuskies and Biebers, in games we should have won.

 

Once again we have a late-season melt-down going from playoff contender to pretender, embarassed nationally and the program thrown into uncertainty with more coaching changes.

 

DL's defense has been a huge disappointment, no way to sugar-coat it.  The offense has for the most part been a bright spot, but still unable to finish game-winning drives in our last two losses and now KD is gone anyway.  DL has not improved his game management skills that I can see.  Sure it sucks to settle for a field goal in the red zone, but going for it on fourth and four or five is not the same as going for it on fourth and one.  We take that field goal in the CW and we could have taken the lead on our last drive with a gimme field goal.  Not saying our defense could have held, but at least we could have had the lead for a final stand.

 

All hindsight of course, but DL cannot stay the course on this one, he has to make some changes.  How he handles this sudden turmoil to finish the season and respond for next year will likely define his tenure at Oregon.

 

 

 

 

Yeah maybe, I wouldn't take anything Dodds says as factually accurate IMHO.

 

He also just assumes Washington and Oregon would go.  Maybe not if UCLA stays, we add SDSU and get a decent TV deal.

Wow that's a very long list of departing starters.  Next year's team will be completely different and there are some big shoes to fill, especially at QB (assuming Bo leaves) and the O-line.

 

Say what you will about MC, he left the cupboards fully stocked.  That said, between the exiting players, the transfer portal and the 2023 recruiting class, this will be mostly Lanning's personnel in year two.  Next year will tell us a lot more about the coaching staff than this one IMHO.

I say follow the money, I'll be watching the Vegas line.  Big swing if the oddsmakers think Bo is out.

On 11/16/2022 at 10:22 AM, DUCati855 said:

Crepea definitely has an ego and it shows in his questioning. But, without him asking the hard questions we would get the same report from the coach every week. No one else asks those questions.

 

At least this way we can see/hear DL talk about his players. We learn how much he cares for this team. We understand how quick witted and intelligent Coach Lanning is. I for one enjoy getting to understand the coach this way. I respect him more by how he answers Crepea's questions than if those questions were never asked.

 

I'm not a fan of Crepea's personality either. But, his character flaws contrast nicely to DL's attributes.  This makes for some great quotes.

Mostly agree, I just think this can be done without singling out individual players.  There were breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams.  Bennet's miscue alone did not cost us the game.

Pretty crappy Crepea singles out Bennet Williams on that last long TD.  Did he single out Forsyth for the bad snap or Nix for the fumble in the red zone.?  There were at least a dozen miscues that contributed to the loss, any one of which could have been the difference maker if it had gone the other way.  Bennet's missed tackle just happened to be the last.

 

We all can see he's struggling and DL admitted he's probably being asked to do too much.  I hate seeing classless personal attacks on players from "professional" journalists.

Easy enough to identify problems, a lot harder to solve them.

 

Staff changes at this point may be counterproductive, this is their first year together with a roster they largely inherited.  That said, TL is I believe the highest paid coordinator in the history of Duck football, so if for no other reason we should expect better than what we've seen so far this season.  I trust my eyes, this defense is not improving and in fact may be getting worse (or else we're just being exposed).

 

Got to trust DL on this one, he'll get it figured out but part of that process may be making some tough personnel decisions.