Who is the Greatest Assistant Coach?

[Haywarduck]

Who is the best assistant coach at Oregon. I am not talking about how Chip Kelly would arguably be judged as our greatest assistant coach. He was just moving on, up and out. I am talking about the workhorse assistants who do their jobs, without ever angling to become more than what they love to do, and are extremely good at.

 

In the past it could be argued Gary Campbell, my choice, was the greatest assistant of all-time. Some may argue Steve Greatwood was the greatest. He did more with less and allowed all those qb’s and rb’s to thrive.

 

Some may see Nic Aliotti as the ultimate assistant. I wasn’t a big fan during his tenure, but have come to appreciate all he did at Oregon more, and more. This became true as I read and discussed Aliotti on Fishduck.

 

The big question is who is the guy within Cristobal’s staff? Is it Mirabal, or maybe Big Joe? Maybe it is a guy who we really don't appreciate yet, like Nate Costa?

 

The old head coaches like Moorhead and DeRuyter get all the big press. They also have a very large impact, but it is the everyday assistants which really are the foundation of any staff. Who are they and why are they the best?

 

One note is Dana Altman would still be one of the best coaches in college basketball, but Tony Stubblefield is his rock. The greatest basketball assistant coach is without a doubt Tony Stubblefield.

[Charles Fischer]

My candidate for greatest assistant coach is not a popular one, but he needs to be judged on his work as an assistant and that would be Mark Helfrich.  The game-plans he came up with and old plays pulled out of the playbook have not been rivaled since, IMHO.  Our offense was the envy of the nation....

 

[David Marsh]

Matt Lubick ... Wide Receivers coach during the Helfrich years should get some consideration. There were no issues with the receivers during those years, yes some issues with back-up quarterbacks but the receivers caught the ball and blocked well.

 

Though I think Campbell is probably more impactful just due to some of the big time runningbacks and his years of tenure.

 

Though if we are talking about years of tenure and program impact Don Pellum should get consideration. Yes, he was a bad defensive coordinator but he was a solid linebacker coach.

 

As for Cristobal's staff... Mirabal and Salave'a are the two who I have pinned as sticking with the program for awhile and will probably be the most impactful over time. Though I really can see DeRuyter staying for a good long tenure at Oregon, assuming he is successful.

[Charles Fischer]

Another great candidate that would not be a surprise coming from me is Steve Greatwood, as we lead the conference in rushing for nine years with primarily 3-Star guys who were coached up.  Our offense has not been as productive since he left, IMHO.

 

[Haywarduck]

Interesting we have Helfrich who was a great assistant, but seems to have pushed beyond his abilities. He would seem to be the perfect guy to step back, and again become a great assistant.

 

The other guy is DeRuyter who also seemed to have stepped beyond his ability level and may stick around a while. I have a tremendous amount of respect for DeRuyter for continuing to give back to the game.

 

I guess you can't fault a guy for wanting to give the head coaching job a shot. It would seem to be a smart move for Helfrich to step back into the game and again use his, quite considerable skills. I do wonder what his thinking is, maybe he just has the bank account, and can stick around for his kids?

 

I also have a lot of respect for the Campbell's and Mirabal's who just do their jobs and do it well. These are the guys who are the backbones of a program.

[Haywarduck]

2 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

Another great candidate that would not be a surprise coming from me is Steve Greatwood, as we lead the conference in rushing for nine years with primarily 3-Star guys who were coached up.  Our offense has not been as productive since he left, IMHO.

 

Greatwood and Campbell are the guys who are much better at what they did then given credit for.

 

Most assistant rise up to their level of incompetence, while the great assistant just do their job. Greatwood is one of, if not the greatest when looking through that lens.

[woundedknees]

My vote goes to Campbell. I believe at  times he was the best RB coach in college football.

[30Duck]

6 hours ago, Haywarduck said:

The greatest basketball assistant coach is without a doubt Tony Stubblefield.

 

 Very clever to leave him at the end of your post, amazing he has stayed at Oregon this long, the other great assistant coach i have is Mark Campbell, who didn't stay at Oregon State, and who was the lead recruiter of a player named Sabrina Ionescu. 

[RatherBe]

For the past Gary Campbell and Steve Greatwood are tied for first for me. Longevity, consistency, and high achievement. We’ll never see something like that again. Great coaches, great people. 
 

I also grew to appreciate Aliotti more in a classic you don’t miss them until they’re gone scenario. His defenses were aggressive and ahead of their time, I feel like they would be appreciated more now. Don Pellum also deserves credit, not so much for his DC work as for the LB coaching and his recruiting. Oregon recently offered a scholarship to his nephew, a 4-star recruit, and he posted the picture I’ll attach at the bottom. I had no idea DP was that ripped when he was a player. Honorable mention for John Neal, he kind of gave up at the end but for a while DBs were Oregon’s best export to the NFL. 

I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Jim Radcliffe. S&C didn’t have the budget it does now, and he had other sports to tend to but he’s also a legend. 

 

Out of the current staff - I can’t really say. At this time last year I would have said Keith Heyward, or Andy Avalos although one year as DC was a small sample. As of this moment I can’t say. I’m most excited for Joe Moorhead, but picking an OC is basically cheating. The only coach I’ve been a vocal critic of is Big Joe Salave’a, and he hasn’t been awful just not living up to the standards I have for the second highest paid DL coach in the business. Overall it’s too early to tell or solid enough to not complain.

Edited March 12, 2021 by RatherBe

[Haywarduck]

A couple people have mentioned Don Pellum. The great thing about Don, as seen in the picture above, is he was a Duck player. That was one of the items which made Ernie Kent so enduring. Having a True Duck on staff is priceless.

 

I applaud Cristobal for putting two Ducks on the staff as analysts and the recent hire of Tony Washington. There is nothing like having staff that has lived the dream, especially Tony, who had one of the classic Duck moments. A true duck isn't made, he is born!