Is Stein Oregon's Best Option at OC?

[NJDuck]

UGH!!   Here we go again.

 

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks have some of the most talented assistant coaches in the nation on staff in Eugene, and at this point in the offseason, names often get brought up as candidates to move on to other positions.

 

The Ducks staved off the Dallas Cowboys over the weekend and were able to hold onto running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples, who interviewed for the Cowboys RB coach position. The Ducks are also hoping to hold onto defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator Chris Hampton, who was mentioned as a top candidate to take over as the Ohio State Buckeyes' next defensive coordinator.

 

A year ago, Oregon running backs coach Carlos Locklyn left the Ducks to take the same position with the Buckeyes.

It appears that Ohio State might be trying to take more from Oregon, as well.

 

With Chip Kelly leaving Columbus to take over as the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders, Ohio State is looking for a replacement. According to Pete Nakos at On3, Oregon's OC Will Stein is among the top candidates for the position.

 

Oregon Ducks OC Will Stein named top candidate for vacant Ohio State job

SPORTS.YAHOO.COM

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Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein has been named one of the top candidates for the Ohio State OC vacancy after Chip Kelly's departure.

 

[Jon Joseph]

 

I figured Day would go after Penn State's OC, Andy Kotelnicki, and Ducks OC Will Stein. Both have a year's experience in the B1G, and both teams made the PO. PSU to TOSU would be payback, and either hire weakens a quality conference opponent. 

 

Is Will a fit for a program that features a downfield passing attack? Out of necessity, Andy K featured TE Tyler Warren last season. 

 

Due to their long relationship, Day was willing to give Chip play calling duty. Will he be as eager to surrender play calling to anyone who was not his mentor? 

 

And no offense to the saner TOSU fans but why would anyone opt to perform in front of an SEC+ demanding fan base?

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

Word on the street is the job is Hartline's to lose. Day knows they will lose him this year if he is not promoted to OC. Many teams are standing by to poach him.

[candyduck]

I find this to be very interesting!  Is Day trying to weaken the Ducks by taking some of the ducks top assistants?  Is he not good enough to recognize coaching talent at a lower level college and bring them up "his way" like DL?  Does he think we're tOSU with enough money to get who we want at any cost!  Maybe he's just lazy and doesn't want to work hard to bring in his guys in!

 

I think it might be a little of all the above.  I think it shows me a lot about his character as a coach as well.  It looked like he wanted to kick the players butts who dumped water on him after the championship!  I doubt he's smiled since the win...kidding but he looks like he's sucked a lot of lemons in his life!

[Jon Joseph]

 

Will Mari(O)'s OC Leave for tOsu?

 

 

Ohio State eyeing big-name offensive coordinator from the ACC to replace Chip Kelly

WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM

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Ohio State and Ryan Day could be looking to the ACC to find their next offensive coordinator.

 

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

On 2/4/2025 at 1:01 PM, Jon Joseph said:

 

Will Mari(O)'s OC Leave for tOsu?

 

 

Ohio State eyeing big-name offensive coordinator from the ACC to replace Chip Kelly

WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM

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Ohio State and Ryan Day could be looking to the ACC to find their next offensive coordinator.

 

His old OC, Moorehead, is also up for consideration. He's only making mid six figures at Akron. OSU can triple that.

[Charles Fischer]

Not the least bit worried...

 

 

[30Duck]

The offense that really worked for osu2 in the Rose Bowl, was Chip, it did not look like anything we've seen from Stein, I doubt he's the TOP candidate for the job. Actually, with Lanning's success at hiring Coordinators, Stein to the Buckeyes might not be all bad. 

[Steven A]

We're safe, tosu hired Brian Hartline from within.

[VegasDuck]

Yes! Please leave.

[Charles Fischer]

He should.

 

When he was asked to score a boatload of points in 2023, he did. When he was asked to do a slow roll-out with the playbook through 2024, he did.

 

 

 

[kirklandduck]

Hartline just made the most sense.  Osu2 was going to be hard pressed to find an OC of Chip's caliber and if Hartline wasn't promoted he would probably be looking elsewhere (Day doesn't need to lose yet another coach right now).  He's been there for 7(?) years now so he's put in his time, the players and recruits know him well, and he's probably ready for the next level.  

 

That being said, even in the best scenarios replacing a coordinator is significantly disruptive.  DL was really fortunate to snag Will Stein as he is very similar to Dillingham (young, dynamic, creative, similar offensive philosophy).  But Day is going from one of the most experienced and successful offensive coaches in Chip to a newbie who has never called plays before.  I think Osu2's offense takes a step back next season (and perhaps the season after) as Hartline learns on the job and makes mistakes like every newly promoted young person does.  There's a window of opportunity there for OBD and Penn St to overtake the Buckeyes during that span.

[Gizmoduck]

On 2/5/2025 at 8:16 PM, Charles Fischer said:

He should.

 

He is very unappreciated here by many fans. When he was asked to score a boatload of points in 2023, he did. When he was asked to do a slow roll-out with the playbook through 2024, he did.

 

There are times when I have a great deal of difficulty adhering to my own rules.

But I will.,,

 

Agreed Charles.

[Jon Joseph]

On 2/6/2025 at 12:42 AM, kirklandduck said:

Hartline just made the most sense.  Osu2 was going to be hard pressed to find an OC of Chip's caliber and if Hartline wasn't promoted he would probably be looking elsewhere (Day doesn't need to lose yet another coach right now).  He's been there for 7(?) years now so he's put in his time, the players and recruits know him well, and he's probably ready for the next level.  

 

That being said, even in the best scenarios replacing a coordinator is significantly disruptive.  DL was really fortunate to snag Will Stein as he is very similar to Dillingham (young, dynamic, creative, similar offensive philosophy).  But Day is going from one of the most experienced and successful offensive coaches in Chip to a newbie who has never called plays before.  I think Osu2's offense takes a step back next season (and perhaps the season after) as Hartline learns on the job and makes mistakes like every newly promoted young person does.  There's a window of opportunity there for OBD and Penn St to overtake the Buckeyes during that span.

Terrific comment, thanks.

 

Hartline interviewed for the West Virginia job and was supposedly a close runner-up to Rich Rod, who finally took country roads back home to his Mountain Momma. 

 

Under Urban Meyer and for his first five seasons as the head coach Day was the play caller. He called plays for many prolific TOSU Os. I don't believe play-calling will drop off significantly. if at all. Whoever plays QB will have Smith and other excellent receivers to throw the ball to. TOSU signed two quality RBs out of the portal, one from West Virginia.

 

In 2025, TOSU will be in the top three Blue Chip-ranked teams. Like Georgia, Ohio State only signed six players out of the portal. But Ohio State and Georgia are tied at the top of Rivals with a 3.67 average portal transfer player ranking. Penn State also signed six players out of the portal with an average ranking of 3.33, slightly ahead of OBD's 3.22.

 

Chip had a great 4-game PO run. But he was also calling plays in the Nebraska and Michigan games and the nail-biting win at Penn State. 

 

Coaching matters. The raw material, the Jimmies, and the Joes matter more. Saint Nick at Vandy would not be the GOAT.

 

 

[OregonDucks]

On 2/5/2025 at 11:16 PM, Charles Fischer said:

When he was asked to do a slow roll-out with the playbook through 2024, he did.

Perhaps a bit too slow…

 

Coach Stein is a very good OC but he is young and learning on the job (as are most of Oregon’s assistants). I’ll be interested to see how he is at developing QBs. Glad Coach Stein didn’t leave for a conference rival and believe it’s a good decision because he will be offered a HC job sooner rather than later, if that is his goal (look at the long history of Oregon OCs who have become successful HCs).

 

However, I do not believe that Coach Stein is irreplaceable. Hopefully Coach Lanning is keeping that notebook with coaches updated because it’s probably just a matter of time.  

[Smith72]

Las Vegas Raiders' Chip Kelly Addresses Leaving Ohio State, Ryan Day For NFL

WWW.SI.COM

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Former Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly had his introductory meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders and national media on Wednesday afternoon. The new offensive c

 

Kelly says he has learned to adapt his playbook to the personnel on the team.  Interesting!

 

[Jon Joseph]

 

HELLO, COLUMBUS . Ryan Day's new deal, $12.5M per annum! 

[Chas Man]

OBD are 25 and 3 with Will Stein as our offensive coordinator, with a perfect regular season and a Big Ten Championship. As a Duck fan since the Ice Age (over 50 years), with recollections of utter jubilation for winning the Independence Bowl over a 6 and 5 Tulsa team and memories of the infamous Toilet Bowl O to O tie with OSU, my reaction to complaining about Stein's abilities is...well, some things are better left unsaid, I guess.

[OregonDucks]

On 2/6/2025 at 1:03 PM, Chas Man said:

OBD are 25 and 3 with Will Stein as our offensive coordinator, with a perfect regular season and a Big Ten Championship. 

On the flip side, Coach Stein is 1-1 in the post season.  

 

As I said in my earlier post, Coach Stein is a good OC but not irreplaceable. OC should be the easiest position to fill at Oregon. We are now known coast-to-coast for high powered offenses and have a long track record of Oregon OCs getting HC positions (e.g., Mike Bellotti, Bob Toledo, Jeff Tedford, Chip Kelly, Kenny Dillingham). 
 

We’ve had the occasional dud(wig) but have luckily made the correction quickly. Offense, or lack thereof, has not been Oregon’s problem for a very long time. 

Edited February 7 by OregonDucks

[Charles Fischer]

 Does anybody really blame the offense for the Rose Bowl loss? Without our deep threat...the receiver who had a career game and WAS the difference in the first meeting with Ohio State at Autzen was injured?  But wait...can't you still win with defense?

 

Do you think being down 34-0 might have changed the game plan? Mucked things up?

 

Oregon scored 21 points, right?  Why not win 21-17 with a great defensive effort?  Couldn't that happen?  SHOULDN'T that happen?

 

Oh yeah.  Stein should be responsible for the defense too.  Good thing his offense came to the rescue in the B1G Championship when the defense was porous.

 

 

[OregonDucks]

On 2/6/2025 at 7:04 PM, Charles Fischer said:

 Does anybody really blame the offense for the Rose Bowl loss? Without our deep threat...the receiver who had a career game and WAS the difference in the first meeting with Ohio State at Autzen was injured?  But wait...can't you still win with defense?

 

Do you think being down 34-0 might have changed the game plan? Mucked things up?

 

Oregon scored 21 points, right?  Why not win 21-17 with a great defensive effort?  Couldn't that happen?  SHOULDN'T that happen?

 

Oh yeah.  Stein should be responsible for the defense too.  Good thing his offense came to the rescue in the B1G Championship when the defense was porous.

 

 

If someone is going to give Coach Stein complete credit for a 25-3 overall record at Oregon, then he should also share the overall post-season record of 1-1. 
 

The Rose Bowl loss is on EVERYONE. It was a complete cluster #%$& from top to bottom. The team was completely unprepared to play. It’s not like Oregon lost 41-38.
 

Oregon’s offense started the Rose Bowl:

 

1) Punt (3 and out)

2) Punt (3 and out)
3) Punt (7 plays)

4) Turnover on Downs (7 plays)

5) Punt (3 and out)
6) Punt (3 and out)

7) TD (end of half)

 

Oregon had 7 possessions in the first half, including 5 punts and 1 turnover on downs (6 straight possessions without scoring a point). Someone can find the first half time of possession but I’m sure that that played a part in Ohio State’s success on offense (our defense was likely gassed by the second quarter). We did punch it in to end the half but by that time we were down 34-8 and the game was all but over. Does it really matter what the offense did in the second half? Ohio State was likely looking towards the next game.

 

How did Coach Stein prepare for the adjustments that Ohio State made during the season? Why wasn’t DG’s mobility and running ability a bigger part of the game plan (e.g., moving the pocket, designed QB runs, options)?

 

For comparison, Patrick Mahomes averaged 3.6 carries per game during the regular season but has averaged 9 in the playoffs. At some point you have to let your players do what they do best and I don’t believe that our coaches allowed DG to do that in the post season.   
 

We can agree to disagree. As I mentioned, Coach Stein is a very good OC but is still young and learning on the job. I’m glad that he didn’t go to a conference rival, but I do not believe that he is irreplaceable. Oregon would receive plenty of interest in the position given our reputation and track record of prior OCs.

 

I’m much more concern with Oregon’s defense, as this was year 3 under Lanning and Tosh and our defense was absolutely gashed against the 3 playoff teams we faced this year.  

[Charles Fischer]

On 2/7/2025 at 8:07 AM, OregonDucks said:

Oregon’s offense started the Rose Bowl:

 

1) Punt (3 and out)

2) Punt (3 and out)
3) Punt (7 plays)

4) Turnover on Downs (7 plays)

5) Punt (3 and out)
6) Punt (3 and out)

7) TD (end of half)

Right.  That has happened to a TON of teams before in a first half, and yet the defense held the opposing team to a score that was within reach for a better second half.  Not for this offense, not when the defense gave up 34 straight points...

 

Take away the deep threat and the Buckeyes could crowd the mid and short zones....now DG had to hold the ball longer as nobody was getting open and thus the sacks.  With a good defensive performance, and Evan Stewart available...this is a very different game--even with great plays by the osu2 offense.

 

I never wrote Stein was irreplaceable, but the disrespect given to him considering what my eyes revealed to me over the season...and I wrote about in FishDuck articles, are unjustified, IMHO.

 

[Solar]

On 2/7/2025 at 9:49 AM, Charles Fischer said:

Right.  That has happened to a TON of teams before in a first half, and yet the defense held the opposing team to a score that was within reach for a better second half.  Not for this offense, not when the defense gave up 34 straight points...

 

Take away the deep threat and the Buckeyes could crowd the mid and short zones....now DG had to hold the ball longer as nobody was getting open and thus the sacks.  With a good defensive performance, and Evan Stewart available...this is a very different game--even with great plays by the osu2 offense.

 

I never wrote Stein was irreplaceable, but the disrespect given to him considering what my eyes revealed to me over the season...and I wrote about in FishDuck articles, are unjustified, IMHO.

 

The Rose Bowl wasn't a case of the defense not getting off the field. 7 possessions for the offense in the first half is a lot, and they did almost nothing with them. Losing Stewart really hurt, but did we really have to wait until half to adjust?

 

Looking forward, how much will Stein adapt our point guard offense now that we don't have "most college games ever played" QB behind center? 

 

It's a huge change due to personnel. Dink and dunk with a QB completion percentage of 70% or less won't work. We need to become a seven on seven greatest show in turf type scheme to make the most of our new QB's strength's that can overcome his penchant to make mistakes Bo and DG never did.

[Charles Fischer]

On 2/7/2025 at 12:56 PM, Solar said:

We need to become a seven on seven greatest show in turf type scheme...

Is that what Lanning wants? Will Stein had a reputation for throwing EIGHT bombs a game at UTSA before coming here. Yet with better personnel...he adapted his attack into one of the highest scoring offenses in the nation in 2023.  And people complained then...

 

We have gone over the long season, the consultation by Lanning with NFL coaches about retaining players through the grind, and retaining offensive surprises when you play 16 or 17 games.  You don't show your whole playbook, and the Ducks were clearly holding a ton back--but could not capitalize without their best deep threat and a massive hole to climb out of.

 

Remember my Duck-Buddies...EVERY TEAM but one in the Playoff ends their season with a loss, and the fans will complain at all eleven schools. The national champion finished with two losses, one of which was provided by Our Beloved Ducks.

 

 

[HDuck]

for the stat interest, Rose Bowl, by quarter

 

score - OS time - UO time possession

14-0 - 8:31 - 6:29 - OSU 45 yd pass, 42 yd pass

20-8 - 5:56 - 9:04 - OSU 46FG, 43 yd pass, 66 yd run, 36FG

7-7 - 5:32 - 9:28  - OSU 8 yd run

0-6 - 9:06 - 5:54

 

OSU:  181 rush, 319 pass

UO:  neg 23 rush, 299 pass

 

It was 31-0 after 21:13 time of play, mid 2nd Q.   OSU had drive possession for 6:53 in scoring 31 points.  That's 31 points in 413 seconds, a point every 1-1/3rd seconds.  They also had a 2:43 possession with a punt.  So, I guess that is 31 points in 9:36 of possession.   Ducks during that period of time:  11:37 possession, zero points.

 

[Charles Fischer]

I guess we will continue to repeat the same stuff at each other...forever?  Those are facts, yes.  But it is also factual that Oregon has started very slow with a low output of points in the first half before and come back to win in the last two years under Stein.
 

So, what do you guys suggest?  We fire him over one half of play?

 

This is bubbling up for me, as I was pretty torqued last year when we had one of the best offenses in the nation...the only team to score at least 30 points a game, but because we did not beat Washington--it was Stein's fault.

 

We used to have a great OBD member and analyst in DazeNconfused who left when he fried me in private on the phone over Stein, and would not answer the question of..."how about the defense give up less than 30 points and we win?"

 

Nope, it was all Stein's fault according to him.  I did not ban Dazed, but he left on his own because I would not yield the point, and because he personally insulted me many times over the phone.  I don't have to put up with that...over silly college football, but it was his mountain to die on.

 

So now we have the 2024 season, and I see the same stuff...geez.

 

 

[OregonDucks]

On 2/7/2025 at 4:48 PM, HDuck said:

for the stat interest, Rose Bowl, by quarter

 

score - OS time - UO time possession

14-0 - 8:31 - 6:29 - OSU 45 yd pass, 42 yd pass

20-8 - 5:56 - 9:04 - OSU 46FG, 43 yd pass, 66 yd run, 36FG

7-7 - 5:32 - 9:28  - OSU 8 yd run

0-6 - 9:06 - 5:54

 

OSU:  181 rush, 319 pass

UO:  neg 23 rush, 299 pass

 

It was 31-0 after 21:13 time of play, mid 2nd Q.   OSU had drive possession for 6:53 in scoring 31 points.  That's 31 points in 413 seconds, a point every 1-1/3rd seconds.  They also had a 2:43 possession with a punt.  So, I guess that is 31 points in 9:36 of possession.   Ducks during that period of time:  11:37 possession, zero points.

 

Neither the offense nor the defense  showed up in the first half of the Rose Bowl. And the second half didn’t matter because the game was already out of reach.
 

I turned the game off around the end of the first quarter. It was a complete embarrassment and EVERYONE in the Oregon program deserves blame for that game. It’s like everyone within the program was overconfident because we beat Ohio State at home in the final seconds (despite being underdogs) and our coaches were too busy recruiting or arrogant to make adjustments. They just assumed that we would show up with the same game plan and beat OSU again, despite the widely reported changes that the Buckeyes made to their defensive scheme and offensive play calling. 
 

Ohio State was a very good team but Oregon was talented enough to at least to give them a game. Instead they got run off the field. That is why that game hurt - we didn’t even show up.  

Edited Friday at 10:17 PM by OregonDucks

[Just Ducky]

 It was a total team effort in the rose bowl. We couldn’t stop anything and we couldn’t move the ball either. IMO Blaming one or the other is pointless. The whole team including the coaches were not ready to play and they got embarrassed because of it. I sure hope the coaching staff learned something cause most of the starters are gone and never to return.

[30Duck]

On 2/7/2025 at 2:58 PM, Just Ducky said:

It was a total team effort in the rose bowl. We couldn’t stop anything and we couldn’t move the ball either. IMO Blaming one or the other is pointless. The whole team including the coaches were not ready to play and they got embarrassed because of it. I sure hope the coaching staff learned something cause most of the starters are gone and never to return.

As Lanning and the player's put it, "time to go to school". of course, as Just Ducky points out, there is going to be so many new players that going over the Rose Bowl won't be relevant. It was a perfect storm for osu2, everything worked for them, nothing worked for the Ducks. 

 

Losses do stay with us deeper than wins, and the Rose Bowl was a LOSS. But fortunately, it's done.

[HDuck]

"They just assumed that we would show up with the same game plan and beat OSU again, despite the widely reported changes that the Buckeyes made to their defensive scheme and offensive play calling. "

 

It would be interesting to know the details of the actual game preparation.  The results made it appear the Oregon staff watched the October game tape on an endless loop and assumed it would be the same.

 

The staff are professionals, and I assume that was not the case.  In the CFP it's win or go home.  So, I assume the players were "motivated."   But, it was just stunning how quickly it was 17-0, then 24-0.   Someday I would like to hear more detail.  At the pace it reached 24-0, it was more than just the loss of one player.

 

We recognize Chip's contribution, but Knowles defense was in Gabriel's grill before he could do anything.

[Charles Fischer]

On 2/7/2025 at 6:25 PM, HDuck said:

Knowles defense was in Gabriel's grill before he could do anything.

As discussed many times...Gabriel got rid of the ball at the last instant a TON of times during the season.  In the Rose Bowl--he did not have the deep routes available, thus with receivers much more easily covered in the mid and short zones--the Ohio State defense was able to get to Dillon due to WRs not being open.

 

You know guys....if we want to keep doing this Star Trek Temporal Causality Time-Loop continuously-CAN DO!

 

I'm expecting to see the USS Bozeman materialize soon...

 

 

[PittDuck]

Wow,  that Rose Bowl is really seared into some of our consciousness!  I too hate the loss and the way the season ended, but WS didn’t lose that game, OBD lost that game.  All of them.  The jimmies and the joes as much as the staff.

 

Sometimes we gotta let it go and move on!  Not meaning to jump on anyone, and correct me if I am wrong, but OBD lost fewer games than anyone in the CFP.  It was a pretty darn good year all in all.  
 

I for one am absolutely fine with WS as long as DL wants him as OC.  I think we lucky fans are about to witness a sustained dominating greatness we have been waiting so long to see.

 

Also, love the Star Trek reference and clip!

Edited Saturday at 04:32 AM by PittDuck

[OregonDucks]

On 2/7/2025 at 11:04 PM, Charles Fischer said:

In the Rose Bowl--he did not have the deep routes available, thus with receivers much more easily covered in the mid and short zones--the Ohio State defense was able to get to Dillon due to WRs not being open.

I promise that this will be my last post in this thread about this subject.

 

First, for the record, I was the first on this site (and potentially anywhere) to mention Coach Stein as a possible OC replacement for Coach Dillingham (if you don’t believe me, you can look it up). I saw the offensive numbers he put up at UTSA, noticed that the offense was similar to that of Dillingham’s at Oregon and knew that Coach Lanning preferred young coaches. I believe that Coach Stein is a very good OC but is not elite, yet. I am not, nor have I seen anyone in this thread, calling for Coach Stein to be fired. On the contrary, I am hoping that he and our other young coaches can learn from the Rose Bowl so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes twice and maintain that “growth mindset” so that they can become better. 
 

Second, to respond to Mr. Fisher’s comment above, it was widely reported, leading up to the Rose Bowl, that Ohio State made adjustments to their defense following the Oregon loss. They went to playing their safeties deeper (cover 2?) to prevent explosion plays and ran more stunts/twists on the defensive line. 
 

Sure, you could try to attack the cover 2 with deep passes to the perimeter but that is exactly what that defense is designed to prevent (even with a healthy Evan Stewart the probability of success with that strategy would have likely been low). 

 

The better strategy, IMHO, would have been to establish the run and/or focus on short and intermediate routes, especially over the middle to bring one of the safeties up. Then you could try to attack deep.  
 

Coach Stein knows more about football than I’ll ever know but my questions for him (if I were in the media conducting an interview) would be:

1) Why wasn’t DG running (e.g., speed options, pass-run options, called QB runs) a bigger part of the game plan? Especially since it was an elimination game and there was no point preserving his health for later in the season (Patrick Mahomes’ rushes have doubled in the playoffs).

 

2) Why didn’t we move the pocket more to give DG more time to throw the ball, play to his strengths (e.g., scrambling, throwing on the run, improvising) and give him clear line of site downfield? (Note: Joey Harrington called for this earlier in the season on Talkin’ Ducks.)
 

3) Why didn’t we call more RB or TE screens or WR reverses early in the game? 

 

Since it’s the “offseason,” perhaps someone can start another thread ranking Oregon’s best OCs. We’ve been fortunate to have some great ones over the past few decades.  

[Jon Sousa]

WS is young and still learning.  So is DL. Nobody expects a guy to be a well seasoned veteran after two years on the job.

 

This year the Ducks went 12-0 in the regular season and 1-1 in the post season. We finished the season with more wins than the National Champions --- and one of those wins was against the National Champions. That is a pretty satisfying season.

 

Next year DL will be a little better and so will Will.

 

I'm sure glad we have them both.

[Jon Joseph]

If Dan's happy, I'm happy.

[bbmichaels]

This thread seems to have gotten a bit contentious, at least by our standards. But somehow I find myself largely agreeing with most sentiments expressed on here, by all sides.

 

WS has been great, and I'm very happy we have him.

 

All of the coaches deserve some fault for the debacle that shall not be named. Lots of blame to go around there, including WS, IMO. It is what it is. Sh...stuff happens. Doesn't make him a bad coach. It was just the perfect storm of a bad game in all phases.

 

But in regards to WS potentially leaving: I don't want that to happen by any means, but I also have a lot of confidence in DL's ability to hire great people. Because of that, the idea of any one coach or coordinator leaving isn't as scary for me as it once was.

 

The funny thing is that WS is a large reason that I have that confidence, as we watched Dilly leave and then saw DL immediately bring in an awesome replacement. So it's actually the hiring of WS that makes me less worried about losing WS...if that makes any sense.

 

Maybe I'm over confident in DL's ability to reload. But for now that's how I feel, and it allows me to rest easy (as if there would be anything I could do about it anyway).

 

Go Ducks!

 

Looking forward to seeing Moore to Moore next year. I think WS will make good use of that new weapon.

[JabbaNoBargain]

Eh, I don’t blame him for anything, but I also don’t think we’d miss a beat if we had to bring in a new guy, kind of like when we replaced Dillingham.

[GoDucksfan69]

Kind of curious, not a lot have mentioned it, but Stein down the stretch of the season kept the same plays all the time, seemed or felt like everyone knew what we were doing especially the Ohio state. Didn’t see a lot of new plays throughout the season which makes me question is he right for this team?

 

If he’s truly a genius as many have said then where is the new material, we should have had a great plan against Ohio state but it was the same ole play calling. Love my ducks just want to see better.

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 2/8/2025 at 5:54 PM, GoDucksfan69 said:

Kind of curious, not a lot have mentioned it, but Stein down the stretch of the season kept the same plays all the time, seemed or felt like everyone knew what we were doing especially the Ohio state. Didn’t see a lot of new plays throughout the season which makes me question is he right for this team?

 

If he’s truly a genius as many have said then where is the new material, we should have had a great plan against Ohio state but it was the same ole play calling. Love my ducks just want to see better.

We have discussed the purposeful and deliberate withholding of the offense for the Playoff often here...

 

Time for the Temporal Causality Time-Loop again, and the USS Bozeman!

 

 

[David Marsh]

On 2/7/2025 at 8:04 PM, Charles Fischer said:

As discussed many times...Gabriel got rid of the ball at the last instant a TON of times during the season.  In the Rose Bowl--he did not have the deep routes available, thus with receivers much more easily covered in the mid and short zones--the Ohio State defense was able to get to Dillon due to WRs not being open.

 

You know guys....if we want to keep doing this Star Trek Time-Loop continuously-CAN DO!

 

I'm expecting to see the USS Bozeman materialize soon...

 

And the solution in both cases is more DATA! 

 

[EastBayDuckDad]

This thread has pretty much run itself out but one thought keeps coming back to me: If WS was such a liability in the Rose Bowl, why was he under consideration by Ohio State to replace Kelly?

 

Maybe it was all blowing smoke to cover the elevation of Hartline to OC, but it was reported by several outlets and seemed legit.

 

Everyone is shocked and upset by the way Oregon's season ended. Plenty of 'blame' to go around but it was the perfect storm of bad for OBD with last second injuries and stellar adjustments and coaching by Bucknutt.

 

I for one want to see WS stay and build the next Heisman candidate with Moore

[30Duck]

On 2/9/2025 at 12:16 PM, EastBayDuckDad said:

 I for one want see WS stay and build the next Heisman with Moore.

  Or Moore.

[Charles Fischer]

I am going to save this thread, as I know that this is one of the topics that will get brought up all the time...."Why Oregon Lost in the Rose Bowl."

 

Other reasons than discussed above:

--Ohio State had a warm-up game the week before while Oregon sat out over three weeks.

--Oregon was screwed in the seeding process, and should not have been playing Ohio State until the semis or finals.

--Chip Kelly had a fantastic pass-route tree designed against our defense that worked wonderfully for them.

--The Buckeyes were on fire, as losing before to Oregon motivated them to play their best this second time.

 

The offense bailed out the defense in the B1G Championship against Penn State, but this time the defense did not help out the offense in the Rose Bowl.  Scoring 21 points is enough to win with, (See Wisconsin game) if the defense is playing well. But not on that day at the Rose Bowl.

 

I object to the complaints about Stein, (to get rid of him?) but certainly acknowledge that the offense should have been better.  I do believe the loss of Evan Stewart really altered what they could do, as shown in the first game between the teams. I do not believe that a DC should be fired over the first half either, as bad as it was. But we will need to be better in the future...

 

Nonetheless, we beat three teams in the Playoff, and beat four who finished in the Top-16 in the nation and finished with the least amount of losses of any CFB team.  A disappointing end, but a fantastic season that I will replay the tapes on for the next seven months.

 

Lanning has gone from three losses (10-3) to two losses (12-2) and then to one loss (13-1)....and that is a pretty good trendline, my Duck-Brothers and Sisters.

 

And on to Oregon's No. 12 Baseball team that begins on Friday!

 

 

 

[woundedknees]

Well said, Charles!

 

If the OBD had performed on D at the same same or somewhat better level than the previous game vs OSU2, er, 1 (they did win the NC), I'm not convinced that would have been enough, given the offensive performance in the second game.

 

Bucknut played arguably their best game of the season. 

 

Oregon didn't.

 

I saw plenty this season to give me continued hope for next year, and beyond.

 

I will now take my frustrations to the "Reading Room", and flush them with success (hopefully).

Edited Monday at 07:50 PM by woundedknees

[BigDog]

Just a thought... has anyone identified any new plays the Ducks ran in the rose bowl? I may have missed it but i don't recall reading anything about it. 

 

I only ask because it's been widely said that the play book was slowly opened or delayed because of the long season, which makes sense. 

 

I'd be curious of  changes made, really, by both sides of the ball if any.  Should anyone know of this analysis, please reference it.