Oregon breeds great play callers. Dillingham and Stein are just two of the recent great ones. Like Dillingham, there is a great chance Stein gets a P4 job this off-season.

The openings thus far are UCLA and Virginia Tech. There will be more, possibly Arkansas, Florida, and Kentucky. As Oregon fans, which opening concerns you or makes the most sense for him? I think UCLA and Virginia Tech have major internal issues. Kentucky is allocating about 70 percent of their budget to basketball. Virginia Tech is bottom six in ACC NIL right now. UCLA has an apathetic fanbases in LA where there are about a hundred other things the people care about before they think about UCLA.

That leaves Arkansas and Florida. I would prefer Stein over Lane Kiffin, but there's a high chance Kiffin gets the job. He's got an explosive offense and we love offense at Florida. We love big personality and brashness. Kiffin has the second, I think he's a jerk without any of the likeable assets Spurrier had.

Which leads us to Arkansas. I really don't have an opinion about them. I know they began investing in basketball, so my question is can they support both sports?

I wouldn't go to VA Tech right now. They simply don't have the resources to compete in a portal/NIL world.

Arkansas does and I seriously doubt any SEC school would other than UK would neglect football for basketball.

That could be a great landing place if he does leave UO.

Hopefully one more year before that happens, but I think when you hire great assistants, especially offensive and defensive coordinators, you have to be ready to lose them to head coaching jobs.

There are certainly a number of great young OCs out there who would love to be at Oregon next year.

Arkansas footbal has been a graveyard for head coaches the last 25 years.

We know that different teams would want Stein to be their HC. What we don't know is what Stein wants.

Before DL came to Oregon, he definitely wanted to be a HC. He even had his notebook of hot young coaches that he wanted to recruit to join him. One of the things that he said when he got here is that he didn't want to take just any head coaching job. He wanted to go someplace where he could win a national championship. He didn't want a stepping stone. He wanted a destination.

He wanted a place where he could settle down and raise his family. He didn't want to be moving them around every few years. His actions over the last 3+ years have proven that this was his intent.

DL stated that he was willing to stay at Georgia until this type of job opened up for him. Then the Oregon job came open. I wouldn't be surprised if DL called up Oregon and told them he wanted to apply for the job.

Dillingham wanted to eventually be the HC at ASU. That is why he left after only one year at Oregon. If it wasn't for the fact that ASU came calling three years ago, Dillingham might still be a Duck.

Back to Stein. What does he want? Does he want to take just any P4 job? or does he want to go where there is enough support, or at least the possibility of drumming up enough support, for competing at the highest level?

What I'm saying is that Stein might want to stay at Oregon until the right job opens up, not just any job. He has a pretty good job now. Maybe he wants to slip on a championship ring before he leaves. That would get him some really good job offers... and it might not be a very long wait.

So, I am not going to worry or even think about Stein leaving until it happens. Rumors will always fly. I don't need to get caught up in them. When/If Stein leaves, I trust DL will find an adequate replacement, hopefully someone who will also be as successful leading the QB room.

Very good points. I guess for a guy raising a family he must look at everything included. Guaranteed salary, resources, recruiting capabilities, how much freedom to build and retain staff. One of the reasons I didn't put Oklahoma State on this list is due to many of those issues.

Luke Fickell had it made at Cincy, he was able to use his Ohio roots to bring in kids. He is on the hot seat at Wisconsin because he has been trying to be what Wisconsin wants him to be. It's just not a fit imo. Same thing with Scott Frost at Nebraska. He said he felt pressured to go there and tried to please everyone.

Mark Helfrich tried to do things and match what Chip Kelly did. The pressure to keep Oregon at that level ultimately was too much.

There are places you can win National Titles at. If you have a coach that you know can't do that , it's obvious he's not going to succeed. At Kentucky you can win right games and be great, that gets you fired at Florida. Lane Kiffin knows the ceiling is higher at Florida than Ole Miss. The leash is also much shorter, but he wants the prestige.

What is the happy medium at Arkansas? Houston Nutt had some fun teams. Bobby Petrino got them to a Sugar Bowl. Can you win a title at Arkansas?

Arkansas is probably capable of making a surprise run at getting into the SEC title game, I probably would say they would struggle to maintain any amount of success over a long period. They have good facilities, that isn't an issue, but it seems to be difficult to recruit there. It's probably the closest to being a basketball school as anyone outside of Kentucky. When I think about Arkansas sports it's more Nolan Richardson than Houston Nutt or Petrino.

Is Kiffin really going to leave Ole Miss? He has a pretty good thing going there.

If Stein is offered the Florida job, I would imagine he would be all over that. That is a Top 10 job IMO

4 minutes ago, GeotechDuck said:

Is Kiffin really going to leave Ole Miss? He has a pretty good thing going there.

If Stein is offered the Florida job, I would imagine he would be all over that. That is a Top 10 job IMO

If offered, Kiffin would be off to Gainsville before you could say: Hotty Toddy. It would be Lane's 3rd SEC job. Florida has won national championships and has the resources and the homegrown high school talent to do so again.

I don't see anyone without head coaching experience at the Power-4 level getting the gig. Napier moved on up from Louisiana U and hasn't done the job.

The Arkansas AD, before this week's loss to Memphis, noted that the Hogs do not have the resources to be the SEC's champion in football.😧But, after losing to memphis it would be just like Arkansas to beat Notre Dame on Saturday.

I think Will Stein has a much better chance of being offered a job in the Big Ten or with a Texas located B12 school, Baylor perhaps, than an SEC job.

Would Florida choose Will Stein over Jedd Fisch, who is a Florida alumnus with P4 head coaching experience?

Would they hop aboard the Lane Train if Fisch is available?

If Florida were to hire Fisch, would the UW be interested in Stein, and vice versa?

Listening to coach Stein talk, I think he wants to stay at Oregon for at least a few more years.

But a connection with a Texas school makes sense.

3 hours ago, GeotechDuck said:

Is Kiffin really going to leave Ole Miss? He has a pretty good thing going there.

Kiffin vocally said he wanted the Oregon job in 2022. He wants to go somewhere that will support his pursuit of a National Title. Ole Miss doesn't seem to be giving him everything he wants or needs. (Or maybe they are but he can't put it together.)

I was on the Kiffin train at the time because I didn't know who else could elevate the program. SUPER happy we got Dan Lanning but at the time none of us knew about him.

Arkansas loves their offense under Petrino. They may give him a second turn at running their program if they can’t lure Rhett Lashley away from SMU. Gus is also a possibility but I doubt he would come back to head coaching.

Taking the Florida job is like being married to Liz Taylor. The media will be a constant presence in your life, you will go through 2-3 years of hell and end up with severe anxiety, but in the end you will be paid handsomely to leave quietly. However, your reputation and self esteem will be in the gutter. In other words, it’s a perfect job for Kiffin.

More on the pig slop that is Arkansas.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/misery-index-after-arkansas-ads-brutal-reality-check-about-program-hogs-show-its-actually-worse-with-stunning-collapse-04132585

Petrino, fired for consorting with and giving an SEC coed a job with the athletic department.

Ark told Petrino to repair his cycle, get his motor running, and head on down the highway.

🤪A Hugh Freeze-like return to the SEC, where IT just means more, and no one gives a whip about yesterday's IT?

If Stein were to depart, I'm convinced Lanning would settle for "Adequate ", spiced with a healthy side of KICKASS...

Will Muschanp was seen as a successor to Mack Brown at Texas before Urban retired for a second time before 2011. He was seen as a defensive guru that could recruit. He is a Georgia native and never understood the Florida way. He couldn't build an offense to save his life.

Jim McElwain was the head coach at Colorado State. He was with Alabama as their offensive coordinator when Saban won his first title there. He actually led Florida to a couple of SEC East division titles, but they got blown out both times by Alabama. He didn't understand the culture and severed ties to a lot of Florida high school coaches.

Dan Mullen was the best coach Mississippi State in their history. He led them to a number one rating for one week and beat Nick Saban. He was the offensive coordinator under Urban for those two title winning squads. He understood the culture and developed Kyle Trask into a Heisman finalist in 2020. He won a couple NY6 bowls to go with ten wins. But he hated recruiting, choosing to get guys he could develop instead. The problem is that was never going to be good enough to beat Georgia, Alabama or LSU.

Whoever the next coach is will need to be an offensive mind, he'll need to recruit and develop bonds with the high school coaches in the state. Billy Napier has actually rebuilt those ties, but his stubbornness in not hiring an OC is what is causing his downfall. He fired his defensive coordinator before last year and you see the results. But for some reason he thinks he is the man to call plays and it's just awful.

Urban and Steve knew they needed a dynamic offensive coordinator that understood the offenses, but also could throw in a few new wrinkles. It's quite ironic that Billy can't see that as he said at his introductory press conference that he came to Florida because the program gave him the resources to have one of the largest staffs in college football.

Jedd Fisch and Lane Kiffin are likely the two leading candidates. Of the two I would prefer Fisch. He is a Florida guy, I just don't know if he has the big profile the fanbase is clamoring for.

The Texas connection to Will Stein is interesting. I don't see one of the big Texas programs needing a coach. But maybe a Washington if Fisch leaves. Maybe Wisconsin even? What if Iowa comes open? You can't get much more security than Iowa.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by GatOrlando

2 hours ago, DanLduck said:

Listening to coach Stein talk, I think he wants to stay at Oregon for at least a few more years.

This makes sense to me, or what I WANT to read. I really think Stein LIKES being an OC, and I don't know if he has a hankering to leave for HC soon. At Oregon...he is always going to have great players, and it will be fun to score boatloads of points. Does he really want the intense pressure of recruiting at the HC level yet? Someone as good as he is....will always have HC shots now, and in the future.

Might he wait for his alma-mater opening at Louisville to occur?

Some Oregon HOF for Coaches...

4 hours ago, Triphibius said:

would the UW be interested in Stein

Unfortunately I think they would jump all over him, and if I'm being honest would probably be a good fit for him. I hate even saying this but UW has a lot of the same things as UO has going for it.

If you're going to move into the head coaching position, you want to move to a place that will give you some time and support not just send you off to the guillotine after losing a couple of big games.

I'm sure Fayetteville and Gainesville are lovely college town but one of the fancy Seattle suburbs could be a nice place to raise a family. Couple that with a chance to win a national championship and decent fan support if I was him I'd take that over an SEC Job.

4 hours ago, DanLduck said:

Listening to coach Stein talk, I think he wants to stay at Oregon for at least a few more years.

But a connection with a Texas school makes sense.

Not Texas, but close. I think the Oklahoma State job will open up, and to win there, you have to recruit Texas.

Baylor's had two tough losses this season: to Auburn in Week 1 and last Saturday to ASU. I think Dave Aranda is good for at least one more season. But Aranda was a D coach at Wisconsin when the Badgers won with D and its run game. When Fickel is fired, Aranda, if Baylor goes 9-3, could be in the mix for the Badgers' job.

Lots of coaching dominoes if Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Florida jobs come open. If Florida offers the job to Lane Kiffin, which I think is a real possibility, in addition to Ole Miss, other jobs could open in the SEC.

Mark Stoops' buyout at Kentucky is large, but many Kentucky fans are ready for him to go. Clark Lea has Vandy competing in every game the Commodores play. Lea's a Vandy alum, but he has a chance to earn more money if he takes a different job in the SEC. Jeff Lebby has Mississippi State playing much better in his second season in Starkville and is paid 'only' $4.5 million a year.

It's all good in Norman, Oklahoma, today, but the Sooners were the beneficiary of two bad calls against Auburn, beat Auburn by seven points, and have not been able to run the ball. Mateer is exciting, but his QB Efficiency ranking is not top-tier.

After blowing out Kent State this coming Saturday, Oklahoma has the rivalry game vs. Texas, plays Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU at home, and plays South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama on the road. Long-time AD Castiglione hired Brent Venables and is retiring after this season. Oklahoma will be five-0, but those last seven games?

Unless Dan Mullen, 4-0 at UNLV, wants badly to be back in the Power 4 and takes the UCLA job, if offered, I see UCLA and OK State as the two most likely to hire P4 assistant coaches or G6 head coaches.

I believe we'll see a lot more coaching changes in 2025 than last season.

Pants Penn State!