Dazed’s New OC Candidate List for the Oregon Ducks

[EzDucksIt]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:21 PM, Feathers said:

Spot on, Happy.  You nailed it!  One thing seldom mentioned by those who attribute error to coaches calling plays is that the QB often changes the play on the field, or at least makes a decision to pull the ball from an RB during the mesh and run it himself.  Nix did that late in the CW.

Ball Bounces.  So many things happening but did you See the Great Game, The Beavers pulled "a Ducking of the Cougars", WOW!  Turn about is fair play.  You can go on about how Oregon lost it, DL, KD blew it but think about it. . . WSU up and OREGON turns 29 points in less than 4 minutes.  Lightning in the bottle moments.  Love it.  GO DUCKS!

[Feathers]

As to “bad decisions” by DL to go for it on 4th down at the 29, and 34 yard lines it’s hard to disagree in retrospect when the play failed.  But, the decision to punt when the punt was blocked, and when the.punter dropped the ball didn’t turn out so well either.  I’m not saying the decision to punt was wrong, but emphasizing that it’s not necessarily a coaching decision that leads to a failed play.

 

The whole concept of “but for the coach’s decision everything would have gone better and the game would have been won” just doesn’t hold up.  The player errors on two failed punt attempts were obvious.  There just may have been player errors that were primarily responsible for the failure of the two 4th down attempts.  Fans who default to blaming the coach are not considering all of the possibilities.

[chrisjenn99]

As far as Marion, it seems he'd fit better as an OC for Dilly at ASU, since they have ties.
Hartline is an interesting pick.  He could pull some big time WRs to go along with Moore (if he should commit)
Ruggiero is a no for me, simply because I can't stand the Slow Mesh.
Dan Mullen hates recruiting.
 

I guess that leaves Riley & Herman.  I'd probably prefer Reilly, although that negates getting someone with experience to help Lanning.

In the end though.  Lanning has shown to prefer people he has an established relationship with.  Not sure if any of these qualify.

[EzDucksIt]

Man I am getting OLD, went back through and saw some conversations I missed.  Some were Great while others made me think, ponder, Mullensitover.  One that caught my eye the second time had to do with Phil being the Boss of Mullens.

 

No one will deny, that Phil and Penny Knight have made the conditions at Oregon to be more attractive to talented athletes, coaches and staff with their extremely generous contributions over the years.

 

The old story I heard goes like this, correct me if I am wrong.  Phil Knight approached Coach Bellotti after a loss and asked him how could, as an alumni, help to get involved.  To legally support the schools football program.  Bellotti, mentioned upgrading facilities, an indoor practice facility protected from the Oregon weather.

 

Phil has been known to catch an ear of an AD, HC's and School Presidents and not just at Oregon.  Phil built his business from the trunk of his car.  Carrying track shoes and a waffle iron, as the story goes.

 

His father was a Lawyer turned News Paper Publisher of the long defunct Oregon Journal.  His father refused to give him a summer job believing that his son should find work on his own.  (per Wikipedia)  So a self made man.  I believe a man like that, expects the winners to figure it out, while keeping their ears open.

[Frank Abignail JR]

On 11/28/2022 at 3:05 AM, FishDuck Article said:

Now that Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham has moved on to become the head coach at Arizona State, the question of finding his replacement exists. I’m keen for going the veteran route with this hire. Someone who has been a head coach, with lots of time as an Offensive Coordinator, and who can be a voice of wisdom for Dan Lanning. ...

 

Dazed's New OC Candidate List for the Oregon Ducks

FISHDUCK.COM

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Now that Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham has moved on to become the head coach at Arizona State, the question of finding his replacement...

DK was 2 decades ago. I prefer someone connected with this era and who can recruit. Not a retread.  Blue Chip recruits nationally would probably think Dirk is someone's grandad.

[Frank Abignail JR]

On 11/28/2022 at 9:36 PM, DazeNconfused said:

That's not how it works man. Mullens is part of the Admin.

His job is be the steward of the program and protect the Oregon Brand. To call him the "accountant" isn't fair.

 

Mullens isn't going to let Lanning hire Art Briles as OC and bring his baggage to Oregon and tarnish the Brand. He probably wouldn't even hire his son Kendal Briles as the OC because he was at Baylor under his dad and the stink is on him as well. 

 

The USC Prez Carol Folt put the brakes on the Urban Meyer hire because of his baggage.

 

Admin runs these schools and the football coach isn't a God. 

 

Mullens hired Lanning and he can fire him tomorrow if he wants. That's how much weight Mullens swings as the AD.

 

Mullens and his staff have vetted every hire Lanning has made and will vet the next OC on any level they please

 

Mullens has to be involved after Taggart hired Oderinde. Every great administrator conducts oversight. Not doing so is negligence. 

[DazeNconfused]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:13 PM, cartm25 said:

I wasn’t fair to Mullens. He’s the accountant AND the HR background check (i.e., veto power in EXTREME circumstances). He should make sure assistant coaching hires work financially and that they pass a background check; no more, no less.

 

Mullens SHOULD NOT be the assistant coach talent and fit evaluator/selector. The AD/President hire the Head Coach to RUN the DAY-TO-DAY operations of the program.

 

You rightly point out Mullens’ involvement in vetting. VETTING and SELECTING are different.

 

Dan Lanning SELECTS the candidates and the Pres./AD/HC VET the candidates. Check to make sure they aren’t criminals or slime-balls that will embarrass the University.

 

BUT, if Mullens approaches Dan Lanning and either rejects DL’s OC candidates, or provides a handpicked list of his own for DL to choose from, so he can give DL a “mentor” (i.e., babysitter), IMO, that’s insulting and backwards.

 

Dan Lanning’s first OC hire was a home run and he should be trusted to make another great OC hire.

 

Where DL truly deserves some heat is for the Ducks’ defensive performance; the foundational reason the Ducks aren’t 11-1 right now.

Dude we are going to disagree. There is plenty of history of ADs telling head coaches to make a staff change or hire a more Vet OC or DC. GM's in the NFL do the same thing!

 

That doesn't mean the AD or GM hand pick a list for the head coach. But you can take it to the bank they tell them the direction that they want him to go. 

For example - Clay Helton was in the hot seat at USC - the AD told him to fire his DC and OC. He went and got Todd Orlando and Kliff Kingsbury for two days. 

 

ADs have told inexperienced head coaches you can't hire a first time play caller - period. They've told head coaches who have promoted from within a OC or DC who bombed that they got to fire him, and get an experienced one. 

 

It's not out of line for Mullens if he wanted to tell Lanning he can't hire a first time play caller as his OC. Mullens could tell him he doesn't want the risk of a unproven play caller, he wants a Vet OC. He could also tell Lanning he wants an OC that doesn't need time watching over so Lanning can focus on his defense. So Lanning would have two choices, go get a VET OC or step down.

 

Why do you think a head coach like Mike Ditka wanted all player personnel power when he came back to coaching in the NFL for the Saints? He'd swung enough pull to get it but he did poorly like when he traded his whole draft away for Ricky Williiams. 

 

ADs dont hand pick lists for a head coach - but they can set the direction that they go. Does the AD at Bama tell Saban what direction to go? No.

 

But Lanning and other young coaches, or coaches on the Hot Seat get told by ADs what direction to go, or they are told to fire an OC or DC. If the AD wants the head coach to change the direction of the program he tells him. 

 

All ADs unless they retire will move onto another AD job some day and need to show they were a good steward of the program they were at. If your defense is about dead last in FBS then the AD has every right to tell the coach to get  new DC or get out. 

 

Will Mullens tell Lanning what direction to go with the OC hire? Who knows, but if he does it's something that happens all the time.

 

If I was Mullens I'd tell Lanning to go get a VET play caller onto this staff because I want some older wisdom and leadership in the mix. period. There are over a dozen OCs Lanning can pick from to hire to fit that bill. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by DazeNconfused

[DazeNconfused]

On 11/28/2022 at 11:51 PM, EzDucksIt said:

Man I am getting OLD, went back through and saw some conversations I missed.  Some were Great while others made me think, ponder, Mullensitover.  One that caught my eye the second time had to do with Phil being the Boss of Mullens.

 

No one will deny, that Phil and Penny Knight have made the conditions at Oregon to be more attractive to talented athletes, coaches and staff with their extremely generous contributions over the years.

 

The old story I heard goes like this, correct me if I am wrong.  Phil Knight approached Coach Bellotti after a loss and asked him how could, as an alumni, help to get involved.  To legally support the schools football program.  Bellotti, mentioned upgrading facilities, an indoor practice facility protected from the Oregon weather.

 

Phil has been known to catch an ear of an AD, HC's and School Presidents and not just at Oregon.  Phil built his business from the trunk of his car.  Carrying track shoes and a waffle iron, as the story goes.

 

His father was a Lawyer turned News Paper Publisher of the long defunct Oregon Journal.  His father refused to give him a summer job believing that his son should find work on his own.  (per Wikipedia)  So a self made man.  I believe a man like that, expects the winners to figure it out, while keeping their ears open.

I think Phil and the other major donors could make a stink and get Mullens fired pretty quick if they ever felt it was warranted. Money rules college football - and they are a lot of money. Mullens is much easier to replace than the big donors.

Edited November 29, 2022 by DazeNconfused

[DUCati855]

On 11/28/2022 at 9:38 PM, HappyToBeADuck said:

DazeNconfused your writing is always informative, thought provoking and gives us much to ponder. Thank you and all those that comment.

 

My personal thoughts since i read your article at 5 am and have digested almost 50 diverse comments moves me in a different direction...

I have read much from both of you (DazeNconfused and HappyToBeADuck) and respect both of your opinions.

 

I must say on this one... I have to agree with HappyToBeADuck. 

 

Dan Lanning in his first year was impressive to me. He took a VERY young group of men, made them a team, and put them in position to be within 7 point of the CFP. His decision making was great 99% of the time. If the last two losses happened to Utah and UCLA everyone would be 100% fine with it. But, since it happened to our two rivals many have their pitchforks out. Like it or not, I feel all Duck fans need to admit that THE HUSKIES AND THE BEAVERS ARE ON THE RISE. They are not the same teams we kicked around for the last 20 years. We must accept that. Once we do we will recognize these loses do not look nearly as bad.

 

We lost to Washington because Bo got hurt and Ty made a bad read on fourth down. Yes, I wish DL would have put Bo in. But, seeing Bo hobble around for two weeks tells me he likely doesn't make that play either.

 

If you want to blame one play for the OSU game... blame Bo for keeping the ball and trying to hobble for the first down. He should have handed that ball off to the RB with the open right side. But, (IMO) that game did not come down to one play. That game came down to the defense. A defense that had its best 6 quarters of the year in a row and then let it go to their YOUNG, BIG, HEADS and collapsed. That is youth. That is culture. That is not bad in game decision by DL. Should it be addressed? Of course! Will it be? DL has proven all year that it will be.

 

I for one want another exciting OC that is willing to take chances. 

[12Duck72]

Great comments from everyone on this thread. It's great to read different opinions. I will just say to those who are killing coach for the 4th down decisions is that you're right but it's not why Oregon lost those games. As others have pointed out the Ducks scored more than enough to win those games even by today's standard. 

 

The problem has always been the defense. That's where my disappointment falls. All year it's been a race to outscore their opponents with opposing players having career games. If the Ducks had an AVERAGE defense they would be 11-1 with the Georgia game being a lot closer. You want to give the coaches heat? Give it to them for that.

 

As for an OC candidate. Maybe Joe Brady is available? He did pretty well at LSU.