In a month where not too much has gone right for the Oregon Ducks, some good news landed on our airstrip with the announcement that Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu were both coming back next season. This, combined with an almost too easy win over Oregon State
Just another run of the mill Civil War.
and the news that Huskies Head Coach Steve Sarkisian had accepted a promotion to USC made this week better than a few of the other recent weeks.
But I am nothing, if not helpful. If and when I am asked to weigh in on the coaching search in Montlake, I just might have some ideas.
1. The Huskies have a very young team: If you don’t believe me, just ask them. They’ll be glad to tell you all day long how young they are. That said, I think that a coach with a track record of relating to young people would be just the right fit for the Huskies. Combine relatability with the musical prowess that former Coach Neuheisel offered and you have a winning formula. That’s why my first choice would be someone who already knows their stupid song.
2. The Huskies Need to Make a Big Splash: With their feelers hurt because USC fans wanted a “Big Name” and the Huskies were sure that Sarkisian was one, Washington needs to make some waves with their next hire. Former assistant Doug Nussmeier isn’t a big enough name. Neither is current defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. There really is only one coach that could provide the splash the the Huskies need.
Husky Head Coach, Daryl Hannah
3. The Huskies Deserve a Proven Winner: Of course they do. Captain .500 has left the building and is now in Los Angeles. It’s been longer than most of us have been alive since the Huskies were a national power and, doggone it, that’s right where they ought to be. Who better than someone who has shown that he can lead teams right to the top of the mountain.
Might be a good idea not to ask Coach Petrino why his face is all cut up.
4. The Huskies Want to Play Traditional Offense, Because Oregon Runs a “Gimmick.” That’s true. The Huskies and their traditional offense is a much better way to get players into the pros than those “system backs” that come out of Oregon.
LaMichael James
Kenjon Barner
LaGarrette Blount
What was I saying again?
Oh yes, a traditional coach is what is needed at a school with as much storied tradition as the Huskies have, or at least that’s the “story” they are peddling.
“Let’s dig up Old Bo and prop him up on the sideline,” said the Tyee Club.
When it’s all said and done, the Huskies will get their man (or their mermaid) and put a team on the field that is full of hype and hope next September.
And then the Ducks will crush them again.
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Kim Hastings is a 1984 graduate of Northwest Christian College. He cut his journalistic teeth as sports editor of a paper in his home town of Fortuna, CA, and, later as a columnist for the Longview Daily News in Longview, WA.
He saw his first Oregon game in 1977 and never missed a home game from 1981 until a bout with pneumonia cut his streak short in 1997. He was one of the proud 3200 on a bitterly cold night in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1989 for the Independence Bowl, and continues to be big supporter of Oregon sports. He is an active participant on the various Oregon Ducks messageboards as “TacomaDuck.”