With the retirement of Nick Saban, I got to thinking about which program, if any, will replace Alabama as the school that rehabilitates formerly disgraced head coaches and resurrects their careers. Saban’s two biggest “clients,” Steve Sarkisian and Lane Kiffin, have become successful at their latest stops.
A big-time potential patient for career rehabilitation would be Lincoln Riley. I foresee him following the career path of Chip Kelly and going from coaching an underperforming LA school to being an offensive coordinator at a blue-blood program. Perhaps at a place like Georgia, where Kirby Smart, a Saban disciple, now carries the mantle as the best coach in college football.
But, there is another Saban/Smart disciple who will continually be losing coordinators due to his high level of success. Would Dan Lanning hire a Lincoln Riley-type figure at some point? With Riley’s huge buyout (around $80-90 million) I do not see it happening when Oregon’s offensive coordinator Will Stein moves on. But, perhaps Stein’s successor? Nobody questions Riley’s offensive prowess.
One thing is for sure, top-notch programs do not keep coordinators for very long. For Oregon fans, the days of keeping a coaching staff intact for three decades as the Ducks did under Rich Brooks, Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly are long gone.
The Ducks are now on the coordinator carousel.
This Week
The Ducks travel to Michigan and the Big House for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. They will take on the highly defensive, yet offensively challenged Wolverines. It is a game that the Ducks should clearly win, but we might start to see if the extensive travel and time zone changes take their toll on Oregon in its first year in the B1G Conference.
The Ducks’ defense has been spectacular. (Photo by Craig Strobeck)
Checking the conference schedule, we are in luck, as at 9 a.m. Oregon fans can enjoy the opening act of Ohio State at Penn State in a matchup of a potential B1G championship game opponent for the Ducks.
Ohio State is tough, as they played the Ducks down to the wire at Autzen Stadium. Penn State has yet to play a top-tier team with their “biggest” wins against USC (33-30), Illinois (21-7) and Wisconsin (28-13). So, the country will really see what the Nittany Lions are made of.
The Change in Coaching Changes
Three coaching changes this past year that had significant “interest” from Oregon fans would be Kalen Deboer to Alabama, Jedd Fisch to Washington and Sherrone Moore promoted at Michigan. These are three programs that made the four-team college football playoff last year, and the three programs that are struggling in 2024. Massive player turnover is a key reason, and in this new era of NIL, that turnover is on steroids as players leave in high numbers after a coaching change.
It got me thinking about when Chip Kelly left Oregon after the 2012 season. Mark Helfrich proved to be no Kelly, but he was able to ride out the Kelly success for two years, keeping key players and coaching staff, which culminated in an appearance in the 2014 National Championship Game.
If NIL had existed when Kelly left, it makes me wonder if Marcus Mariota and other foundational pieces would have stayed. Of course, Oregon could have brought in good transfers on their own, but, that was before Oregon became a recruiting powerhouse and the destination it is today. Oregon was still seen by many as a gimmicky school with crazy uniforms.
Would be great to hear your thoughts.
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Craig Strobeck
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.