The Oregon Ducks have hired Coach Tim DeRuyter to fill their vacant defensive coordinator position. Coach DeRuyter has spent the last four seasons as DC for the California Golden Bears, where his defensive units have given the rest of the Pac-12 headaches. He took over what was the 127th nationally ranked scoring defense the year before he arrived in Berkeley, …
Coach Boles: My Top Five Candidates to Become Oregon’s DC
Now that it’s official, and Coach Andy Avalos is set to become the new head coach of Boise State, I first want to thank him for his two seasons as the Oregon Ducks’ defensive coordinator. Coach Avalos took the Oregon defense to heights that it had not seen in quite some time, all within a couple years. Congratulations, Coach Avalos. It …
10 Candidates to Replace Andy Avalos as Defensive Coordinator
Another year, another coordinator search. The idea of replacing coordinators every two or three years isn’t an enjoyable one for most Ducks fans, as they long for the days of decades-long staff continuity, but it’s the reality of having a great staff. Coach Mario Cristobal has done a tremendous job building Oregon’s staff. These coaches aren’t leaving the program for …
The Joe Moorhead Offense: The Devastating MESH WHEEL Play
A few weeks back, I wrote about the possibility of seeing a specific play from Coach Brennan Marion’s highly praised GoGo offense. Though we’ve yet to see the Oregon Ducks implement the two-back look of the GoGo, we did get to see Coach Joe Moorhead’s take on the Mesh Wheel concept against the Washington State Cougars with the kind of results …
The GoGo Offense: Mesh Wheel Concept
The idea of the Oregon Ducks perhaps adding the GoGo offense is an exciting one. As we’ve learned from Coach Mosier and Mr. FishDuck the last couple days, the GoGo is an offense that can give defenses all kinds of fits. Though the GoGo can apply substantial pressure in the run game through its unique, twin-back formations, that pressure makes …
The Oregon Offense: The Powerful Moorhead ISO Play
One good thing about an extended off-season is we get to learn more about the new offense Coach Joe Moorhead has brought to Oregon before seeing it in action. Okay, not exactly a great consolation prize: we want to see it now! Hey, I’m just trying to make lemonade here. Today’s flavor: coach Moorhead’s ISO play. The ISO–or as some …
The Joe Moorhead Offense: The Hitch Concept
For most of the off-season, we have been examining what makes Coach Joe Moorhead’s offense go. For the past couple of months we’ve focused on his passing attack, and today we’ll dig even deeper into that aspect of the offense and learn a bit about Coach Moorhead’s “hitch” concept. It’s well documented that Coach Moorhead likes to stretch a …
Coach Joe Moorhead’s Switch Concept
We touched on the idea a couple times this offseason that the biggest difference between the 2019 Ducks offense and the one to come in 2020 will be by way of the passing game. It’s no secret that Coach Joe Moorhead likes to push the ball vertically downfield, as evident in his fade smash concept that we covered a couple …
Joe Moorhead’s New Offense: Introducing the Smash Fade Concept
Something we have heard throughout the offseason is that the biggest changes Joe Moorhead will bring to the Oregon offense are in the passing game. Coach Moorhead hasn’t been shy about pushing the ball down the field at any of his previous stops, and that looks to continue with the Oregon Ducks. One concept that highlights the new offensive coordinator’s propensity …
The Pistol: Just a Formation or an Entire Offense?
There’s been speculation about just how much, if at all, the pistol will or should be used by the 2020 Oregon Ducks’ offense. A few have hoped that the pistol will be mothballed with the introduction of Coach Joe Moorhead as offensive coordinator. But if the few spring practices that Oregon was able to complete is any indication, Coach Mario …
The Joe Moorhead Offense: The “Duo” Run Play
Sometimes in football, the best plays are the most simple plays. That just happens to be the case for a run scheme called “duo.” Coach Joe Moorhead has utilized the duo concept during his time with the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He will almost certainly bring the play to the Oregon Ducks offense. Duo is also …
Joe Moorhead’s Portland Concept
In one of his first interviews as Oregon’s new offensive coordinator, Coach Joe Moorhead touched on some of the similarities between his and the 2019 Ducks’ run game. He also mentioned that the most obvious differences in scheme would be in the passing game. The new Ducks air attack will be rooted in the West Coast pass concepts that Coach …