So the Ducks have another disjointed football recruiting year? Lovely. Last year, the new staff and did the best they could in a short period of time and put together a great class, but this year was set up to be an epic LOI (Letter of Intent) day in February. After looking at the fall-out of verbal commits and considering …
This has been quite the season for Oregon football. Huge up and down swings in emotion, wins and loses. One word can be used to describe it: Tumultuous The Justin Herbert injury was catastrophic, as was the shoulder injury to the greatest running back in UO history, Royce Freeman. Losing players like Charles Nelson for several key games like ASU, UCLA and WSU, prevented …
I have to admit that, despite his status as a Duck alum, I’ve never been a huge fan of Cal head coach Justin Wilcox. But that all changed last week. And it changed for reasons that may not make sense to anyone but me. Nevertheless, I feel these reasons are important, and worth sharing, as they go beyond the game of football. I remember …
This is a tale about three head football coaches. They lived and were raised in a state they loved. Energetic, intelligent and highly motivated, these coaches have demonstrated an ability to turn football programs from losers to winners. In a desire to return home and be head coaches in their favorite state, the roads they traveled to get there tells …
My friends, you would think I would be wiser after having my head handed to me from my last ill-fated prediction about a coach. But I’ve been gathering some data and some thoughts, and while I would love to end up 50/50 on my coaching predictions, it may not happen. Yet … it could. Let’s look at some reasonable aspects …
Thank goodness Willie Taggart left. As soon as the rumors started to swirl that he might leave for Florida State, I started hoping he would leave. Taggart’s initial handling of the rumors indicated that he was going to leave Oregon at the first opportunity (even if that didn’t end up being FSU). That would mean instability year after year until …
Eugene and Duck fans are wallowing in shock, anger and despair with the departure of head football coach Willie Taggart. Right now the future of Oregon football as a major player rests in the hands of the athletic director, who was taken to the shed by the one-and-done coach. Rob Mullen’s announcement that co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Mario …
It was not that much different than 10 months ago when I heard Coach Mario Cristobal speak at Oregon’s recruiting luncheon in February. I came away impressed. I was motivated from his energy, his aura that shouts, “winner.” I remember writing back then that I was so enthused, that this old former offensive lineman was ready to leap out of …
It is rightly said that adversity brings opportunity. And when you are a cutting edge, forward thinking, innovation spewing machine like the University of Oregon, you don’t let adversity bring you down, you let it propel you to greater things. Beloved Ducks, there shall be no further whining and crying about the decision of Willie Taggart to leave. After all, …
This week has been a gut punch to the University of Oregon and its community. I know as well as any just how tough things have been with Willie Taggart deciding to take the Florida State head coaching position. I have defended Taggart a good number of times in my articles this season. I’ve defended his play-calling when it was …
Boy have I got egg on my face. I sincerely believed the facts I presented last night, as reasons for Willie Taggart to stay at Oregon but alas, it was not to be. Was it simply moving back to Florida, was it family as Brent Pennington brought up, or was it money? Unlike the ending of his article–I have a …
I wrote in the comments at 3:00 PM on Saturday, and I am more convinced, (75% to 25%) that Coach Willie Taggart will stay at Oregon. To some, the events of this last afternoon swirling in social media does not appear that way, but let me give you my reasons why I believe he will stay. (It is only fitting …