I know. He was fined. It was not politically correct. It was even against the rules. But it was honest, and it was the truth. Just as Nick Aliotti intimated (well, spouted off, actually), during garbage time of last year’s Oregon/Washington State game Wazoo coach Mike Leach should have been working on his running game instead of scoring two passing …
Chip Kelly didn’t just bring his offensive scheme with him to the Philadelphia Eagles. For the second time in his coaching career, he changed a 4-3 base defense to his 3-4 scheme. To ease this transition in Year 2, Kelly drafted a player in the fifth round who he relied on during the defensive scheme change at Oregon: defensive lineman …
The Oregon football team has begun their annual Spring practice period, and will be breaking in a new Defensive Coordinator for the first time since 1999. The now-retired Nick Aliotti had been a part of the Duck football landscape off and on since 1978. He was on the sidelines when the Gang Green defense roamed the Autzen turf and when …
Months away from the start of the season, one of the things that tide us over is our love for the Ducks. Throughout the off season, we remember great games, plays and quoteables, as well as looking forward to what the new season will bring. We remember the tailgating and gameday house parties of this last year, we shop for …
The University of Oregon announced this week that former player and long-time assistant coach Don Pellum would be taking over as Defensive Coordinator. This following the recent retirement of even longer time coach Nick Aliotti. All Ducks fans wish Coach Pellum the very best of luck in what we hope will be a long and successful tenure running Oregon’s defense. …
Football Recruiting News Former Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti’s final stand at the Alamo Bowl gave Southwest superbeast Trey Lealaimatafao (3-Star/San Antonio, TX) a reason to think through his options. Lealaimatafao had been previously committed to Texas until this past November and recently named Oregon as the favorite to land his unique skill-set. “I really like the coaches at Oregon and …
Football Recruiting Oregon put a capper on a season of change Monday night with a 30-7 drubbing of Texas. While defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti’s departure dominated the Duck story lines, the fashion in which Oregon dismantled the storied program from the southwest, breathes new life into the late reaches of the 2013-14 recruiting cycle. Now officially the offseason, defensive backs …
The Oregon Ducks currently have one of the most seasoned coaching staffs in college football. Position coaches such as Gary Campbell and Steve Greatwood, for example, have been on Oregon’s staff for more than 25 years. Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti was a huge part of that experience, having spent more than 20 years himself as an assistant coach in Eugene. With Aliotti’s …
Knowing the right time to leave is a sign of a professional, and at the same time is never an easy task. No one wants to walk away when they are up, hoping to sustain those highs as long as possible. Conversely, no one wants to walk away when they are down, always assuming that their fortunes will reverse …
Kevin Cline Football Recruiting Visits Entering the twilight of the 2014 recruiting cycle, Oregon has made no bones about an unshakable desire to keep their tabbed recruits. Now in mid-December, Oregon’s list of commits sits at 15 with several “still at-large” preps shoring up the final stages of their recruitment. This past weekend, longtime Oregon defensive back target Mattrell McGraw …
Kevin Cline Half of the nation’s top-10 teams were idle this weekend, but Florida State made sure the BCS standings stayed in flux with their convincing win over undefeated Miami. It was an exciting calm before this week’s highly-anticipated storm of elite match-ups. Alabama remained in the top spot at No. 1 for the third edition of this seasons rankings, but the …
Craig Strobeck We’ll cut to the chase: 1. Gary Campbell is a coaching superhero. Forget all about Thor, Ironman or Tony Robbins, I want running backs coach Campbell as my life coach and mentor. Remember those early season complaints that Byron Marshall didn’t have the vision, patience or explosion to stay ahead of Thomas Tyner on the depth chart? I predicted …