The Pac-12’s best this year was no match for the Alabama. The Huskies boasted an impressive defense – it held Alabama about 150 yards shy of its average per game production – but the Tide controlled the game after Washington’s second series. While the Pac-12 has made two of the three semi-finals under the current regime, there was barely restrained …
The sudden yet not totally unexpected firing of former head coach Mark Helfrich means more uncertainty for the Ducks’ 2017 recruiting class. With the Pac-12 North schools of Washington, Washington State, and Stanford all looking stronger, Oregon has to step up its recruiting strategy. The looming question for this Oregon team is what to do about the defense. How does Willie Taggart recruit players to a defense that …
In the past I’ve frequently criticized peoples’ attaching far too much importance to the defensive front used by a team — and several other schematic suggestions. “It’s not important WHAT you do, but HOW well you do it” has been my standard axiom. Well … that’s not always true. An offense could run nothing but “perfect” QB Sneaks for the …
The change of coaching staff has brought about an unexpected vibe beyond what I could have imagined (it figures since being a season ticket holder for 30 years), as I am used to coaching continuity at Oregon, and clearly not used to wholesale change. Oh sure — I anticipated the excitement of the unknown and the hopes of Oregon football …
WARNINGS: 1. Most of this article involves “speculation” – some coaches named might eventually have nothing to do with Oregon football. 2. All of the speculated coaches’ names were stolen from the incredible research of Justin Hopkins at 24/7, Duck Territory. 3. This article is being written Wednesday morning, December 21. By the time it’s printed and/or you read it, …
Remember the announcement recently: I will continue to write as will a few other writers, but we will only be running two or three articles per week. Sign up for the newsletter above so you won’t miss any of my or the GOC’s articles, and to make sure you don’t miss upcoming videos! –Charles Fischer It was fun in yesterday’s …
The Grizzled Ol’ Coach was on a roll, as he was extolling the credentials of the defensive coaches that new Oregon Head Coach Willie Taggart has assembled for Oregon, and those who are rumored to join the staff shortly. The GOC (Mike Morris) was very excited about Jim Leavitt becoming Defensive Coordinator, as he felt that the strengths of Leavitt matched …
It just hit me from out of the blue, and this revelation would significantly impact Oregon football. You see I was pondering about how the press conference is over and everybody’s had a chance to express their feelings about the new head coach for the Ducks. Coach Willie Taggart is on the road recruiting without any assistant coaches until today, …
Watching this college football season play out, be it Oregon‘s collapse or the rise of teams like Washington and Nebraska, I was reminded that there have always been two ways of looking at the world. In the west, where monotheistic religions (Christianity and Judaism) are the most common, we traditionally believe that time is linear: a one-way progression of history. …
Mr. FishDuck asked me to have some fun and have a speculative look at whom Willie Taggart’s new Oregon coaching staff might include from his current staff at the University of South Florida. This is definitely going to be fun for me as the naming of each new assistant – whether I saw it coming or whether it’s a big surprise …
I have been wrestling with this thought for the last couple of days and want to see what other Oregon fans are thinking and feeling: how hard will this rebuild at Oregon for new Head Coach Willie Taggart going to be? I am not talking about getting to eight wins, but winning a conference championship and having a shot at …
Charles Fischer asked me to share my thoughts about what to expect from teams coached by P.J. Fleck and Willie Taggart. While obviously what follows is almost pure speculation, there “could” be some interesting differences. Willie Taggart already has in place at South Florida what I would consider an “All-Star” offensive staff. Their resumes are far too lengthy for me …