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Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is some people's definition of insanity. You can take the existing playbook that has a lot of variety in it and call a very different game than Drew and Jay would have. Terminology issues can be solved with a decoder ring approach. Crash course, ready by Ohio State. Could still be a temporary gig.

AI could make quick work of a terminology decoder ring. Put a translator in the loop if you have to. If a guitarist can join a band in the middle of a world tour an OC can join mid season.

Wishful thinking on the part of the "burn it down" sect? I think the D has been demonstrating an ability to grow. It may benefit from minor tweaks, but a completely reboot/overhaul seems unreasonable at this point. It's obvious that a moderately serviceable offensive could result in a major boost.

The support staff migration is historically not unusual... Except at Oregon, prior to the ending of the Helfrich era.

Why would anyone think Hampton is being replaced? The defense has been pretty solid.

At least we know the playoffs won't get in the way🤪

While hiring a new Offensive Coordinator mid-season rarely works, bringing in a highly qualified outside analyst or two would be a massive win. Instead of a total system overhaul, fresh eyes could immediately help clarify exactly what isn’t working. They could provide the game-planning savvy and in-game adjustments this coaching staff clearly lacks. Sadly, there is zero indication that the front office is even considering this. When a system is fundamentally broken, you need objective, outside perspectives to diagnose the issues and find actionable fixes. Continuing with the same echo chamber isn't going to change the results.

Nowhere to go but up?

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? 😟

Johnson has been up in the booth sitting next to Mehringer the entire season.

I don't think developing QBs has died. I do think that development of QBs has largely been offloaded to other programs (like lower tier P4 or G6) and the richer programs take them through the transfer portal in year 3+.

Why do people think you can just bring in another play-caller from somewhere outside the program the week before a game, also Locksley or most other coaches would wait until the end of the year to join a staff. I don't think I've heard of anyone joining a staff midseason and starting to call plays right away. It makes no sense to bring someone in right now from out of the blue. Johnson is a stop gap for a season that is already over, it's not like he's going to get the job for next year.

DL knows he has to get this hire right and hopefully he's learned his lesson about performing a proper nationwide search for suitable candidates. I'm betting he's going over that list of guys he's met/watched over the years from the Saban/Norvell/Smart coaching trees but I hope Mullen is helping by hiring an outside firm to assist with the candidate search. I doubt we're going to get any clarity or see any public progress over the next few weeks. It's more important to get the hire right than getting a hire quickly. That being said, he doesn't have unlimited time. He probably has until December to announce a new hire.

I remember many of us here never cared for Stein at all and were even happy to see him leave. Little did we know... Maybe DL is just not that big of a magnet in the program? Scary thought that I hope to be wrong! Facing the biggest adversity of his tenure, now is the perfect time for him to show how good of of HC he really is.

Wow, the gamblers are nuts. I bet more people here will predict NW win this week...

How do you bring in a new person who would have no understanding of either the offense or personnel? There is no time to learn a new playbook. And if Dante isn't coming back, why take a risk on an only temporary position. DL needs time to ensure the next OC is the right one. And please stop with the bring back Chip hype! Yes, we have fond memories of those years, but he left us! I wish him well (maybe not this week) but there are better choices. DL has to go get one

Good insight, Desert Duck. I am like you - just don't get or enjoy this new age of CFB. Raiola getting paid $2M is insame and borderline criminal, judging from his performance so far. What happened to common sense nowadays? By the same token, cudos to AS Jr for sticking around so far. For that he deserves to get a chance to play and show what he can or can't do. If he can't deliever, the fault is more on the coaches for failing to develop him. Like you said, that's simply not their focus any more. Why do the hard work when someone else can buy your players and you can buy anyone's players?

Too bad most of those kids will have little to no education or self discipline ine the matters of money management. Many are doomed to struggle with that when "student athlete" begins to fade in the rear view mirror.

I remember saying I wanted more parity in college football. Well... I'm thinking about taking that back 😆

As disappointing as our coaches are at developing talents and calling plays, at least they have been good at ranking the pieces - clearly Moore > Raiola > Thomas. AS Jr is an unknown but judging from how the coaches tried to keep him off the field, we probably know the answer also. Same thing with coordinators too. Johnson's history looks more diasterous than Meh. So don't expect any turnaround in offensive production. The real question is how are we so unprepared for contingencies and why did we hire coaches that lesser programs fired?

Recruiting may be low on the wish list, if the candidate can put out a burning Tesla... Chip doesn't exactly have Recruiting Chops high on his resume, either. Too bad none of us can read CDL's mind to see what his priority rankings are, eh?

I posted earlier about the “old days,” when at Oregon, we almost always developed our own QBs. Today, no program can afford to wait to grow its own. I can be slow to the party, but with NIL and revenue sharing, the quarterback has become the pinnacle of the true free-agent market. The transfer portal is where many of these players will make more money than many will earn the rest of their lives. The pay curve is steep. At a top program, a backup earns around $1 million, and a highly recruited backup gets closer to $1.5-2 million (reportedly, Dylan gets $2 million). A starter makes $3–4 million, and elite transfers get $5–6.5 million (Dante $5 million). And the crazy thing is, when we look at the massive amount of money involved in CFB, they’re worth it – even worth the risk. It finally occurred to me that a talented backup QB can no longer afford to 'wait his turn.' Every season he sits can cost him millions, and his value drops. I have to remind myself that most of these kids making $1–3 million per year will never take a snap in the NFL. For them, this is payday (and this is true of all other positions... the numbers are just lower). There’s always been a transactional relationship in CFB between the institution and the players and coaches. But it’s now finally occurred to me that it is almost entirely transactional… and on steroids. Both the kids and the coaches have understandably entered the mercenary-portal. As I said, I can be a bit slow to the party. But it finally occurred to me today that the old path in CFB of truly developing QBs died a quiet death.

Indeed. That's what the announcement indicated. It is likely very difficult concentrating on an outside hire while dealing with a burning Tesla in the dumpster...