Haywarduck

I actually think Chip was pretty good at all three while at Oregon. With a little help in recruiting he could have taken us over the hump, almost did. The big item I am speaking to is being the CEO, probably the biggest job, if they can step away from being a control freak. I think this was the downfall of both Cristobal and Chip. They became control freaks and couldn't delegate important roles. I think the culture of the coaches, players and program is the most critical part. Taking control and then guiding the program strongly is the hidden part we don't often see. Chip did this very well, Bellotti did it very well for a long time, but it wained. We see this in corporations, schools and many places. The leader, whether quietly, or loudly can make or break an organization by how he/she leads. I am just wondering what dynamic Lanning will have with this element. What type of leadership will he provide with the Oregon Football Program and can he provide the strong leadership a program like ours needs?

Agree, if you stand still the competition just moves further away. I haven't seen too many moves by George to help shore up the conference. Fortunately Oregon and sc have done their part. One item I don't get is the obsession with starting our games earlier. The NFL has late games which have very high viewership. What we need is a quality product. I agree a diverse product would help too. Bringing in schools from Texas and other states would help. I do admit I don't get the whole tv contract structure. It would seem if the Pac-12 puts a compelling product on the fields the tv contract will be an easy sell.

What is it which makes the best head coach come game day? What type of coach can you count on to have his players ready to play every Saturday, and maybe even the second Monday in January. I ask this question because with a young coach it may be hard to establish the principles within a program to help them succeed. Most of us were fooled by Mario. He sounded like THE head coach. I remember people talking about how he just had the presence and said the right things, just felt like a head coach. As we know, words can be hollow and a look can be deceiving. He did have one of the elements, he brought the talent, recruited well. I think Chip Kelly defined himself as a great coach when he suspended Blount for the punch against Hout in the Boise State game. From that moment on the players new CK meant business and he was in charge. He would make the tough decisions and also had the best interest of the players in mind. They both feared and loved CK from that moment on. He also had the scheme and got some important talent to work with. That culture continued under Helfrich, but once the trained players were off the team, it all fell apart. Helfrich could certainly scheme, although his ‘go for 2 obsession’ was a flaw. The problem, he couldn’t recruit, and most importantly he couldn’t continue, nor grow the culture. It didn’t take long to see he wasn’t did have it, the ability to lead players, build the culture needed. Compare that era to Mario’s handling of the airsoft gun incident, and it is a stark contrast. Mario stumbled and just let DJ James and Jamal Hill back on the team with no evident program discipline. Even if it was symbolic, discipline coming from the top is incredibly important so the players know who is in charge, and what the expectations are. The team seemed to see that as a free pass to act and play on the field as they wanted. Not everyone, but the margin players see this and react accordingly. It then infects the whole program. The penalties, and mistakes under Cristobal were too plentiful. I remember in the OSU game in 2020 when there were missed blocks and nothing was said, or done to fix it. Same seemed to happen with penalties too often. There was the famous dressing down of Hutson, but that wasn’t the norm, and may have just been an indication Cristobal’s discipline was an achilles heal. You practice what you see on game day. Cristobal seemed too in love with being the student athletes friend, rather than the tough mentor, and creating the culture of winning. The big question is does Lanning have the behind the scenes act to instill that type of relationship with the players. I say behind the scenes because I fully admit I don’t know exactly what happens over 90% of the time. We get to see small signs and sometimes big events, but the culture of the team is formed over many interactions. Will Lanning grab this team by the heart and soul, and make them a great team? The Ohio State program tries to create a winning culture with their black stripe, actually an Urban Meyer tradition. The upper classmen teach the freshman how to act, and the freshman work to lose the black stripe. It is a much anticipated tradition within the program. It would seem Day isn’t instilling the same intensity with this tradition. Maybe he will, but maybe he is struggling with being a first time head coach. It is easy to see the relationship Saban and Belichick have with their players. The players both love and fear them. They know the coaches have their best interests in mind, but the players have to prove they have the best interest of the team each and every day. If the player doesn’t earn the trust of these coaches they don’t play. It is also a long, tough road to earn that trust. We may see the same struggle with Lanning, but he has no inherited tradition to help him instill the discipline needed to create a dominant program. Maybe he will have something he has learned along the way. Slick had the supposed earn a low number, but that was never really used. It will be interesting to watch what he does over the weeks, months and years of his tenure. Lanning seems to say the right things. Fortunately we have seen half of a team he has coached, The Georgia Defense, and they seemed to have had it. If what we see with the Georgia defense extends to what we will see on Rich Brooks Field, then all will be good. It will be interesting to see if his leadership of the bulldog defense extends to leading a complete program. That is the million dollar question, and could become the 8 figure question in the future.

I wrote a bit about this I may put it out there soon. I agree it is the culture a coach creates which is critical. The way a coach deals with the student athletes, the relationship he has with the players is paramount, and under appreciated.

Weren't the dawgs predicted to go undefeated last year, just saying. The proof of a return is still a ways off. The preseason hype, still there.

I want to see the Dana Altman Formula happens within the Football Program. Not only do we need to see development of student athletes, but we need to see a progression in the execution of the scheme. If Oregon loses early, and stumbles, what is important is they build as the season progresses. We can call for wins or point totals, but what we really want is to finish strong. The program will be built off of how we finish the season. Winning bowl games, and impressing recruits is where it is at. If we finish strong with multiple early losses I will be extremely happy. If we are erratic and never establish an identity then I will be disappointed. I would be pleased with the Altman Formula, but I really want to be excited about the Lanning formula. That formula will be exposed as the season progresses. The schedule will impact the play of the team. What I want to see is the impact of the coaches and the leadership on the field on the progression of the Oregon Football Program. I want to hear the pundits say you don't want to play Oregon at the end of the season. I also want to see more precision out of the players, and excitement for continued development of what we see on the field. The wins will come.

Your right, saves me the time leading up the award committee. Love what the family did for Oregon, but playing for the trojans takes them out of the running for an award with their name on it.

I will also say there are a lot of people who complain and make excuses. We don't want to give them too much attention or they will just keep believing the nonsense. The reason Jonathan Steward came to Oregon was because they were and are terrible. They need to take care of their own house, and can't. That is the root of the whole problem up north.

I hope he has a career day against the Ducks. The guy deserves to go out with a great performance. I would love to see a duck break into the trojan single season top ten rushing records, wouldn't that be a hoot! I will agree the rest of the trojans can rot in, well you get the idea.

He says he is going home, he should know he has two homes now. Oregon will always be his second home. I would also say he is going to work for the trojans. He went to college and graduated from Oregon, he is now moving on to make a life with his wife. Something many of us did. Thank you and best of luck with the next chapters in your life.

Seeing Tyner play against us as a beaver was like watching a cousin playing against us. Watching Dye as a trojan play against us will be like watching a son. I accept it, but don't like it, and I still love the guy!

I think many of the data points up to this point seem to confirm our bias, thinking. We wonder if we are right, and seek information which confirms those beliefs. It seems Mario is making it easy on us, for now. I will say it isn't over, but Mario is struggling out of the gate, but an $80 million struggle, not too bad.

The guiding principle has to be putting the student in front of the athlete in college football, as stated in the article. If the decision making process going forward is to benefit the students then this disaster can be mitigated. For too long the NCAA, the coaches and really the fans have benefited more than the student athletes. The athlete had become a tool to make lots of money for the entities involved, and create great joy for the fans. The NIL we are seeing is a reaction to that equation. The equation is changing to where the athlete benefits more. The problem is they are really only benefiting financially, short term. Somehow the formula needs to create a way the student benefits as they leave the school better prepared for the life ahead. I think one of the secrets of the Oregon Football Program has been the Jacqua Center and the rehabilitation facilities. Students are impressed and parents impressed and it hits a parent right where they are with their child. We, as a program, need to continue to be right where the parent and student is. If we take care of the student and parents concerns better than other programs the athletes will come and the program will benefit. One thing we can not do is focus more on the athlete than the student going forward. Oregon will benefit from leading on this issue, and those who go the opposite direction may benefit in the short term, but they will lose in the long run. We need to play the long game on this one.

It is interesting coach's would come to Oregon under slick, Mario and Dan Lanning, but not for Mario at Miami. Something has shifted, and it doesn't smell right. The odor coming out of that $80 million dollar package is starting to make one wonder.

And I hope Mr. Dye stays on for the ride.

Wow, now you got me thinking about betting! Green Bay at Lambeau seems like a slam dunk. Bitter cold and windy, seems like a bit of an advantage. I also like the Rams, but there is the Brady factor. My heart pulls me towards Cincinnati, but that wouldn't be a smart bet. I suppose I should just ask my wife which uniforms she likes. Seems like the best scientific method from what I know.

My take, it is only for entertainment value. If it doesn't add to the entertainment, there is no value. This is a great take if one wants to take on betting, but as was stated about the NIL, money is the root of all evil, and it is at least a path there.

I appreciate what he has done for the Oregon Football Program so far. Whatever his choice, it won't take anything away from the past. We all have to make touch choices, which benefit ourselves most, good for him. I hope it works out for him in the end.

Develop!

I have no doubt there is a double standard, but it doesn't mean either side should cross that line. I am glad a coach can't act like Bobby Knight use to.

This is the first indicator to confirm our bias. I expect more to come, but maybe this will be the one that pushes Mario to wake up and realize this weakness. We all wanted to believe Mario would wake up, have that aha moment, but we never saw it. Miami better hope this next OC isn't the desperate idiot Charles seems to think is destined for the job. My bet is he just raises up Mastro to the OC position. Mastro already knows the drill and seems to be in lock step with the Mario program. In that scenario if they get the big bruiser NFL RB it just might be enough to fool the hurricane faithful at least as long as many of us were hoodwinked into maintaining our hopes and dreams for Mario's era. I tend to think it will be the culture problem down in Miami he will have a problem with. The kids from the big cities will have much less patience for his sales pitch, bait and switch act. Mario fell into a perfect situation at Oregon, he won't have that anymore.

Seems like there is a plethora of untapped potential in Texas. Many program pulling the lower talent out of that state and having great success, go Dan go!

Action does speak louder than words. A picture also speaks louder than words, what does this mean?

Money making money is a beautiful thing. People obsessing over making money is an ugly thing. If a young person can understand the importance of the first and the problems of the second they will be way ahead of the game. The game of money is just that, you have to learn to play it too. The goal of everyone should be to have money making money, and be able to step away from focusing on individually making money. I am not talking about getting to the point where SS just gives you a check. I find it amazing this lesson isn't taught more explicitly. It is an absolute, you will work for money until money starts working for you, pretty simple.