Haywarduck

"The Ducks Are A Team To Watch," music to my ears. Now if I can just hear, Oregon should be feared, then all is right! I think that is what has been missing over the last few years, other than fearing Oregon on the recruiting trail, Oregon hasn't deserved too much respect.

The premise of what Charles wrote is spot on. If you look at the military, the weapons are continually being created to defeat the defense. The development of armor is followed by weapons which can pierce the armor and then that is made illegal. This can be looked about the hurry up offense, and how teams, defenses said it should be illegal, but then innovated to learn to throttle the hurry up, even though it continues to be effective, at times. The big lesson is one must keep innovating. A truly innovative, executed offense makes a defense throw up their hands and give up. We want to see that. We do not want to wait, and wait for a defense to give up because they can't stop the pistol plunge, ever again. Innovate while executing, will get the fanbase back on their feet and the rest of the country saying Oregon is back, not boring. Lastly I would ask Dan Lanning to look to the past, not just in the track program. Give Brooks a call, and definitely look at Bellotti as an asset. Too often our society forgets it's past and just moves on. Our senior centers are full of wisdom and insight, sadly sitting idle. Bring Bellotti on as a consultant. Get some insights on how to play at the different stadiums, and so much more. Learn more about the decisions he made and why. Respect the past while building for the future. Something to think about, and something I am hopeful we will see!

Is that you Mario?

I would add, build it, don't just boast about it. Coach Lanning, the sincerity and willingness to come across straight is refreshing. If it looks like it is going to take a while, a few quarters, games, seasons, to get this done don't switch into telling us what we want to hear. I love hearing about how difficult something is going to be and then seeing somebody overdeliver. The opposite will drive this fanbase nuts. The Oregon fanbase has been through a long process to success. We can work through some tough times, with the bright yellow glow off in the distance. I will diverge from Charles charge that our DNA doesn't include a Georgia type defense, never settle for reasonable. If an elite defense is what you want, don't stop trying, change our DNA. Bring in the big bodies, the 5*'s and make it happen. I actually think the Pac-12 would buckle under a tough defense like Georgia. That is your difference from Riley down at sc. They will try and be all offense and you can destruct sc with defense and our offense. I mean 4 of our top 12 recruits all-time were on the defensive side of the ball this season. We lose Thibs, but you bring in Cyrus Moss, a few others and you are on your way. Don't give up on your dream, if that is the defense you had at Georgia! The main item is bring speed back to Oregon. Hopefully you have toured Hayward Field by now and talked to Robert Johnson. Create some synergies which had occurred between the track program and the football team. That is an amazing tool, use it. That is what the Oregon brand use to be, speed kills! Most importantly recruit and develop the skill players on offense. There is plenty of room in the Oregon Program for more Heisman's and National Championship Trophies. The sky is the limit while you are at Oregon, but keep your feet in Nike's and firmly planted on the ground!

Consistency does matter, especially for creating real teams. Teams are made up of a hierarchy of players who bring along the new guys. Coaches have expectations and the senior players bring along the new guys, quickening the learning process. This is why Chip was able to flourish and Mark was able to keep it going until his weaknesses overtook the process. Like I said in another thread it was amazing to see Utah start one qb in one scheme and then being able to pivot to another qb and a whole different scheme. That takes consistency in expectations so then the real coaching can take place. Student athlete know how to act, when to listen. Coaches know how to work well with each other. That is what we see with Utah and we use to see at Oregon. This is also why I think there may be some growing pains with the team being fairly young and full of new coaches. There will be a process of learning the systems and learning how to all work together. If it all works like clock work in the fist season, Lanning truly will be a magician. We will begin just like Mario left it, a team with a lot of talent, but little effective coaching. How long the process of getting effective coaching will be interesting to watch He is not taking over any processes or procedures from the previous coaches. He has to create them all, understand the program, the coaches, the players, and I am sure a million other things I nor anyone who hasn't done it, doesn't even begin to understand. This is a tall order for a new coach. We need to have high expectations, but understand the challenges.

Not sure we should have to compare the decisions of Mullens to Washington's AD to make him look good. He has done some good things, the dawgs on the other hand, are a dumpster fire. I will agree hindsight can make somebody feel pretty smart. I can also admit, that is often when I am at my best!

To be fair Hutson, Franklin and Thornton didn't get to see the ball tossed their way too often. I'm looking forward to a redo on that situation going forward!

I think Mullens biggest mistakes have been Helfrich's contract and the whole slick deal, with his contract too. There should have been a bigger buyout with slick. Mario made sure there was on with his contract. Mullens is an accountant, not a Human Resources expert. The accounting errors were his biggest mistakes and I hope he gets Lanning's contract correct. I hope he doesn't just follow the herd and leads on this one. Lanning contract should make sure Oregon is compensated even more as his contract extends. He isn't worth as much this year as he would be in 4 year with success. Be innovative and demanding Oregon is protected, longterm. I actually doubt he had too much to do with the Lanning hiring other than the contract, the financial side of it. There are smarter minds on this subject and also people who care greatly about the outcome. Going back to those who just following the herd, it could be much like Oregon did with their marijuana laws. We just followed what Washington did, you could only buy 1 pound a day. It was an absurd amount, but the safe way was just to do what others had done, don't blame me. Fortunately this was questioned and changed. I hope Mullens questions the buyout process and realizes if a coach says he wants to stay then incentivize his staying, and punish the leaving at the same rate. The salary goes up, so does the buyout. I would also like to see other ways we can assure the Oregon Football Program is protected from Lanning leaving us at an inopportune time. Maybe make the buyout double before the recruiting period is over, something, just earn you paycheck Mullens. We need commitment with better, smarter accountability.

My expectations are the coaches make the players better student athletes. What I was taken aback by was the discussion about the Utah football program. They started the season with one qb and a scheme designed for him. This didn't work out and they pivoted to design a new scheme for another qb. The switch was done in season and was successful. Oregon on the other hand seemed to try and stuff a scheme down the throat of players not necessarily ideal for the personnel. We didn't have the big bruising back and didn't pass enough to allow for an effective running game against good teams. We were lucky we had a qb who proved to be resilient, tough, and up to the running expectations. I don't expect so much as far as outcomes, wins, but I do expect progress, and good decisions. I am not sure our program is aligned with just seeing progress, they probably are now focused merely on wins. You're right about expectations, but what are those expectation focused on. Are we another program which can't accept a few hard fought losses, and the learning curve we undoubtedly will see? Times are a changing, expectations too.

While I hated the idea the program was beginning to be defined as merely a recruiting powerhouse, I also appreciated the effort. What Mario did in 4 years was impressive. From all indications what Dan Lanning is doing is equally or more impressive, as you make the case for. I think the scary part for me is will the Oregon faithful be too quick to define Dan as another Mario? Notre Dame has a young coach who arguably blew his bowl game. What if Dan shows his youthfulness, and makes mistakes which echo things we saw with Mario? Will the Oregon fans begin to boo Bo Nix, a three and out? We could definitely start the season 1-2, very easily. That would include to a team whose coach we didn't hire. Dan Lanning is going to give it his all. It is amazing to see him do two jobs right now, and pretty well. The question will be what kind of growing pains will he have as he takes over the head coaching duties? I am a little concerned there is no one with head coaching experience within this staff. I know there will be a learning curve, but the Oregon fanbase has proven it isn't as patient as it once was. I hope Dan comes up with 10 plus wins out of the gate, but the real question is what if he doesn't? Can the Oregon Football Program get behind a coach who seems to be putting the program behind where a coach they questioned was. I agree I am excited about everyone thing I hear out of the Dan Lanning era. The problem is the rubber really hits the road once the season starts. We are no longer happy to win the recruiting wars, or just win 10 games. That fascination is over, the program expects big things, now.

Oregon and sc have stepped up and done what was needed to stay, become competitive. It is now on the commissioner to make it economically viable for both teams to continue to spend this way. If the commissioner can't get a tv contract to help, or lead the conference out of the mess larry left us in then Oregon and sc may have to leave. It is pure economics. Coaches leave for more money, better situations, so will programs. We see it all over the rest of college football, why would it be different here? The next move is for George to show he has what it takes to lead the conference. If he doesn't show he can lead, then programs might start leading, leaving, stay tuned.

A coaching commitment goes both ways. If we sour on Dan or had on Mario then door would swing the other way. It isn't just the coach who can pull the trigger. I don't have a problem with coaches leaving Oregon as long as they leave it in better condition than when they came. Chip left Oregon in great shape, although his recommendation of Helfrich didn't work out. Helfrich then left Oregon in a mess. Taggart left Oregon on the edge of chaos. We were fortunate we were able to have backed off from that cliff. Mario leaves Oregon in much better shape than when he took over, kudos to him. Dan Lanning job is to keep building and make sure the Oregon Football Program continues it's rise up the ladder of football programs. Does he owe us a lifetime commitment, no. I think he owes us at least 3 years, maybe 4. There should be a massive buyout at least until year 4. I would say his buyout should grow through year 4. If he has success at Oregon then he becomes more valuable, because we helped him get there. Maybe after 4 years the buyout begins to tail off, he has give us the commitment to build the program. From then on it is more about each being happy with each other. If we are real about it then after year 4 we start the discussion about his commitment and an exit strategy. He needs to have an assistant ready to be head coach. Maybe it is naive to think we should plan for Dan to leave, but something should be done to help ensure we don't endure another scenario we have seen repeatedly. The problem in this whole formula is what if Dan becomes Mark, can't lead the team? I suppose we just owe him the $29ish million 6 year contract. It is a risk we had to take. The big question is what is the commitment, on both sides? I don't think it has to be what Mario tried to sell us on, or even what Dan seems to indicate. I do think there are commitments, what should they be, how should it be structured?

Well done Utah, a hard fought game where you came up just short, but not on effort. A very enjoyable game to watch and Utah deserved to win, but just didn't have the horses to get it done.

We hired his dad, impressive, but it would have been a pretty big let down not to get this kid. The coach poaching is already paying off!

The win streak is 12, so 10 more straight would put us at 13, and then we would be on the verge of the overall lead. We would need some help like we did for Utah this year to excelerate the time frame. Hopefully in our lifetimes!

Just another coach, and probably the one who best epitomizes, the arrogance Oregon Head coaches have had when they leave the program. Oregon Head coaches look to their dream jobs, while the job they had was the best one they could have ever dreamt of. We just keep moving onward and forward. It is amazing to see the coach Lanning is and the assistants he is putting together. Oregon is, again, landing firmly on their feet, while the program gets stronger.

Not sure if anyone knows the origin of the husky, which is really just a little Alaskan Malamute? The husky is from Siberia, I suppose the program is just headed back to their mascots homeland. Has to be tough to live in husky land, now. Only 10 more straight wins and we can break the win record streak. Then onward to flipping the series lead.

I will try and stay positive,

If you look at Lanning's defense, he has a very large mobile DT. Jordan Davis is an experienced large body, just what Tamani is and would be for Oregon. As we saw this season the more good defensive players the better. Great move by the new staff, and love sticking it to the dawgs!

I think we can, and I am intrigued by Oregon's focus on making our defense as good as our offense. Since Leavitt was given his huge contract the Oregon Football Program has been committed to making our defense perform more like, or like Georgia's. Now with the hiring of Dan Lanning we have gone all in on creating a defense which can compete against anyone. Preceding Lanning we hired Avalos, and then Deruyter, both big time hires we never saw in the past. Avalos is now a head coach, something which never happened to our DC's. Lanning is just the logical next step in the commitment the program is making to the defense. In the past our defense has been there for the offense to pick off the best talent, whether it was Jeff Maehl, or Kenyon Barner. The offense took whoever they wanted and the DC was expected to scrape together a competitive squad. This past year we even saw one of our best offensive players play defense, TE Johnson playing well at DE. I think we will continue to see a commitment to our defensive players, and a focus on this talent with Lanning as head coach. The biggest question still, can Oregon bring back the offense which is critical to compete at the highest level. That is the side of the ball which has been decimated by the previous coach. I actually think that will be easier as Oregon still in known for offensive innovation, that wasn't completely destroyed. I think we can and will. The focus is there, and it will be interesting to see it happen. Our defense will be the difference in how we compete against sc, and ultimately in the playoff.

Utah, pardon the pun, is on a mission. I give them a very good chance to cover the spread, 4.5 points and therefore win the game. I hope they do, as their story is much more compelling than Tosu's ever is.

I am one who would have been happy to have had Mario stay. This would have been an indication he meant what he said. I also think Mario could have won bigger if he had what he worshiped at Alabama. At Alabama he had Derrick Henry, Kamara (who transferred) and TJ Yeldon, all NFL backs on the same team. I am also very grateful for the assistant coaches, who are in limbo and gave great effort to Mario and the program. Much like the amazing coaches who were cut when Helfrich was let go, they are just victims of the whims of the head coach they believed in. We should all be even more grateful to the coaches who were left, on the side of the road.

I have no problem thanking those who helped us. I give great thanks to FSU. I can also compliment Mario and Miami. I have a real problem giving slick too much credit, as the whole character of that guy was one big flaw. I fully admit, the way he left gives me a reaction that isn't healthy, but I am ok with that, and grateful FishDuck gives me a place to vent that. I won't go into specifics, but his complete lack of integrity bothers me greatly. I can agree, we should move on.

Jim Rome use to say, "have a take, and don't suck," not a bad way to look at it. You need to have a take, not just a rant, or something which has been stated repeatedly, not worth reading. You also can't suck, there has to be material meaning to what you say, back it up. Your take should be on point. If you don't like how Mario ran the program, be specific. If that includes the fact he lied, be specific. Quote where he lied. Maybe have and a take and don't suck is too harsh, but maybe it explains how people feel when they read a rant or just something which has been stated over and over and over.

I think there is a saying, it isn't the filling of the bucket, but the lighting of the fire which creates greatness. I give Mastro credit for filling the bucket, we now need somebody who can light the fire and help create greatness. The pistol plunge put out any flame, and there was very little smoke left in the RB room at the time. Fortunately that has ended, and I look forward to the dynamic development of these young men and the addition of more!