Lake fires OC

[DuckMastaFunk]

Has Helf ever succeeded without Chip Kelly? The NCG was with Chip’s system/playbook and Chip’s recruits. Before Chi he didn’t do much and after Chip he didn’t do much.

I mean, he did take a team to the NCG whether it was his recruits or not, so yeah, he can coach. Nobody ever complained about his game-planning or game-calling abilities. He just couldn't recruit and it sounds like he couldn't control the locker room over time. Phalanx just said he'd be a good interim coach if the need arose, and there's really no reason to disagree with that.

Hard to complain about something he didn’t do. Helf didn’t call games at Oregon. Chip didn’t trust him enough to give up playcalling duties and Frost and Lubick called plays after that.
Helf is a really good dude, an outstanding QB coach, and by all accounts, very intelligent, however, let’s not build him up into something he is not.

[GrantDuck]

It was building, but last night was the tipping point for their fanbase.

The crazy part is, there's a ton of sour grapes from Fuskie twitter about how they should have won that game last night.

They're lucky Oregon didn't win 41-6, honestly.

Yeah, Lake said they had Oregon 'on the ropes' in the post-game presser.

Helfrich was actually a candidate before they hired Donovan, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop up again. I wish he was with Oregon - would love to see an Oregonian in that role, especially one that we already know could take over as interim head coach if Mario decided to bolt. Probably a burnt bridge though.

Has Helf ever succeeded as OC without Chip Kelly? The NCG was with Chip’s system/playbook and Chip’s recruits. Before Chip he didn’t do much and after Chip he didn’t do much.

Helf as a QB coach - different story.

Not particularly, BUT he was more or less the OC as the HC and those offenses were every bit as good as Chip's.

As others have mentioned, it was the recruiting drop off combined with losing the locker room and culture after Marcus left.

Which is also what makes Lake such a Helfrich 2.0, the defense is still pretty good there.

[pezsez1]

Helf is a really good dude, an outstanding QB coach, and by all accounts, very intelligent, however, let’s not build him up into something he is not.

My bad, you're right, he didn't call plays. But he was still the CEO and responsible for the product on the field, which was quite good. I'm also certain he had heavy input on what transpired on the field and occasionally made key decisions on playcalling. That's what coaches do.

I also think Helfrich doesn't get enough credit for the year before the NCG when he kept the team from completely bottoming out after Mariota got hurt and the team took a few losses. He managed to get a bowl win that year and then keep the team focused enough for a natty run -- which probably would have been successful if not for the patented Oregon injury bug.

A good long-term coach? Nope, that didn't work once and we all saw it. He needed Chip's recruits because he sucked at recruiting, and his recruits generally weren't the right kind of player to sustain the program's excellence. But a good interim coach in a pinch? Yes, and there's no good reason to disagree with that. You'd be lucky to do better in an interim situation.

[jimmy12]

It was building, but last night was the tipping point for their fanbase.

The crazy part is, there's a ton of sour grapes from Fuskie twitter about how they should have won that game last night.

They're lucky Oregon didn't win 41-6, honestly.

Yeah, Lake said they had Oregon 'on the ropes' in the post-game presser.

Helfrich was actually a candidate before they hired Donovan, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop up again. I wish he was with Oregon - would love to see an Oregonian in that role, especially one that we already know could take over as interim head coach if Mario decided to bolt. Probably a burnt bridge though.

uhhhmm - no thanks. I mean a hard no thanks. you saw what he did to Oregon last time. That was 12 months out from a natty. Interim or not, I pass. Analyst sure. That's about it.

[Phalanx]

Yeah, Lake said they had Oregon 'on the ropes' in the post-game presser.

Helfrich was actually a candidate before they hired Donovan, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop up again. I wish he was with Oregon - would love to see an Oregonian in that role, especially one that we already know could take over as interim head coach if Mario decided to bolt. Probably a burnt bridge though.

uhhhmm - no thanks. I mean a hard no thanks. you saw what he did to Oregon last time. That was 12 months out from a natty. Interim or not, I pass. Analyst sure. That's about it.

No, I guess I missed it. What did he do? Was the offense bad last time? Do we have a better recruiter at O.C. now?

Someone brought up Helfich's lack of play-calling experience, and I admit I hadn't considered that. From everywhere I read, Helf was heavily involved in play development wherever he went, and he was either O.C. or head coach for most of the glory years of Oregon football. In terms of running Oregon's current offense, I feel like even Helf could handle alternating between screen passes and running between the tackles. Is it harder than it looks?

[Phalanx]

Sorry, I couldn't wait for the answer to my question, so I looked it up:

Chip as O.C

2007 Offense - 467.5 Y/G
2008 Offense - 484.8 Y/G

Helfrich as O.C

2009 Offense - 412 Y/G
2010 Offense - 530.7 Y/G
2011 Offense - 522.8 Y/G
2012 Offense - 537.4 Y/G

Helfrich as Head Coach

2013 Offense - 565 Y/G
2014 Offense - 547 Y/G
2015 Offense - 538.2 Y/G
2016 Offense - 491.7 Y/G

Mario as Co-Offensive Coordinator

2017 Offense - 440.9 Y/G

Mario as Head Coach

2018 Offense - 427.2 Y/G
2019 Offense - 433.1 Y/G
2020 Offense - 412.9 Y/G
2021 Offense - 441.3 Y/G

Okay, sorry for interrupting. Go on with what you were saying about what Helfrich did to the offense last time.

[jimmy12]

Sorry, I couldn't wait for the answer to my question, so I looked it up:

Chip as O.C

2007 Offense - 467.5 Y/G
2008 Offense - 484.8 Y/G

Helfrich as O.C

2009 Offense - 412 Y/G
2010 Offense - 530.7 Y/G
2011 Offense - 522.8 Y/G
2012 Offense - 537.4 Y/G

Helfrich as Head Coach

2013 Offense - 565 Y/G
2014 Offense - 547 Y/G
2015 Offense - 538.2 Y/G
2016 Offense - 491.7 Y/G

Mario as Co-Offensive Coordinator

2017 Offense - 440.9 Y/G

Mario as Head Coach

2018 Offense - 427.2 Y/G
2019 Offense - 433.1 Y/G
2020 Offense - 412.9 Y/G
2021 Offense - 441.3 Y/G

Okay, sorry for interrupting. Go on with what you were saying about what Helfrich did to the offense last time.

Walk me through how you can compare the two when neither call plays?

I would rather have Coach Moorhead as an interim.

Helf tanked the program in 12 months. Nice guy, sure. Offensive mind, debatable.

He's NOT exactly in high demand as a coach in the college ranks. So, if you're asking me whether we should hire him for anything more than an analyst, my comment stands. Do I want him as interim, absolutely not.

[Phalanx]

Walk me through how you can compare the two when neither call plays?

I would rather have Coach Moorhead as an interim.

Helf tanked the program in 12 months. Nice guy, sure. Offensive mind, debatable.

He's NOT exactly in high demand as a coach in the college ranks. So, if you're asking me whether we should hire him for anything more than an analyst, my comment stands. Do I want him as interim, absolutely not.

I looked in your post, but I couldn't find an answer to my question. Let me ask again: I said I wish Helfrich could come back as the Offensive Coordinator, and you said I saw what he did last time to Oregon's offense, so I posted what he did last time to Oregon's offense, and what Oregon's offense does now. Since I am unable to figure out what you are talking about based on tangible results, I asked you to explain what you meant. Can you?

[pezsez1]

Helf tanked the program in 12 months. Nice guy, sure. Offensive mind, debatable.

He actually tanked the program in 24-36 months -- more on the 24 side if you consider his lack of recruiting -- but he also found us Justin Herbert who carried us to a Rose Bowl in MC's first year. But the general agreement here is that Helfrich wasn't a good fit as a permanent coach.

Interim coaches aren't permanent -- they're temporary. They simply finish whichever season they're in when they become the interim. (The Oregon AD is not one to drag its feet on making permanent hires, and we all know that Helfrich would never be promoted to head coach again.)

Helfrich would be a great interim coach. And yes, he's a gifted offensive coach. He designed Chip's plays and oversaw some arguable improvements after Chip left.

I think we're only debating this because we're bored. I don't think there's any chance of Cristobal hiring Helfrich onto his staff. JM is doing a good job with what he has, and Helfrich doesn't seem to fit the Cristobal culture. But yeah, if, in an alternate reality, Cristobal fired JM and hired Helf as his OC, then got fired for something midway through the next season, I highly doubt the Ducks would miss a beat with Helfrich in charge. (We might even see an improvement with more aggressive playcalling.) The program's ongoing success would mostly depend on the AD making a quick, quality hire who could maintain recruiting momentum.

But yeah, I think we're all bored, and I don't really care. I'm excited for the WSU game and wish it were tomorrow.

[lukeyrid13]

Helf would work as an analyst for this staff but nothing more.

[StevensTechU]

This thread taking a turn to talk about Helfrich as potential interim coach at Oregon is not something I saw coming.

I hope he doesn't go to uw. Schematically, he's fantastic. Maybe he'd still fail because he can't recruit particularly well, but that didn't hold him back from getting some quality dudes at Oregon in spite of their rankings.

[lukeyrid13]

This thread taking a turn to talk about Helfrich as potential interim coach at Oregon is not something I saw coming.

I hope he doesn't go to uw. Schematically, he's fantastic. Maybe he'd still fail because he can't recruit particularly well, but that didn't hold him back from getting some quality dudes at Oregon in spite of their rankings.

Helf is a great offensive mind, but hasn't called plays in 14 years. It would be a risky hire IMO.

[Phalanx]

It sounds like Helf has called plays in spots, like the Bears' training camp a few years ago. I'm just not sure that's as big a deal as people are making out. In any case, he was a candidate last time the Huskies were hiring at O.C. and I would really hate to see him get hired there, because I think he would bring some offensive prowess to a team that has been lacking in that area for some time. It's funny that my comment in passing about wishing Helfrich could be O.C. here caused some people to launch into their narrative about him as head coach, like the bit about what a bad recruiter he was. Besides the fact that Mario was still starting mostly Helfrich recruits and winning the Rose Bowl a couple years later, there is the fact that out current O.C. does little or no recruiting now and nobody bats an eye.

Also, Helfrich is widely known as a developer of quarterbacks. Interesting that this very skill is a massive weak point of the current staff. Remember when we used to rip on Helf for having no QB pipeline and having to go get a transfer like Vernon Adams, and all the time, Justin was waiting in the wings. After weeks of listening to Mario say 'Brown gives us the best chance to win', that memory is a total joke.

Anyway, I'm not sure he actually wants to be an O.C. in college - he turned Chip Kelly down a few years ago. Time will tell. Just please don't sign with the Huskies.

[StevensTechU]

Lubick is now available. Just got canned by Frost as Frost looks for scapegoats.

[Phalanx]

Ironic after reading some of the comments here: Jon Wilner writes a piece on possible OC replacements for Donovan, and look whose picture is emblazoned at the top of the article in the Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... tch/?amp=1

Wilner must be really bored too, I guess.

Oh, and I just saw multiple Nebraska outlets with the same suggestion for their suddenly-open O.C. position. One example:

"The name that’s obvious — former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich — was available when Frost hired Lubick, too. Does “Helf” represent “fresh ideas?” He represents a guy who knows quarterbacks, that’s for sure."

https://huskerextra.com/news/football/s ... 33695.html

another here:

"Even if you stay away from some of the most talked-about figures, such as LSU offensive coordinator and O’Neill native Jake Peetz or former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich, it's not difficult to come up with names. "


https://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/ ... cb30c.html

Funny how much demand there is for a guy who isn't in demand.

P.S. I'd be very surprised if Helf took either gig, since he is a more accomplished head coach than either of the guys he'd be working for.