Looks like Oregon has found their next T&F coach with them announcing that Bowerman Track Club lead coach Jerry Schumacher will be taking over for Robert Johnson. His name was the first name I posted in the other thread so it looks like people on other boards did have the right sources/train of thought for the direction they'd go. It'll be interesting to see what he can do leading a full college program when he's only been an assistant at that level and never had to run/deal with the sprints, throws, and jumps.

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I'm sure we'll find a good Assistant who specializes in one of those areas primarily.

I do wonder if he'll keep any of the current assistants on board to help ease the transition.

Also looks like he'll continue coaching the Bowerman TC as well, similar to what Lananna did with the OTC Elite.

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Weird.

My theory:
This is of benefit to Nike not UO. Nike doesn't endorse track teams so team championships aren't a top priority. Hobby and recreational distance running is a huge market for Nike where as recreation field and sprinting is basically nonexistent. Nike wants Oregon to develop running stars, to endorse running shoes and join the Nike sponsored pro programs.

Under this theory these moves would make total sense. I don't like it but I'm not their market.

Yea, the only issue with that theory is that Phil Knight dictates what Oregon does, not Nike. Sometimes he does it through Nike, but it's always Phil Knight. And Phil Knight likes winning.

Yes but I suspect that of all the sports in the world, the most important to Phil is distance running. My theory is while winning an NC in Track while being the premiere distance program is his ideal, he would take a premiere distance program with a top 10 team over a sprint and field dominated team championship. It not only makes sense knowing his background, it also corresponds to this course of action regarding coaches.

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