Ducks go with Taggart
- Thread starter YakiCoug
- Start date
Have to disagree with you here. Oregon's program has been in a steady decline since Kelly left. They gave Helfrich four years to prove himself by reversing the downward trajectory to no avail. The Duck boards have been clamoring for his release since September and posting threads arguing his possible replacements. Losing to the hapless and inferior- in their opinion and view- Beavs was the final nail in his coffin. Ray Charles could read the writing on that wall. His termination was not quick, it was the end of a long process.
CougSinceBirth was right though in that it was handled clumsily and poorly. Their AD was in Dallas, if my memory is correct, working with the playoff committee during the final season's game and didn't return to Eugene until later that weekend. Allowing the staff to hit the recruiting trail only to be informed 48 hours later that they were all effectively canned was inept, impolite, rude and the like. Not letting Helfrich know what was in the wind was the same and must have given him the impression that he would return in 2017. Helfrich was, by all I am aware of, a decent guy if over his head as a HC. He didn't deserve to be treated like that.
Whether any of this was sufficient to turn off any candidates is questionable. I doubt it.
Regarding ttown's thought that they would get a bigger name- so did I. I expected a proven candidate from a major school. Read somewhere that the Mississippi State HC, Dan Mullin, was the runner-up. Other than him all the names seriously associated with Oregon's search were mid-major guys. Read somewhere that Rhule, Temple's coach who ended up in Waco taking the Baylor position, was offered the job and that they then turned to Taggart. One would have expected that Uncle Phil's wallet would have attracted more interest from higher profile candidates than it apparently did.
I know that a lot of people view Helfrich's firing as a kneejerk reaction, but last year was the beginning of the end for Helfrich. Losing to WSU was a shot across the bow that things were not right in Eugene. Getting crushed by TCU once VAJ went down was a stark reminder of their early season struggles without him. His failure to develop a top flight QB for the offense and the horrid defensive play wasn't going to disappear overnight. Many of us would have liked for them to keep him and when opposing fans say that, it usually isn't a positive thing for that coach.
I have to say I was pretty surprised by Oregon's 'small' hire. I was like, WHO? I hope they continue to struggle. : )
I would only wish that on the huskies.Wonder if he'll add Wulff as his offensive coordinator?
Agreed. His resume since leaving Stanford is pretty impressive.
As far as the "small hire" is concerned, I was struck while rereading the article posted that the candidates for Taggart's former position at South Florida are the type of bigger names I would have thought Oregon would go after. Kiffin, Miles, Schiano and Strong certainly have greater cachet than Taggart in football circles.
Taggart is a gamble. Like most gambles, if it pays off then the school and AD look brilliant. If not, then they try to be like teflon if they can't altogether avoid getting spattered. He has some talent, but with only one really good season to show, was it luck, circumstances or skill? No sure way to tell. My guess is that he interviews very well.
A lot of people thought Oregon "settled" on their last basketball hire too, but that's worked out pretty well for them. Taggart will be able to recruit skill players to Eugene. We'll see how the rest works out.
Most proven hire they have ever made. Belotti was a below .500 coach at a small school then an assistant when he was hired. Kelly was an assistant with no head coaching experience. Helfrich was an assistant.
Hiring a coach off an impressive program turn around that won 10 games this past season is hardly a small hire. The job Taggart did at South Florida is more impressive than what Herman did at Houston. Houston has had great seasons comparable to what Herman did. South Florida had never finished a season ranked before this year. South Florida also had a better season this year than Houston did.
Hiring a coach off an impressive program turn around that won 10 games this past season is hardly a small hire. The job Taggart did at South Florida is more impressive than what Herman did at Houston. Houston has had great seasons comparable to what Herman did. South Florida had never finished a season ranked before this year. South Florida also had a better season this year than Houston did.
Especially when one considers it followed South Florida's Wulff era. But I shouldn't be too harsh. There weren't any decent linemen in Florida and the Southern U.S. when the Turd reigned supreme.
I don't dispute your primary point, and I think this is a pretty good hire. USF historically had some decent teams, though, especially during the Leavitt era: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/south-florida/. It's not like Taggart turned around New Mexico State. That said, it's indisputable that Taggart took over a pile of crap when Skip Holtz was done, and 10-2 a few years later doesn't happen by accident.
