Throw a bunch of money at Luke Fickell and talk to his agent to see if there's a possibility in a month. He's one of the few I would wait for that long.

Next up for me would be Matt Campbell who like Fickell may not be easy to get. 

Give Aranda a go after that. 

At least give Chris Peterson a try.

Jeff Grimes should get a look too.

Tedford and Joe Brady could be potentials and I honestly don't know anything about them.

I'm really surprised Wilcox is a top choice for some. He's 26-28 and hasn't recruited well? I don't agree with the notion you hire him just because you're scared of a different coach leaving. This isn't the Ducks team of 20 years ago. We just came off of recruiting 3 top 10 classes in a row. We should being talking about a playoff run. Would Wilcox really compete with the likes of USC? It's like saying let's just turn the clock back and be better than average with the ceiling of a decent bowl game from time to time. We're definitely not the top 4 teams in the country, but we're definitely a 5-12 landing spot. I can't imagine other teams in that 5-12 group being interested in a resume of a guy like Wilcox.

DucksReign wrote:

If you have followed what Wilcox has had to endure coaching at Cal from academic standards to an administration that could care less about football...his record takes on a different perspective. Former Oregon QB and 20+ years as an OC in college and the NFL, Bill Musgrave is his OC.

Otherwise I guess I have a similar view about all the "outsider" names mentioned as those who are skeptical of Wilcox.

Dave Aranda has been a head coach for 2-years with a 13-9 record. And because Oregon fans watched the Big 12 Championship Game(how many Oregon fans have been following Baylor football this season?) he is suddenly a "must hire?" Based on what? You want a head coach with 2-years experience who began his FIRST head coaching job in 2020... because he beat Oklahoma State?

Luke Fickell has never coached outside the State of Ohio(he was born in Columbus...his wife is from Ohio) and has zero connections with the west coast. But let's go after him so he can be "called home" in a few years? Complete waste of time.

Most "outsiders" have as many arguments against them as there are against any candidate with Oregon ties.

I am supportive of giving Wilcox a "real" roster to see what he can do...and at least he won't leave to "go home" like our 2 most recent hires.

It would be nice to have a former Duck as a coach, but I rather go for a coach that has more proof of the ability to compete at the highest level. I don't want to give a top tier caliber roster a see what a coach can do situation. I think a lot of talent would leave. I could see hiring Wilcox following a Helfrich 4-8 season. 

Fickell just got to the playoffs with Cincinnati. He could take the Ducks their too, which would not be a waste of time whatsoever even if he left several years down the road. He very well could stay a while.

It's probably all a moot point since Fickell is a long shot.

In a tip of the cap to Cristobal which nobody disputes, the guy can recruit and that is no easy task in the Pacific Northwest where, what, 90% of the Oregon roster comes from outside that region?

Look at the University of Cincinnati and Baylor's football rosters... loaded with Ohio and Texas kids respectively.

Simply because Fickell and Aranda can drive around; never leave their respective states and put together I am guessing at least 70% of their rosters... doesn't guarantee the same success at Oregon or even mean they would want to have to recruit like you need to at Oregon...in a conference they have no experience in.

DucksReign wrote:

Pac-12 guru Jon Wilner has Wilcox, Tedford, Petersen, Harsin, Sitake and Kelly on his list.

I am all in on Wilcox but Tedford is intriguing...as Wilner notes, he is 60...only 2-years older than Kelly and apparently is back to full health.

https://www.si.com/college/cal/news/oregon-job-opening-wilcox

Only if he brings Tosh Lupoi with him so he can start teaching the players to fake injuries like he did at Cal. Needless to say, I’m a bit spurious of Tedford’s methods.

oldretiredguy wrote:

I was looking at McClendon's resume, and I think as gar as our current staff goes, he could wind up being elevated to HC. I don't feel any of the others are in that position.

DeRuyter has been a head coach...Fresno State where he won 2 Mountain West Championships...but I don't think he would be a good hire for that position at Oregon. Just a feeling.

McClendon has a solid background but here we go again with a head coach learning on the job, save being an interim head coach at Georgia, only to depart with a sniff of success when "home"(he played at Georgia and coached at Georgia and South Carolina for a decade) calls him. I don't want to hire an interim head coach whose only head coaching experience is interim.

Of the current head coaches in the playoffs, they have been at their respective schools...

Saban = forever
Harbaugh = 7th year
Smart = 6th year
Fickell = 5th year

Since Bellotti left after the 2008 season, 4 Oregon head coaches are averaging  about 3 years on the job...4 years if you want to discount Taggart's 1 year for bringing down the average.

I don't care who you hire, that turnover rate doesn't win championships.

That more than anything else is what I HOPE will stop with this hire. We need longevity.

4 head coaches in a row who had no previous P5 head coaching experience and the results since Bellotti left have been all over the place... and they all left for various reasons.

I am hoping Oregon tries a different approach on this 5th attempt since Kelly began in 2009 with someone who played at Oregon; coached at Oregon; has west coast and Pac-12 ties in any combination of those criteria.

The Oregon roster appears to be good but hardly even close to winning a national championship based on what I watched last weekend of the 4 teams who are in the Playoffs.

What that roster looks like come next Fall is anyone's guess with recruiting, decommits, transfers in and out and so on between now and then.

Unless Oregon can hire Saban, Swinney, Jimbo Fisher or Mack Brown...any hire of an active P5 head coach will have no D1 national championships on their head coaching resume.

DucksReign wrote:

Of the current head coaches in the playoffs, they have been at their respective schools...

Saban = forever
Harbaugh = 7th year
Smart = 6th year
Fickell = 5th year

Since Bellotti left after the 2008 season, 4 Oregon head coaches are averaging about 3 years on the job...4 years if you want to discount Taggart's 1 year for bringing down the average.

I don't care who you hire, that turnover rate doesn't win championships.

That more than anything else is what I HOPE will stop with this hire. We need longevity.

4 head coaches in a row who had no previous P5 head coaching experience and the results since Bellotti left have been all over the place... and they all left for various reasons.

I am hoping Oregon tries a different approach on this 5th attempt since Kelly began in 2009 with someone who played at Oregon; coached at Oregon; has west coast and Pac-12 ties in any combination of those criteria.

The Oregon roster appears to be good but hardly even close to winning a national championship based on what I watched last weekend of the 4 teams who are in the Playoffs.

What that roster looks like come next Fall is anyone's guess with recruiting, decommits, transfers in and out and so on between now and then.

Unless Oregon can hire Saban, Swinney, Jimbo Fisher or Mack Brown...any hire of an active P5 head coach will have no D1 national championships on their head coaching resume.

Programs that win championships are going to naturally have coaches that want to stay. This is why you could make an argument that hiring a coach with the best ability to win could help keep that same coach around long term.

You mention Harbaugh as an example, which is interesting since he was the experienced big name hire to make at the time. Harbaugh took an NFL team to a super bowl. He was able to recruit well even when he kept falling short against the likes of Ohio State. Which was a good reason to keep him around against keeping a guy like Helfrich who couldn't recruit. Wilcox doesn't have any sort of similarities to Harbaugh whatsoever.