Oregon Head Coach Search

Kelly shook his head from side to side to indicate he would not return to OR, where he first served as an offensive coordinator before leading the Ducks from 2009-12.

The Oregon press release on Helfrich’s dismissal doesn’t used the words “we sucked so he’s gone” but it comes pretty close.

Helfrich had a 37-16 record after taking over from Chip Kelly in 2013. Now it’s up to Mullens to find the guy who will win and compete while helping the OR football program get up from a harsh downfall. His offense and style of leadership has always felt like a better fit for college, evident by his firing by the Eagles a year ago. Oregon’s defense, which was consistently one of the best in the Pac-12 under Kelly, fell off to the bottom third of all FBS schools, per Football Outsiders.

Kelly held with the Ducks from 2009 to ’12 before leaving to become head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the post-Kent era, the basketball program stumbled into a good hire with former Creighton coach Dana Altman, an Xs and Os wizard who this season might be coaching the best and deepest basketball team in school history. When Kelly earned the head coaching job, he passed the job to Helfrich.

But the Ducks slipped to 9-4 a year ago before falling to 4-8 this season.

McMurphy reports that Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, South Florida’s Willie Taggart, Western Michigan’s P.J. Fleck, Florida’s Jim McElwain, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora, West Virginia’s Dana Holgerson, Central Florida’s Scott Frost, and Boise State’s Bryan Harsin are all expected to be candidates for the position.

OR has gotten used to winning, and winning big, in football over the past decade. His buyout was more than $11 million.

“I’m not looking to go back, and that’s what I’ve always said, so I don’t know how it’s stayed a story”, he said.

Helrich helped recruit and groom quarterback Marcus Mariota. who won the 2014 Heisman Trophy while leading the Ducks to the title game. While coming to coach the gutted roster of the 49ers certainly didn’t help his chances of winning games, Kelly has not shown that he has what it takes to be a winning coach in the pros. But the Ducks had to rely on graduate transfers entering both 2015 and 2016. It ended with a 34-24 loss to Oregon State, the Ducks’ first Civil War loss since 2007.

After leaving OR in 2012 for Philadelphia, Kelly largely failed to replicate the success he had at the collegiate level. Kelly signed a four-year contract with the 49ers last winter.