FiveThirtyEight Breaks Down The Mark Helfrich Era and It Is Not Good

Rich Brooks, who coached the Ducks from 1977 to 1994 and held the school record with 91 wins before Mike Bellotti surpassed him, was the last head football coach hired from outside of the OR staff.

Helfrich was head coach of the Ducks for four seasons, leading the team to the first College Football Playoff championship game two years ago. All of this and a buyout of over $11 million.

But this is about more than just Helfrich, and the reach of Tuesday’s decision extends far beyond Oregon.

“We wish Mark and his family the best”, said UO athletic director Rob Mullens. This year, OR went 4-8, gave up over 50 points four times in conference play, and now ranks as the third-worst defense in FBS per those same Football Outsiders rankings. Oregon had a 12-game winning streak against Washington snapped with a 70-21 loss to the Huskies, and its 34-24 loss to the Beavers ended an eight-game winning streak against Oregon State.

While talk of Helfrich’s firing had been discussed in college football circles for most of the 2016 season, OR now has no replacement in place. “I love everybody associated with the university”, Kelly said.

The school announced the decision Tuesday night. “We were not competitive in a number of games and we were on a poor trajectory”. “But when it comes to a head coach, you need a character that stands out”, said Noah Wilskey, a student at the U of O. Everybody wants to come out and beat us because we’re a world-wide known name and we’ve dominated for the past however many years it’s been. Our pool will be broad and diverse.

Also, on a personal level, Helfrich is a nice person with a good sense of humor. One reason the 49ers are here is because of Kelly’s relationship with Central Florida coach Scott Frost, who served as offensive coordinator at OR and worked with Kelly there as receivers coach. Mullens is hoping to have the same type of success with finding Helfrich’s replacement. The 1-10 San Francisco 49ers are in the middle of a disastrous season of their own. He really had a plan for us.

Kelly posted a 46-7 mark with OR from 2009-12 before venturing off to the National Football League to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. The program’s options are to entice a sitting Power Five coach – perhaps a Dan Mullen from Mississippi State or Jim McElwain from Florida – or dip into the Group of Five, whether Western Michigan’s P.J. Fleck or Boise State’s Bryan Harsin.