Why do I feel like we are the rebound boyfriend/girlfriend, and their ex just called and wants them back.

Just kind of how this feels.

Before I retired from my job as a Corporate Physician Leader, I negotiated many contracts worth Billions of Dollars around the world and in Washington DC, dealing with Senators, Congressman and Lobbyists, Agents and Lawyers. I know how the game is played. I am so frustrated by this whole fiasco when I know I probably could have resolved this whole situation long ago, very quickly, to everyone's satisfaction.

All I can do now is sit back and watch this whole painful process slowly work itself out. I apologize for sounding boastful. That is certainly not my intent; I am merely stating a simple fact and attempting to vent some of my frustration.

I guess I just have to just keep the faith and trust that the negotiations are in good hands with Mullens and Knight and that they will eventually get this situation worked out to a positive conclusion for Oregon's Football Program.

Buckle up

I'm going to do an article in the morning, but I will give you the singular highlight. I asked him:

"In light of the possible coaching change at Oregon, how does that affect your commitment status?"

"I am planning on being a Duck regardless," Shough replied. "I committed to the school."

I don't care what else happens today. That is cool.

But the kicker is, he will be signing on Dec. 20. He is just the kind of guy who can hold this class together regardless. Point him out to the other recruits and say hey, our QB of the future is coming.

F...you Willie!! I wish you the worst you scumbag!! Get the hell out of town

on school property. He is an enemy combatant and should be treated as such. I have left companies before and they don't allow you to hang around the joint. Petty? Yes,I intend to be.

In situations like this? I was planning my day and was trying to decide whether to allot time for it. I would think not. Why face tough questions if you don't have to?

Mullens will either do a presser or more likely press release. WT will do a press release about how he loved Oregon and his players but being close to family was why he is going to FSU.

I used to like him.....


"Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos is not making friends at Oregon today. Moos, a former Ducks AD, fired a shot at UO in a Tom Shatel column today. Shatel said that he knew Huskers fans were worried that dominoes at Texas A&M and Florida State might open the football job at Oregon -- and Frost might jump back to the Ducks.

But Moos wasn't worried.

"He knows what Oregon is, what they have to offer," Moos told Shatel. "They don't have five national championships. As good as that program is, as soon as it fell flat, their fans left them.

"This (Nebraska) is so unique, so special, that Oregon aspired to be Nebraska and to be a Michigan and Ohio State." Oregon Live

Miles Battle told me the Ducks rescheduled their in home from tonight to tomorrow morning.

Interestingly, I asked him twice (well, same question two different ways) why the change and he declined to answer both times. To me that would mean he knows but has been asked not to say.

Something is going on.

Pac-12 Story

Crosby and Schooler (ST) 1st team
Dye, Jelks, and Freeman 2nd team

(@duckfan4life taking my last parting shot on this topic, Colin Schooler - HM)

Best solution at this point is fire Taggart and let him negotiate his own contract( his leverage is gone) and let us keep Leavitt as either HC or DC , either way give Leavitt a big raise.Problem solved. We give our assistant coaches big raises with not having to pay Taggart and most of recruits will stay because they were basically recruited by our Assistant Coach Staff anyway. Taggart can have his dream job and I hope it's for a lot less money than we pay Leavitt.

Assuming WT truly just flew back to Oregon I'm struggling to come up with a good reason to interrupt a recruiting trip, with so few days before early LOI if he's staying.

how it's suppose to.

Oregon Football will be strong next year, and we will land a solid coach.

Heck of a December

Hey Guys: I know this may be somewhat of a moot point, given what's gone on with Taggart recently, but Oregon has been a team recently involved with RJ Mickens. I spoke with him after his game on Saturday about Oregon and a few other teams. He's already a highly-recruited prospect, so whomever the coach will be going forward at Oregon will likely still be interested in him, so he's still good to keep on the radar.

Thanks for having a look: STORY LINK

With the assumption that WT is gone, maybe we take a different approach that reduces the risk of almost complete staff overhauls especially when the staff as a whole is so strong.

Is it possible to significantly bump the salaries of non-head coaches making it harder for other schools to scoop them up while keeping the head coach at around 2.5 to 3 million but have performance incentives that can be paid by people outside of the university such as Uncle Phil?

Not that I'm trying to spend PK's money but it seems it would be a way for him to protect a larger portion of his investment in retaining top level assistants and helping maintain continuity within the program which used to be a major selling point for us.

One thing I think me must all remember regardless of personal angst or distaste for what is going on is that, Willie lost his dad just a short while ago while coaching our Ducks. He wasn't there when his father passed, had to travel cross country for the services, and then resume his life on the opposite coast. In having experienced that scenario myself while being very close to my dad, as many sons are, things were never the same and I've always wanted to "go home". The only difference is I didn't have my dream job of Nike calling me up and willing to spend millions of dollars.

The point is while I am also upset by what is happening here, I also believe there are bigger and more substantive elements to why this is all happening. For most of us home will always be home even if we relocate for a period of years or even months. Losing a father/best friend can turn that calling to return, into a thunderous roar. Do I think Oregon was a dream job for Willie? Absolutely. His father was alive then and his favorite school as a kid was not looking to fill a vacant coaching position. In short, I don't like it but I get it.

Jimmy Sexton sets the market and this is what it takes now to land a top college football coach:

According to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the new head coach and Athletic Director Bill Moos, Scott Frost will receive $5 million annually for seven years, with the contract expiring on Dec. 31, 2024.

source: http://www.1011now.com/content/news/Contract-details-of-new-head-coach-Scott-Frost--461895123.html

Jimbo Fisher has hit the jackpot. He has left Florida State University to become the next football coach at Texas A&M, and signed the richest contract in college football history, a 10-year deal worth a reported $75 million, fully guaranteed.

source: http://www.businessinsider.com/jimbo-fisher-salary-florida-state-texas-am-rank-2017-12

Athletic director Scott Stricklin had already stated after the introductory news conference Monday that Dan Mullen would make $6 million per year with a flat $12 million buyout that would be reduced once the money owed to the coach dipped below that threshold, while Mullen would owe the school $2 million if he left for another job.

source: https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-releases-specific-contract-details-new-football-
coach-dan-mullen

To hire a top football coach in 2017, the going rate is between $5 and 7.5 million per year.

Agents for Mike Norvell, Kevin Sumlin and others will start the bidding there.

Just want to start a discussion on here about who people think are the Ducks best recruiters? With WT all but gone, who are the guys Oregon needs to keep in order to salvage this class and keep momentum for 2019 and beyond. Also, who are guys that are at different schools that you wound want to get, a Christmas list of sorts, for those coaches expected to leave with WT.

Good stuff about early signing by Josh Helmholdt.

Early signing FAQ's

If Taggert leaves, and takes some staff members, this could change things.

EZZARD UPDATE

I caught up with the Rivals250 RB to get an update after he decommitted from FSU.

Corbin decommits from FSU but worries about Oregon

Look, if Willy is truly gone (just seems that way to me) here is where I would start as the AD. Without a doubt, attempt to hold onto Cristobal, Joe, and Leavitt. Johnson as well. There are several good RB coaches out there if Pimpleton leaves and Woodie is replaceable as well.

Norvell is plain and simple a winner. A strategist and offensive genius. Can recruit the types of players we need offensively and knows his identity as an offense play maker and caller.

We CANNOT afford to get back into a position where our defense takes a back seat to our offense. I loved the passion our D played with. It reminded me of 2010 and 1994. Memphis was not strong on defense this year so a DC is crucial to our continued success just as much as our offensive identity.

Just my two cents.

Time to just pull the trigger and get out of Oregon. You played this one too long. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. We are Oregon, we don't have to beg anyone to stay here. We got something special here, and it ain't because of a high-dollar coach, it's much bigger than that. Later dude!

Heard from a single source that Florida State will name their new HC at 3:00 EST today. Cannot verify through any additional sources.

Don't read too much into 'Willie is in Arizona today not Florida' because the same source told me that FSU admin were not going to fly Tallahassee to Eugene or Portland and would not meet with Taggart at either location - i.e., they could send a plane to Phoenix and it would be off the radar.

Either way, it looks like there will be resolution by the end of today one way or another. This source believed that it might actually be Charlie Strong. Doing some more checking to find out if there is anything else we can derive.

The DSA forums have vented at length about Coach Taggart and his agent, the duplicity and evasion, the seeming lack of integrity in coming to Oregon for a "dream opportunity" and then leaving everyone, staff, recruits, fans, twisting in the wind while he flirts with Florida State a year later.

My question this morning is, how much blame should be assigned to Rob Mullens? His first coaching hire, Mark Helfrich, had a steady downward spiral and he elected to fire him after 3 years.

His second coaching hire could leave the program in a shambles by this evening, and seems poised to take Jim Leavitt with him.

If Mullens loses Taggart and Leavitt a year after firing Helfrich, how close are you to saying he's mismanaged the football program, can't evaluate talent and lacks the cojones or the judgment to get a deal done? How much responsibility does he bear in all this, outmaneuvered by agents time and again? Remember after Helfrich's first season he got a new contract and an $11 million buyout that wound up costing the Ducks deeply.