I apologize for the length of this post and appreciate the few of you who will read it in it’s entirety.(I am sure many of you are thinking , the idiot did it again) so please bear with me.This will probably be my last post( I am sure many of you will be heartened by this fact) as my projected life span is now measured in weeks because of severe Heart Disease. I have already had 2 open heart surgeries.
Yes I will post this missive on all 4 web sites.(again I have been heavily criticized for this). This will probably be the last time I will be strong enough to sit at the computer so I will probably be unable to make any replies.(I am sure many of you will be heartened by this).
I have been a Duck fan(all sports) for 67 years. I saw my first Football game with my Dad when I was 4 years old in 1950( He was attending Oregon after the war) and over the years watched many Football, Basketball games and Track meets in person. We both fervently love all the Duck Sports with my most enduring memory watching the Track Team at Hayward Field win the NCAA championship in 1964.
Both me and my Dad(95 a WW2 vet who fought in Okinawa and a Korean War vet) and myself a Flight Surgeon having flown many missions over Vietnam and Desert Storm. and as Honolulu International Airport Doctor flew many Coast Guard rescue missions over the Pacific Ocean. A you might expect, I survived some pretty dicey situations as did my Dad. I have certainly lived my 9 lives to the limit. My wife predeceased me as did my youngest son to a drug overdose(losing a son is about the worst feeling one can ever endure). My oldest son is disabled and I care for him in my home. I have 2 married daughters who live in Oregon and have 2 Grand Children.
After I die I have arranged a disability trust fund for my son and educational Trust funds for both Grand children. As I have no other heirs other than my eldest daughter who is an heir to the Parr Lumbar Company, so obviously needs no help from me and my younger daughter works in the Health Care Profession like me so needs no help either, I intend to give all my remaining assets to the University of Oregon Athletic Program(quite substantial and as my oldest son is always quick to point out I have had the benefit of a lot of financial luck over the years). Maybe they will get around to finishing off the Autzen Football Stadium into a complete bowl configuration seating about 70,000 fans.
Until WT puts a competent and experience O.C. to manage the game, do the play calling, and make appropriate adjustments both during the game and at halftime, Oregon will continue to flounder even when Herbert comes back.
Do you think it is just a coincidence that the team has performed so poorly in the 2nd half of all their games. W.T. makes no adjustments while his opposing coach makes whatever adjustments are needed during halftime. This problem was so obvious to me early in the season even when Herbert was playing that I brought this up several weeks ago but was called a troll and practically booed off all the boards.
You can have all the talent in the world but if you are unable to call the correct plays at the right time you will still lose. The opposite is not true i.e. a good play caller and game manager(see Wilcox, Snyder, Leach and Petersen as good examples) routinely take inferior talent but still win. Having predominately 2 and 3 star players and JUCO transfers they routinely beat far more talented teams.
Having injuries, young players, and poor execution are just excuses for poor results not the cause of a poor record. A Good coach will make the necessary adjustments to his game management to overcome these types of problems. Again look no further than elite schools such as Ohio state and Alabama. All teams have injuries etc. but are able to compensate by tailoring their game plan to fit the talent that is available in a given game. They don’t just stubbornly run the same play over and over when it is obvious that a proper adjustment needs to be made.
Leach has taken it a step further, recruiting certain types of players that will play well in his system and does not just recruit players with high star ratings( he recognizes that he will never have the ability to recruit stellar(by star ratings) athletes to WSU so he uses a unique Offense and recruits from a pool of players that will fit his particular system.
We see examples of this throughout football. On the other hand, some coaches i.e. UCLA, Texas, and USC, Washington and Notre Dame for many years in the past, and many other current teams routinely under perform with excellent talent.
Another good example is at USF, where Strong the new coach has taken the excellent talent he inherited from Taggart and turned USF into an undefeated juggernaut, much better than WT ever did. They will soon be in the top 10 rankings. Good play calling is an art and there are only a limited number of coaches who have this skill. Likewise being a good H.C. requires leadership skills and is an art that not every Coach has. Helfrich was in over his head as a H.C. but was an excellent O.C. Taggart is in over his head as an O.C. but has excellent skills as a H. C. in having both dynamic leadership and exceptional recruiting skills.
To have an elite team that is always in the CFP conversation, you have to have a staff that combines both exceptional recruiting, leadership and game management skills. Alabama, Michigan State,Ohio State, Penn State and many other teams with elite H.C.’s, delegate the play calling to a good O.C.and good D.C. and do exceptionally well year in and year out. The H.C. is like the CEO or Orchestra Director and is able to skillfully lead his coaches and players. Saban was no dummy when he brought in Lane Kiffen to be his Offensive Analyst. Kiffen however was an incompetent H.C.
A good H.C. recognizes his own strengths and weaknesses and fills in with the appropriate Assistant Coaches that have exceptional skills in certain areas where he may be weak and if needed bring in gifted O.C and D.C.’s. to round out the staff. Leavett has excellent D.C. skills and is also an exceptional recruiter. Oregon has half the equation filled. W.T. just needs to humbly recognize that he is not a good in game manager and delegate the play calling by finding an exceptional O.C. either currently on his staff or look for one to hire. Until W.T. does Oregon will never be more than a mediocre team at best.
I will give an example of a Basketball Coach that combines both exceptional leadership skills, coaching skills and recruiting skills. He is none other than Dana Altman, Oregon’s Head Basketball coach. Other examples in the Basketball world are Krzysewski, Thompson and Few.
The point I am trying to make is that these types of challenges occur throughout the World of Sports and are not unique to Football.
Some Schools take many years to recognize these facts. (Washington, USC, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas etc).and floundered for many years. I hope WT is astute enough to understand this and make a timely change at the O.C.( I believe with the exception of play calling he is almost there) position so that Oregon does not go into a death spiral like the schools above did and take many years to recover.
Jen Beyrle 