As promised here is the "stuff" about Helfrich. I decided I needed to talk about some information, but did not feel a formal story would be appropriate. I am not a proponent of "click bait"
What follows are my thoughts based on the information I received came from internal contacts.
There is a lot of talk about Helfrich and his inability to lead a program which is based purely on outside conjecture. And a lot of what has been said is purely inaccurate based on fact-starved opinions.
Let me start with the obvious – The Don Pellum Fiasco. There is a lot of misinformation regarding the hire and eventual demotion of Pellum which is based on emotion rather than fact. I think people sometimes forget that college programs are not dissimilar to the NFL. In the NFL, there are powerful owners, men (and women) whose money backs the team. Some of those owners exert tremendous influence into areas with which they have little to no expertise.
Well, guess what, the same things happen at college programs except that the wealthy “owners” have a different title: Boosters. Major boosters influence a considerable number of things. One of those influences happens to be on staff composition. Think back to the transition from Bellotti to Chip Kelly; that was not as smooth internally as it appeared. I think we all know that. Some sources said that the move was more of a coup, but the same boosters who wanted Kelly were quickly tired of his personality and secretly seethed, wishing he would leave. They got their wish and then they went to work trying to get someone who made them “feel good.”
In the case of Pellum, Helfrich actually did not want to go that direction in 2013, but was told that stability was more critical at that point because too many other programs were using a lack of stability as a negative recruiting tactic. This came from some boosters. Helfrich wanted to go outside for his first major decision but was rebuffed for “the good of the program” by those power broker boosters. Knowing the huge risk, Helfrich put one condition on accepting that decision – a short leash for Pellum.
Fast forward two years and the general consensus is that the decision to demote Pellum came after the Civil War. What I have been told is that the decision came much earlier, sometime between September 26th and 27th – after the Utah debacle. Again, rather than create a story about instability at mid-season, it was decided to hold off on making any announcements until after the season. This was known about, however, and I think that is why somewhere around this time is when we started seeing even more collaborative effort between Pellum and Neal.
One other piece of information – do not be surprised if there is some more staff turnover after Spring. Helfrich alluded to as much in the press conference talking about Hoke as a ‘walk-around’ coordinator during spring. He hinted that there would be no changes before then. Basically, I have heard that there may be at least one retirement following that time period. This part I could not verify, but there is the belief that the defensive staff might still undergo some changes.
In this next off-season, I think you will start to recognize some of the massive changes which are going to happen at levels we do not really consider. Recruiting philosophy will change some. No, Helfrich is not going to beg for sleep-overs or climb trees, but he is going to change the way in which the approach occurs. Yost was brought in because he is one of the absolute best at developing QB’s, but he also has plenty of cache in the South. He recruited against SEC elite and knows how to work the area. Hoke was brought in because of his recruiting successes in the past. The gauntlet has been laid down and all of the coaches will suddenly be held to new standards.
This is all based on information from internal sources. Can I say definitively what happened? Only the people in the room know the truth, but that truth is Helfrich is a lot more of a hard-ass than most want to give him credit. He is a pretty smart guy and knows the window of opportunity is short. He recognizes that the staff needs a new energy which is why he went the direction he did with his hires this off-season.
Helfrich has cultivated a very meek persona as his demeanor, but he is not the ‘aw schucks’ coach that used to reside north of Eugene. He is a fierce competitor. He knows when to bring the hammer down and is not really afraid to use it when needed. Part of that? Sometimes there is addition by subtraction. There were some coaches in the room whose ego outshone their performance. Encouraging someone to take the next available opportunity is sometimes better than firing or demoting someone. I was told that this also happened after the regular season. The collaboration on that side was, at times, pitiful.
Unfortunately, the politics of college football boosters sometimes detours the best laid plans of coaches, but the mega-boosters were pretty upset with the way the 2015 season unfolded and are starting to understand that Helfrich was right – continuity for the sake of continuity does not bring many rewards. The staff restructuring started this off-season. There may be more to come after Spring, and, given what I have heard, Helfrich is a very results oriented man. If there are those whose groups underperform for too long, expect them to also find their leash shorter than expected.
So, blame Helfrich if you want for all that ills the Oregon program, but the reality is far different from the perception. Right now. The clock starts ticking. It took what he told those very boosters could happen to make them understand his vision. Once Utah happened, Helfrich got a lot more power in the eyes of those who thought they were doing the right thing by having Pellum promoted.
But now, this is his baby. Hoke. Yost. Lubick. Aiken. These are all Helfrich’s hires.
Recruiting down the stretch was not as much about the failures of the staff as some new directions. It is difficult to turn a ship around mid-stream and that is what the Ducks were trying to do. When you bring in a new defensive coordinator, with a new defense, there are things that have to change, and sometimes that “thing” is who is being targeted. Want proof Helfrich is not soft? Ask Eddie McDoom. Ask Malepeai. Ask those 4 and 5 star players who did not fit with the team culture like Crawford. Time will tell if the changes have the desired impact, but you can be sure of one thing: this staff will be the best overall recruiting staff Oregon has had in a long, long time.
