So, a little thing about coaching searches, names we have never heard of change he entire landscape at times.
Joe Brady was an example last year and there are likely to be some thins season as well. One example is the Patriots ST coordinator. His name is Joe Judge and most have likely never heard of him. But he is likely to get a job as a HC somewhere this offseason. Odds right now are on Mississippi State. He is a MSU alum and it would be a really good fit. He is young and has a lot of good connections - especially having worked at New England.
The thing is, though, he does not have a ready made staff so he is going to be pillaging pro and college staffs left and right should he get a HC gig at MSU. How does that affect Oregon? Probably not much - unless he comes calling for an assistant which I do not think is an issue here.
Mario is working really hard to protect what he already has an improve upon it. What the Judge thing tells you is that there are a lot of names we do not know out there who are very impressive people. Some of those people have reached out and have impressed the heck out of Mario with their knowledge, vision, and plans. Does not mean that those people will get the job, but the interest in this position is extensive and there are a lot of really good names that have reached out.
The issue for Mario, right now, is how he fills out the staff. Chip Long still remains at the top of the heap, but he is not a QB coach and the Ducks do not have room on the staff to add two coaches; so Mario either has to jettison someone or look at someone else.
A LOT of people asked about Kellen Moore early in the process. At the time I was going off of what some NFL folks told me -- that he was going to likely get an NFL HC shot in the very near future (good thing about Oregon playing at an NFL stadium is talking to guys that know more about that league than myself). Well, fast forward and I think that staff is looking iffy across the board. When the Cowboys decided to move on from Garrett, that created some need to look for his staff. It looks like Mike McCarthy might get that job and I don't know that he retains Moore.
But that is where another twist comes in. Bryan Harsin. I don't think he is going to look this offseason, but he seems to be getting 'itchy' to move on. I heard from one person that should Harsin move on, Boise State might rather keep their offensive tradition going at HC and that is where Moore comes in. He is very serious about returning to the college game as an OC and building his resume at that level for when the Boise State gig opens up again. He is very interested in the Oregon job - mainly because Andy Avalos talked to him about Oregon and the vision Mario has and that created a conversation. Moore is a legit option.
Joe Moorhead will also get the chance to show his vision. There is mutual interest in the conversation and I think that will happen sooner rather than later. I was also told there are a few other interviews scheduled for early this week (cannot share those names yet as they are currently employed and I was asked to not share).
While it probably won't be announced early in the week, one athletic department source said we could hear by the end of this week.
