Odd to consider this of a program that has enjoyed the success the Ducks have. Over 200 wins the last 20 years, only two losing seasons in the last 20. Played for the title just two years ago.
During Oregon's run, I can remember this being said of UCLA or ASU. Occasionally USC or UW were also thought of as potential college football powerhouses if only the right coaching staff could be hired. It happened for SC with Carroll. UW now has Pete.
Hiring the right staff, I think, is the term that best describes Oregon's situation.
A great deal was made of the previous staff's longevity and I can remember a time when they were praised as some of the very best at finding diamonds in the rough. I believe that longevity, somewhere along the line, turned to complacency. Complacency is the arch-enemy of sustained success.
It is my thinking that our long time coaches got far too comfortable in their routines and were either unable or unwilling to build the program beyond what is has become, some 20 years after Bellotti replaced Brooks. From a certain perspective, that complacency could be understood....many of those guys had already helped build Oregon from doormat to, arguably, a Top 10 to 15 program. In the early years of that build, the facilities were nothing. Maybe it's a matter of, 'their work has been done'.
This new staff is recruiting to Oregon in a different way. With no leftover ways of thinking about Oregon Football they have a chance to wake the giant, to use Oregon's facilities and Nike connection in recruiting in ways the old staff never would or could.
So, will it be just a quick nap for Oregon football or are we in for a long night?
