Beware the Coaching Carousel

by Deuelio

As news of Bobby Petrino’s exit from Atlanta to Arkansas begins to unfold, the Oregon Ducks should thank their lucky stars that they do not have to deal with transient coaches intent on finding the next coaching rung to climb too.

Mike Bellotti is about to wrap up his 13 th season in Eugene.  Only six coaches have been at one school longer than Bellotti.  Joe Paterno (42 seasons at Penn State), Bobby Bowden (32 at Florida State), Chris Ault (23 with Nevada), Larry Blakeney (17 with Troy) and Phil Fulmer (16 with Tennessee) all have been at their respective schools longer than Bellotti.  It’s pretty eye-opening to consider.

Stability within the coaching staff is an overlooked attribute, especially if your program is on the cusp of becoming a national program.

At this point, Oregon and Eugene would likely still be considered a regional school.  It’s a strong school on the west coast, one of three or four destinations every good player on the west coast at least considers.  But rarely do the top players in the nation consider Oregon.  Essentially, that leaves Oregon as a pretty strong regional power.

However, things are changing slightly and Oregon is broadening it’s recruiting base to include Pennsylvania, Florida, Indiana and other schools outside the Western time zone.  Their facilities, donor base and promotional power could make Oregon an attractive destination for potential big time recruits to travel across the country for their football educations.

Kids crave stability.  Whether they know it or admit it, they crave stability.  When they sign to attend a school they oftentimes sign because of the coach and his staff.  The program becomes his family the staff his guardians and no 18-yr old likes to have his guardians constantly looking for the next good coaching gig.

When you are Ohio State, Michigan, USC or a similar historical program, you can get past the prospect of your coach leaving in three years.  Kids want to attend Ohio State, Michigan or USC; they are programs with storied histories, championships, individual awards and NFL superstars.

But Oregon doesn’t have that history.

If Oregon had to recruit against the tradition and history of the big time schools and had to deal with the fact that their hotshot coach was likely to move onto the next gig, recruiting would be severely hampered.

And ultimately that is where Oregon falls into.

It’s not quite a destination for a hotshot coach like Urban Meyer, it’s more like a stepping stone for someone like Meyer.

Those calling for Bellotti’s firing fail to understand how devastating it is to get into a cycle of hiring and firing coaches.  Who would be on the short list to replace Bellotti should he be terminated?

Oregon is a strong regional school with the donor base, the funding and desire to reach big time status.  But there’s no way they could lure a Pete Carroll, Jim Tressel, Les Miles, Meyer, Petrino, or a Rich Rodriguez out west. 

They’d have to look at the up and coming ranks.  Bronco Mendenhall, Chris Peterson (former Duck coach) or Troy Calhoun would fall in that category.  If someone like Chris Peterson becomes the next head-coach and invigorates the program in three years, catches lightning in a bottle and leads Oregon to a BCS bid, what happens when the big dogs come calling?

Will he stay at Oregon or will he leave?

If he leaves, you’re back at square one trying to find another coach who can keep the ball rolling.  Potential recruits are waiting to see what happens with the coaching search while the others schools are calling, texting and emailing prospective players whenever possible.  They wait to see what transpires.   If the recruiting class isn’t fond of the new coach or they don’t get a good feeling, you lose them all and you have to start at the beginning.

Oregon is on the precipice of something great.  Bellotti’s switch to the spread a few years back came at a time when only a few were running it.  He tabbed Chip Kelly to run the offense last year and young Chip (an up and comer perhaps?) has taken the Duck offense to a whole different stratosphere.

They are scouring the nation for the next Dennis Dixon and the next batch of wideouts to put up big numbers in the spread.

So the message is, patience.  It was 17 years before Bobby Bowden won a national championship at Florida State.  It was 16 years before Joe Paterno led Penn State to a national championship.

Your patience will be rewarded, your haste will leave you hurting.