Brady Hoke had a miserable one-and-done at Oregon, and this piling on just adds to it.
Brought in to turnaround the Ducks’ defense, Hoke instead was in charge of one of the worst units in the country. Their play, in very large part, helped bring an abrupt end to Mark Helfrich‘s three-year tenure in Eugene.
Helfrich was officially replaced by USF’s Willie Taggart earlier this week. The boss of Taggart’s boss, UO president Michael Schill, had one piece of advice and one piece of advice alone for his new head football coach.#Oregon president offers up his only football advice to new coach Willie Taggart: “Go out & find a great defensive coordinator.”
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 8, 2016
Can we take that as confirmation that Hoke won’t be retained by the new regime? At least statistically, though, the president has a point, no matter how clumsily or ill-advised it may have been.
Out of the 128 teams listed on the NCAA’s official stats website, the Ducks were 126th in scoring and yards allowed; 121st in third-down percentage and rushing yards allowed; 117th in turnovers forced; and 114th in passing yards. Last season, the Ducks were 114th in scoring and 116th in yards.
And Taggart’s defense this season? The Bulls were 86th in scoring defense and 120th in yards allowed. So, there’s that.