Oregon did the expected earlier Sunday afternoon and hired offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich to be the Ducks’ new coach. If nothing else, UO kept the hire in-house, something the program has done for decades.
Former Ducks coach and athletic director Mike Bellotti knows a thing or two about that. He joined Rich Brooks’ staff as an OC in Eugene in 1989 and succeeded Brooks in 1995. So when it was time to name Helfrich as Chip Kelly‘s successor, Bellotti gave his stamp of approval.
“It’s great for everybody and it’s a great opportunity for Mark,” Bellotti said via the Oregonian. “It was important for the continuity of the program. Hopefully they’ll maintain as much of the coaching staff as they can and hopefully salvage the recruiting class.”
Helfrich was going to be named Oregon’s coach had Chip Kelly bolted to the NFL last year as he was expected to do. By all accounts, Helfrich is cut from practically the same cloth as Kelly and promised in Sunday’s presser that just about everything was going to remain the same.
Hopefully for his sake, and Oregon’s, that includes winning an average of 11 games a year.