Mario Cristobal has decided to leave Oregon and take the Miami job. The Ducks will now be in the market for a head coach. Here are five potential head coach candidates for the Oregon Ducks.
1. Chip Kelly
The odds on favorite to get the Oregon job is their former coach, Chip Kelly. Kelly had a 46-7 record at Oregon his first time around. He helped the Ducks with his offensive mind. They were able to reach the National Championship Game in 2010. He left for the NFL after 2012, but returned to college at UCLA in 2018. He has been less successful at UCLA, posting an 18-25 record.
Would Kelly leave LA where he has helped build the program up after three bad seasons? He was able to reach success at Oregon faster the first time he was on campus. Oregon will have the money to offer him a very good contract. If he thinks he can work with the program again, his past success would make him a home run hire.
2. Matt Campbell
What Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State has been impressive. He has posted a 42-33 record with some of his highlights being a Big 12 Championship Game appearance and a New Year’s Six Bowl. Before Iowa State, Campbell had success at Toledo, going 35-15 over five seasons.
Campbell has proven he can coach, even with limited resources. He has also demonstrated the ability to develop talent. While he hasn’t coached anywhere outside of Iowa or Ohio, Campbell could recruit a lot better with Oregon’s pull as a program. He wouldn’t be the flashiest hire, but Campbell can build a program well and Oregon already has great advantages to meet that end.
3. Dave Aranda
Aranda has completely turned around Baylor. In his first year as head coach, he helped the Bears went 2-7. That has completely changed, as Baylor went 11-2 this season and won the Big 12. They are now headed to the Sugar Bowl. Before coaching at Baylor, he notably was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and LSU.
He has specifically coached in the western parts of the United States during his career. Aranda’s ability to turn around Baylor makes him a good candidate for bigger jobs. Like Campbell, with the resources that Oregon has, Aranda could help the program reach new heights. Many thought he would get the LSU job, but with that off the table, Oregon could make an offer for Aranda.
4. Bryan Harsin
Harsin coached Auburn to a 6-6 record this season. It was his first year on the job after being a surprising hire given the geographical information. Before Auburn, Harsin coached Boise State and Arkansas State as head coach. He has an 82-30 career record from the time at all three schools. Harsin was a Boise State assistant and player.
It seems like Harsin may be better suited and more comfortable in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon could throw more money at him to get the coach to return to the region. Harsin has done well and with his ties to the region could be successful at Oregon if they can lure him away from Auburn.
5. Justin Wilcox
Wilcox has been the head coach at California for five seasons. He has posted a 26-28 record, but the program wasn’t at the best starting point when he took over. Before his time as a head coach, Wilcox was a highly-respected defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, USC, Washington, Tennessee and Boise State. The reason that Wilcox is linked to the job is that he played at Oregon in the late 1990s.
On top of playing at Oregon, Wilcox was also born in Eugene. He has ties to the area, but he may not be the coach that the Ducks are looking for at the moment. Wilcox hasn’t proven he can win at Cal, so it would be a leap of faith to hire him at Oregon. He is likely to be considered, but not hired for the job.
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