COACH LANNING HEARS FROM OREGON FAMILY

Coach Lanning didn’t actually get a letter, the Oregon AD did.

And that’s not the Oregon family he heard from, though the kid with arrow could be an in-state recruit.

The letter to Athletic Director Mullens was signed by Oregon football legends from Joey Harrington to Justin Herbert, along with Marcus Mariota, Akili Smith, Royce Freeman, Tyrell Crosby, Devon Allen, Hroniss Grasu, Jordan Kent, George Wrighster, Justin Peelle, Wes Mallard, Reuben Droughns and Dino Philyaw.

I’m looking for Norm Van Brocklin and George Shaw and Bob Berry.

Where’s Ahmad Rashad?

The letter the guys sent feels like aging, of time passing by, of getting old.

Not old-old, but old enough to see things slipping further away than they used to be.

Oregonian columnist and 750 The Game host John Canzano learned about the letter with his journalistic skills. He spoke to Joey Harrington about it on his show, The Bald Face Truth, yesterday.

They talked about the letter, what Canzano knew, and when he knew it. Harrington sounded suspicious of how Canzano knew so much so soon.

So who leaked the letter? What else could it have been? The old folks are catching up to the Canzano connection.

The letter:

“This feeling comes not from wins and losses, but rather, the idea that in the attempt to chase a national championship, we are losing what made us great in the first place,” the players wrote in the letter.

“This is not a Blue Blood program. Our success was built on the continuity and hard work of the players and coaches in the 30 years prior to 2016 and we, as players, feel we are dangerously close to losing our identity.”

Oregon Duck Football in 1986? Where’s Chris Miller’s signature?

“This letter is not an attempt to harp on the loss of the coaching tradition and the connection it brought between generations of players and families both in Eugene and the larger Oregon Duck community. That ship has sailed,” the letter said.

“But rather, this letter is to suggest that after two attempts to find a coach outside the ‘Oregon Box’ we believe it may be time again to look within the Oregon family.”

Coach Lanning Inside The Oregon Box?

(Note: Long time Oregon coach Rich Brooks was an Oregon State guy, Mike Bellotti a California guy, but they became Oregon family.)

Coaching Power 5 football takes a special mental make-up few possess.

But is it all that different than coaching youth sports where Little Jimmy’s mom and dad are so amped up about his first season of pre-school soccer they can barely stand it.

All they want is what’s best for Jimmy, and it will be the coach’s fault if he isn’t the super star they know him to be.

Go, Jimmy, Go.

High school football:

Coach is a teacher, a coach, a civic minded citizen, a speaker at the Quarterback Club meetings, an organizer, and the best role model any young person could ever expect to meet.

At least that’s the general idea. Coach Lanning knows this.

2

The last two Oregon coaches were Florida Men with aspirations of winning their ‘Dream Job.’

One zeroed in on Florida State then zeroed out, the other The U, Miami.

Oregon was not their Dream Job.

Turns out Oregon may not be the job for anyone dreaming about coaching Oregon.

Was it Chip Kelly’s Dream Job, or just where he happened to be the right person in the right place at the right time.

Chip Kelly said he watched Auburn leave the field in 2010 amazed at the size and speed of their players. Oregon has been getting bigger, faster, and stronger ever since.

Mario Cristobal recruited big and fast, saw the ceiling, and now it’s next man up in the big chair.

If Oregon had beat Cam Newton Auburn in 2010, Eugene would be hallowed ground. Autzen would acquire a glow, a sheen of legend for the Oregon family.

Taking down Ohio State playing their third string quarterback would have been icing on the Autzen cake.

Joey Harrington defined a Blue Blood program to John Canzano: National Championship(s).

Oregon is 0-2.

But That’s Football

Instead of getting pumped each year to defend a national title, or play for one to the last snap, Oregon fans in the extended Oregon family have turned to other priorities.

At first it’s riveting, then less and less.

Their season recap:

The Ducks are on track until Stanford, then it’s ‘season over, who cares.’ But they do.

Loss to Utah #1 and it’s ‘season over, who cares.’ But they do.

Beat the Beavers and roll over Utah and on to the Rose Bowl, the Rose B, the Ro. Damn, Utah loss #2.

Then Coach Cristobal flies away? Clipped wings weren’t lifting him to the promise land, so he needed a better platform to get his guys. Hello Miami.

In turn, Oregon gets a younger version of a guy from the same neighborhood who knows what it takes to play in the SEC, to play for SEC championships, to play for a chance to play for a national title with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Coach Lanning joins the Oregon family on the run and he’s out in front. This isn’t a guy wondering what it takes to compete in big games. He’s not working on his ‘message’ to communicate with NIL-era players.

He’s got that part figured out. Leading a high ranked Georgia defense shows two things: He knows how to coach, and he coaches players up. (Who said Alabama?)

If this is the man who takes Oregon over the top in college football, everyone will be writing letters.

For now it’s the one delivered by former players.

Canzano for the last word:

Mullens must have taken it (the letter) to heart. He interviewed Wilcox and former coach Chip Kelly. He offered the job first to the kid who grew up tailgating at Autzen Stadium in a family that has Hall of Fame connections. That it didn’t work out will disappoint some in the fan base. Others appear excited about the new direction.

If I’m Lanning, I pay attention to this.

My prediction: Coach Lanning will build a coaching tree at Oregon to rival all others, along with playing for it all to the last snap.

Georgia officials made a huge gamble two years ago. They pushed out a successful coach (Mark Richt) because they believed their program should compete for championships more often.

So Georgia hired an alumnus whose recent work experience gave him insight into how to cross that divide. Kirby Smart didn’t get the job because he once wore silver britches; he got it because he once wore silver britches and understood how Nick Saban built Alabama into a juggernaut that has dominated a decade.

When Smart was hired, Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity didn’t issue orders. He asked questions. “He had to basically educate us on what it would take,” McGarity says.

In short, Georgia wanted to Sabanize.

So Georgia hired a guy named Smart and Oregon hired one of Smart’s guys.

I’ve always said education is a good thing.