Oregon Fires Head Coach Mark Helfrich

Chip Kelly’s replacement is being shown the door at Oregon, who will be looking for just their fifth coach in 40 years

When Chip Kelly left for the NFL, Oregon quickly promoted offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich to the position of head coach. After taking over a very successful team that was consistently in the championship discussion, Helfrich oversaw a program that underwent dramatic regression.

Helfrich was able to win with Kelly’s players, namely Marcus Mariota when the Ducks lost in the national championship, but could not sustain the success.

After a 4-8 season, Oregon decided to move on from Helfrich and hit the reset button on the program.

A major factor that will come into play with the next head coach is whether or not the “Chip Kelly” offense continues. Oregon became synonymous with the fast-paced pace of play, but have clearly not been able to restock the shelves in terms of talent.

Perhaps a traditional collegiate football program could be a nice change of pace for the Ducks.

Oregon will be a very intriguing job considering how much money the Nike corporation has fueled into it. The program will not need a full rebuild like many of the jobs available across the country, but a new face and identity is needed.

Some have already speculated Kelly could return and leave the NFL (whether that be via termination or resignation) but he has been adamant in preferring to stay in the NFL.

Next: Brian Kelly Mulling Options: Five Places He Could Land

Oregon has not qualified for a bowl game for only the second time in the past 20 seasons, and will be out of a big game for the first time since 2004.

The Ducks newest head coach will be just the fifth to take over the program in the last 40 years.