Oregon AD Rob Mullens must hit a Mike Bohn-sized home run (msn.com)
Just a couple of weeks ago, USC athletic director Mike Bohn become a Los Angeles heavyweight after snagging Lincoln Riley as the new head coach for the Trojans.
Since then, USC has been abuzz and back in national conversations everywhere. The Trojans are in the process of being restored, and everyone can see it.
Weeks later, it is time for the Oregon Ducks to do the same after Mario Cristobal left Oregon to take the job at Miami.
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens faces withering pressure. He must deliver a smash hire for the Ducks after watching Cristobal dash.
Mark Helfrich, Willie Taggart, and Cristobal all failed to last. Those three moves in less than a decade did not give Oregon stability. This further proves why Mullens must crush this hire.
Justin Wilcox and Kalani Sitake interviewed this week, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian.
Chip Kelly is also an obvious choice to return to Oregon, where he led the Ducks to a BCS National Championship Game appearance.
Nonetheless, the search seems to be taking its fair share of twists and turns, and Canzano says there should be some clarity one way or another this weekend.
“I’m told that the next 24-48 hours will be critical and that Oregon isn’t done trying to hunt a whale hire, possibly with an NFL tie. It’s possible the Ducks attempted to interview some big fish and were shut down, then went back to what they know (Wilcox, Kelly). It could be that they just wanted to appease boosters who like those candidates, check them off the list and get about interviewing some others.”
It is quite a situation in Eugene, and the pressure is on for Mullens to get this right after watching the past three hires send him into hot water.
Hold on tight.
AKA: Massive Bohner
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