The Oregon Ducks should hire Dan Mullen as their next head coach.
Make no mistake about it: UO is the best job in the country. Since that’s the case, the school will have no shortage of qualified candidates that are interested in the position.
But, Mullen would make the most sense. That’s not to take anything away from the other coaches rumored to be under consideration such as Jim McElwain, Scott Frost, PJ Fleck, or Bryan Harsin. Each of these coaches would do an outstanding job at Oregon if given the opportunity.
Yet, Mullen should be the top choice. No one has done more with less over the past eight years than Dan Mullen. Playing in arguably the toughest division in college football, he’s guided the Bulldogs to bowl games in six of his eight seasons. More impressively, he’s the only coach in Mississippi State’s 112-year history to lead the Dawgs to back-to-back nine-win seasons. That’s something that even Hall of Fame coaches Darrell Royal and Allyn McKeen weren’t able to accomplish during their respective tenures in Starkville.
In addition to being able to compete against SEC West opponents despite having lesser talent – something he won’t have to do at Oregon – Mullen is a great fit at the school because he knows how to develop quarterbacks, which is something his predecessor failed to do. As the QB coach at Bowling Green, he helped mold Josh Harris into the top dual threat quarterback in the country. In his next stop at Utah, he coached Alex Smith (No. 1 pick in the NFL draft), Brian Johnson (winningest QB in school history), and Brett Elliot – who transferred from Utah after losing the starting job due to injury – but still threw for an then-NCAA-record 61 touchdowns at Linfield College the following season.
After leaving Utah, Mullen did a great job at Florida, helping Chris Leak reach his full potential and transforming Tim Tebow into a household name. More recently, he coached Dak Prescott, who set 38 school records at Mississippi State and is currently the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
Given his successful record of developing quarterbacks, there’s no reason to think that he can’t do the same thing at Oregon. After all, six of the players mentioned above (Harris, Smith, Elliot, Leak, Tebow, and Prescott) ended up on NFL rosters at some point. That number speaks volumes about Mullen’s ability to mold talented players into next-level signal callers.
Having a talented quarterback that can run the spread offense successfully is the key to Oregon’s success. Remember, the Ducks were able to play in the national championship game in 2014 – despite ranking 89th nationally in total defense – because Marcus Mariota and the UO offense could outscore any opponent.
Even if – and it’s a big if – it takes a season or two to get the offense up to speed, Mullen is still the right guy to lead the program because he’s always hired solid defensive coordinators. Although the Bulldogs stats weren’t the same as the ones that Alabama posts year in and year out, top programs always came after MSU coordinators to run their defense. This has been a big problem for Mullen in recent seasons, as both Geoff Collins (2014, Florida) and Manny Diaz (2015, Miami and 2010, Texas) left for higher profile positions.
This will not be a problem at Oregon, as it’s one of the top programs in the country. Considering that the school shelled out $11.6 million to buy out Helfrich’s contract, it’s safe to say that the next head coach will have the budget to attract and maintain quality assistants.
As the previous paragraphs demonstrate, Dan Mullen is more than qualified to take over as the Ducks’ next head coach. He knows how to win with less, how to develop quarterbacks, and how to hire solid defensive coordinators. That is exactly the guy that Oregon needs leading the program right now.
