Bellotti Steps Down as Head Coach
Several media outlets are reporting that Mike Bellotti will step down as Head Coach of the Oregon Ducks football team and move to Athletic Director. Thanks to Doug-E-Fresh, joffhedeck and others for reporting on it.
Reporting: Register-Guard, Oregon Live, Ducks Attack
[EDIT]: KMTR is reporting Mike Bellotti will become athletic director as of July 1st. Chip Kelly takes over at the start of spring practice
[EDIT #2]: Article at goducks.com
about 3 years ago
dvieira
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I'm shocked.
I truly didn’t think Bellotti would step down. Is this a sign the Ducks aren’t going to be as good as we thought? Canzano also reported he thinks Kent’s gone before Bellotti assumes the role. Wishful thinking, much?
Hi, I'm Paul Thompson, and I'm a quack-aholic.
I am quite surprised as well. I really thought he’d be around.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
I wonder if this timing has anything to do with Bryce Brown. I’ve heard Brown talk very fondly of Chip Kelly.
"When Bellotti attempted to shake the hand of Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson after the game, Robinson offered his left hand. His right was swollen and battered from the Ducks' defense."
by MarineCorpsDuck on Mar 13, 2009 12:35 PM PDT reply actions
That what I was thinking, he sounds like CK is his guy so obviously at head coach that should mean a little more.
by jessenumber1 on Mar 13, 2009 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Though I have no sources, I can pretty much guarantee that this move was not made for recruiting. That would be one of the most ridiculous and shortsighted things a program could ever do, no matter how touted a kid is.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
I agree that the move itself has nothing to do with recruiting, but the timing might. I’m guessing the decision wasn’t made this morning.
by jessenumber1 on Mar 13, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions
That’s what I meant. If they had decided already on the course of action, and doing it before Brown announced made a difference, it would be smart to do it now rather than after he announces. If MB decided to step down based on Bryce Brown that would be re-donkulous.
"When Bellotti attempted to shake the hand of Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson after the game, Robinson offered his left hand. His right was swollen and battered from the Ducks' defense."
by MarineCorpsDuck on Mar 13, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions
My misunderstanding, though, if a decision had already been made, I would be surprised if that had not been communicated to Brown.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
Also surprised.
Man, my emotions are surprisingly mixed. I have great faith in Chip Kelly, but the uncertainty of change makes me anxious. That was a nice run for a coach who some thought was a lame choice. Let’s hope Mike Bellotti has as much success as athletic director as he did head coach.
I believe he will.
You cannot hide from our weapons of Masoli destruction.
by JConant on Mar 13, 2009 12:36 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
you need to get your crystal ball checked there big boy. ;)
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
A Certain Friday
I hope Bellotti didn’t put a pox on us by announcing this on Friday the 13th
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
if I remember correctly...
the last major announcement on a Friday the 13th for Oregon? The return of baseball, July 13, 2007.
by Doug-e-Fresh on Mar 13, 2009 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
wow, rec’d for obscure Oregon Ducks annoucement trivia
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
How can you say "rec’d for …. " and then not actually rec it?
"When Bellotti attempted to shake the hand of Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson after the game, Robinson offered his left hand. His right was swollen and battered from the Ducks' defense."
by MarineCorpsDuck on Mar 13, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Auto-refresh does not show recs.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
Bellotti isn’t taking over until July 1….
Just enough for Kent to get fired. ;)
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
hard to argue with your logic here. If I’m Ernie, this is not the move I wanted to see. I would be VERY surprised if Kilkenny doesn’t cut the cord on Ernie, Jamil Wilson not withstanding. To put it this way, if I’m going to clean the house, then I’m REALLY going to clean the house
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
Kent can’t be fired until signing day, after that, watch out.
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
if there is anything Arizona taught us last year, its that it doesn’t matter if you have a LOI in hand or not if the coach gets fired
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
Arizona originally made all those guys stick to their LOI
Then realized the stupidity of such a policy. If you’re going to get rid of Kent, you’d be best to do it yesterday and just start moving on.
But why would the lame duck AD fire the coach before the new AD takes over? If anything, this kind of a move should make Kent more secure, not less.
So that Kilkenny gets to be "bad cop," and Bellotti gets to announce the successor and be "good cop."
Simple as that. The only repercussions will be with recruits and this year’s freshman class, who obviously have strong ties with big Ern.
by Doug-e-Fresh on Mar 13, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions
From what I gather
When a Coach gets fired or leaves a program, it seems customary to release recruits who been recruited by the “former” regime, if the recruit request it.
When Coach Robinson took the helm of Oregon State, they did not made a fuss releasing the 3 recruits that Jay John have signed.
by ximiankernel on Mar 13, 2009 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I am curious though about the “Bellotti Haters” and their take on this. One of the arguments about Bellotti was that he underachieved with the talent given to him. Obviously those haters weren’t as vocal during the end of the season but they did exist.
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
Why now?
That’s my big question. Canzano reported months ago that Bellotti was stepping down immediately, then it was like, “No, he’s not … just sometime in the future.” And the “undetermined” future date is March 13? Seems so weird.
A big reason was that there was no reason to step down right after the season, and that it allowed Kelly to recruit more because as an assistant coach, he had less restrictions on visits, etc.
For a while, it’s been said that the decision would be made before the start of spring practice. Once the decision was made, and after the recruiting stuff, it didn’t really matter when…
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
The recruiting angle is a good reason
Nice and sneaky enough to make sense. Head coaches are severely limited by NCAA rules now. If I had time I’d find the link, but yeah, they can’t do a lot of things that assistants can. Even assistants anointed heir to the throne…
by Doug-e-Fresh on Mar 13, 2009 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Then I sense a closing to that loophole coming from the NCAA
Seriously, if that’s the case, what’s to stop a school from announcing an interim head coach, making the head coach an assistant coach, and letting him go hog wild for that first recruiting class? I know it would only work once, but once is enough to give a team an edge.
Because that would be obvious shenanigans
And this was a case where it was only going to work once anyways for the team. The timing, though, is advantageous.
And thinking about it, if Bellotti had stayed around for 2009, I could see them doing this very thing too the following winter.
by Doug-e-Fresh on Mar 13, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
The recruiting angle obviously makes a lot of sense, but I don’t think that played as much a role as you’re saying it did. Then again, maybe I’m just naive and don’t want to think of my favorite team’s administration as being that manipulative and deceptive.
Hi, I'm Paul Thompson, and I'm a quack-aholic.
Oh, I don't know...
manipulative and deceptive within the framework of the rules is what I would call shrewd, and would welcome that approach by my favorite team.
If that scenario were the case, I"m sure that would be closed, but that has never happened (esp. the coaching becoming an assistant type thing).
--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog
i for one
love kelly (along with everyone) as an OC but am very scared after yesterday i was very excited for next year. this is a huge change, no one knows what it will mean for the team or the offense. i wish bellotti would’ve stuck around for a least one more year.
wow,
i cant think at the moment so i cant type something that can be read correctly.
by joffthedeckk on Mar 13, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Here's to you Coach Bellotti
Greatest coach in Oregon history, “no question”. Mike Bellotti is a winner and a class act, and he makes me proud to be a Duck.
I had a feeling this was coming ever since the end of the Holiday Bowl, when Bellotti got all chocked up during the post-game interview. Sure it was a nice win, and a great way to honor the memory of Todd Doxey, but Coach had that look in his eye like something significant just happened.
Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V0orJM2za0
What a way to go out. To see Masoli emerge as a dominant offensive force, finish the season strong, absolute blowout of the Beavers – on their field, with the Rose Bowl at state – an underdog Holiday Bowl win where the team played nearly flawless in the second half, and a post-season top 10 ranking. Not bad, Mike. Not bad.
You cannot hide from our weapons of Masoli destruction.
Question to ponder
What do you name after Bellotti?
Autzen Stadium
Rich Brooks Field
Casanova Center
What’s left?
Mike Bellotti Duckvision.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
Thanks Mike!
For your loyalty.
For your class.
For making Oregon football so enjoyable to watch and such a great source of pride.
..and for bringing the “best” out of Pete Carroll.
Yes your ass looks big, you need to lose weight. Sorry, had to vent.
So...
I was wondering, does Chip now HC from the booth? Or hire a new protegé?
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
*to call plays.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
I still want to stick to my previous prediction...
Jon Gruden!
It makes a little more sense now that we are talking about an Offensive position.
May we hand you your taints on a silver platter...
But...
Jon Gruden talked about how he liked what we were doing and wanting to learn more about it. I would think Chip Kelly would take somebody more… experienced with our offense, and like him.
That said, Jon Gruden would be pretty bad ass to have.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
Should read *and alike him.
Can’t type today.
Addicted To Quack [dot] com; "In other news, Ropert was mauled by a velociraptor yesterday and sustained a life-threatening ACL injury and a pulled hamstring."
The Worst Part of all this
He totally stole my thunder of the ATQ Meetup on April 11th
--Dominic
Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.
Ted Miller's got a post on CK
I was feeling OK…until he mentioned Tom Holmoe. Now I’m frightened.
It's spelled "M-A-R-C-H-I-N-G-B-A-N-D."
I support inroywetrust in his support of The VD Special in his support of me supporting Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.
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