Oregon fires coach Mark Helfrich after four seasons
Oregon football coach Mark Helfrich has been fired after four seasons.
The school announced the decision Tuesday night. Helfrich was 37-16 as head coach of the Ducks, including 4-8 this season.
"We want to thank Mark for his eight years with the University of Oregon and appreciate his efforts on behalf of Oregon football," athletic director Rob Mullens, said in a statement. "We wish Mark and his family the best."
Mullens said he made the decision Tuesday before he and Helfrich met to discuss the coach's job status.
Helfrich, previously the Ducks' offensive coordinator, took the reins in 2013 after Chip Kelly left to coach the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. He is the first Oregon coach to be fired in 40 years.
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"It is a great honor to have served as the head football coach at the University of Oregon," Helfrich said in the same release. "Plain and simple — we didn't win enough games this season.
"The future is bright for this young, talented team, and we will be supporting them and their new leadership."
According to people with knowledge of the situation, Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck and Boise State's Bryan Harsin will figure prominently in the search for Oregon's next coach. Harsin is a close friend of Helfrich.
"For the first time in decades, we will seek a coach from outside our current staff," Mullens said in a news conference Tuesday night.
Mullens said he will lead the search and that the school is working with Parker Executive Search to assist with search logistics.
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Helfrich will owed a buyout of about $11.6 million under the terms of his five-year contract, which had been set to run through Jan. 31, 2020.
Oregon can pay that amount on a monthly basis over the remainder of the term. It is subject to Helfrich making good-faith efforts to get another job, and it would be offset by all of his income from the new job.
The Ducks’ nine assistant coaches would be owed a combined total of about $3.7 million — also subject to each coach needing to make good-faith efforts to get another job, with each coach’s buyout being offset by all income from the new job.
Eight of Oregon’s nine assistants are under contract through Jan. 31, 2018. Defensive coordinator Brady Hoke’s deal runs through Jan. 16, 2019.
Mullens said Oregon's next head coach will have full say on whether any of the current assistant coaches are retained.
Altogether, the 10 FBS public-school head coaches who have been fired so far this season will be owed a combined total of nearly $45 million in buyouts, subject to offset from future pay. Firing assistant coaches could cost the schools as much as another $12 million.
In addition to Helfrich’s amount from Oregon:
► Charlie Strong is owed about $11.2 million by Texas, which likely also will be paying $2.5 million to cover the buyout that newly hired coach Tom Herman owes Houston.
► Les Miles about $10 million by LSU.
► Darrell Hazell nearly $5 million by Purdue, plus another $362,500 in loan forgiveness.
► Tim DeRuyter more than $3.4 million by Fresno State.
Contributing: Steve Berkowitz
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