Report: Oregon wants to ‘swing for the fences’ with coaching hire

Oregon football hasn’t quite been the same since Chip Kelly left for the NFL, and it sounds like the program wants to make a hire big enough to reverse that trend.

According to Travis Haney of 247 Sports, sources say Oregon, backed by Nike co-founder Phil Knight, wants to make a big splash in replacing the fired Mark Helfrich. Their preference would be a current Power 5 head coach who can restore the explosive offenses Oregon football was known for while also providing balance on the defensive side of the ball.

“If they’re hiring from the outside, which they haven’t done, they want to swing for the fences,” a source told 247 Sports.

“They do not want to pay [Helfrich’s] buyout if they don’t have someone to make a splash,” another source added.

Despite their fall from the elite this season, Oregon’s job is certainly an intriguing one. One candidate with head coaching experience has already been linked to the position, but you can expect to hear more names before the process is completed.