Creepy's Thoughts on Crystal
A couple things, since we all know Creepy is a closet Quook:
1. Creepy thinks every coaching hire is, at best, more or less an informed roll of the dice. The statistical evidence for this is in. Creepy will admit one fairly embarrassing anecdote to make the point: Creepy recalls in his younger years being pretty vocally opposed to Miami hiring the mere Jimmy Johnson ('who is this guy?'), coach of one of the non-teams in a two-team conference, to replace a championship coach. The first year, 1984, and its epic defensive meltdowns did little to assuage Creepy's ire at the hire.
2. I don't fault Oregon's thought process here: the program's number one weakness is that it's in the PNW, a place relatively lacking (and sometimes devoid of) D1 talent. Gotta get someone who can recroot at the right places or it's all moot anyway. And why wouldn't you want to mitigate the damage to the class? Seems rational to me. If he works out as a coach, great; if he doesn't, do it again. Look at Washington. You keep trying until you get it right. There's upside here. This leads me to point 3.
3. Were the options that compelling? Please, do tell. I'm all ears. Is there some guy out there who isn't weird and ugly who can "flat out coach" that I'm forgetting? Sumlin would have been an interesting hire. Also a great recruiter, and HC in the SEC with some success. That might have made sense too. Color me "eh" on Harsin. I just don't think lightning is striking twice on a successful Boise State guy. Oregon is in the Pac 12 and needs someone who can recruit for playing in this conference. Is that Harsin? Is he that good a technical coach? He hasn't done there was Peterman did, so spare me that comparison.
4. What's the upside in the "stability guy from the area?" That he won't leave? Who cares? If he's successful and leaves, it means he was successful. If not, you have to fire him. See point #1. Looking for an 18-year Don James marriage is fs. That just happens when it happens. Completely convinced of that; too many people who made too much sense on paper burned up too many times.
5. HC experience? Well, Crystal has it from coaching in cfb hell. Or just call it the coordinator promotion. Doesn't really matter. A lot of people around the game thought FIU was fs for firing him. The word on Mario, aside from being strikingly handsome, is that he's very bright. We shall see.
6. Finally, and most importantly, HE'S A CANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys can spin this as "Oregon isn't that important", but the truth is, Washington lucked into Peterman who is just weird enough to want to be up here in the PNW and not leave. Most other coaches would have left Washington for Florida State too. Hey, you guys know that feels anyway, right? There is one program (maybe) in this conference that can go in and perhaps get an established guy in an established situation to leave and come coach them, and Washington isn't that program either.
Mario may work out.