1996 Southern Oregon Alumni Mark Helfrich, has been announced as the 32nd head football coach of the University of Oregon.
Days after Chip Kelly bolted to the National Football League to become the 21st head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, the University of Oregon promoted Helfrich to head coach of the program.
After Kelly launched the Ducks into the national spotlight with a 46-7 record, along with four consecutive BCS bowl games in his four year coaching tenure, the keys to the high-flying Ducks will be handed to Helfrich.
Kelly will be welcomed to the NFL with a five-year contract worth $32.5 million, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the league. Kelly won’t be making the trip to Philly alone though.
Jerry Azzinaro, assistant coach and defensive line coach at UO during Kelly’s tenure, has left the program and will be the defensive line coach for the Eagles. It has also been rumored that other UO assistant coaches Greg Austin, Matthew Harper and Todd Lyght will supposedly be coming to Philadelphia as well, but nothing has been finalized with those reports.
Helfrich has been the offensive coordinator since 2009 at UO, and made an immediate impact for the football program. Helfrich started his coaching career at SOU as the running back coach in 1996.
