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UO Football Players React To Coach Firing

wikipedia

University of Oregon football players reacted Wednesday to Tuesday’s firing of head coach Mark Helfrich. The news comes after the Ducks’ worst season in years.

Freshman defensive back Brady Breeze grew up in Medford, and has been around Oregon football since long before he was a student-athlete in Eugene. Breeze says the Ducks’ attitude changed from when Chip Kelly was head coach, and in the first season under Helfrich.

Brady Breeze: “It’s turned from more like a team thing back when Chip was here, and when Mark started, it was all team-team-team. And this year it’s seemed more like individuals, guys were kind of doing it for themselves, and not really worrying about how the season is going, more worried about what their stats are. This is a time that we need to bring this team together, because we’re at the lowest point we’ve ever been.”

Players expressed confidence in Athletic Director Rob Mullens, to follow through on his promise to find the team a good head coach.

Helfrich led the Ducks to a 37-and-16 record in his four seasons.

Rob Manning has been both a reporter and an on-air host at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Before that, he filled both roles with local community station KBOO and nationally with Free Speech Radio News. He's also published freelance print stories with Portland's alternative weekly newspaper Willamette Week and Planning Magazine. In 2007, Rob received two awards for investigative reporting from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists, and he was part of the award-winning team responsible for OPB's "Hunger Series." His current beats range from education to the environment, sports to land-use planning, politics to housing.