It’s been successful seasons for both Mario Cristobal and Jonthan Smith. The Oregon Ducks remain in the college football playoff picture while elevating many young players to positions they will hold for the coming years. Meanwhile, the Beavers have steadily built a competitive team that gained bowl eligibility for the first time since 2013. Each head coach has accomplished a great deal in a short time.
Unfortunately, that success also attracts attention from other power 5 schools looking to fill coaching vacancies, and there are quite a few piling up this off-season.
LSU and UCLA will most likely prioritize Cristobal during their search process. Since 2017, the head coach has netted two conference titles, a Rose Bowl win and placed UO in a position to be CFP bound, this season. It’s also worth noting his three seasons coaching at Alabama which will be attractive to schools looking for that pedigree.
Smith will most likely get a call or two from the University of Washington after the school fired Jimmy Lake, last week. The Beavers head coach was an assistant under Chris Petersen for many years and was the team’s offensive coordinator before taking the job in Corvallis. Smith has grown Oregon State into a bowl team after inheriting a complete mess from former HC Gary Andersen.
This is what makes college football such a tricky dance between coaches and fans. These leaders arrive on campus promising a complete overhaul of culture and expectations. When they fail, it’s easy to write off their tenure and move on. But when they succeed… That’s the hard part.
Blue blood schools are always looking for the next untapped coaching talent around the country. Cristobal and Smith fit that bill, but we have yet to see if they want to leave the state of Oregon behind.