New Washington State AD Bill Moos appeals to Cougs’ loyalty

Bill Moos said Wednesday he’d begin his new job with some restraint. But not without grand ambition. Moos, 59, was introduced as Washington State’s next athletic director at a campus news conference. He will take over no later than May 1. While the resuscitation of the Cougars’ renovation project for Martin Stadium appears the key priority, Moos said he’d begin by taking a wider view of possible facilities needs. Even before that, he wants to address a mindset, and in massaging that, he envisions capital improvements. “One thing I’m going to focus on is the culture,” he said. “I will never look at the program as underdogs. We’re not underdogs; we’re not going to use the term ‘Couging it.’ We’re going to set forth a path that leads to championships. “Cougars everywhere love their alma mater. They’re going to hear from me that that’s important. The common theme from me will be, ‘If you like the sermon, show it when the collection plate is passed around.’ ” – Seattle Times

Washington State makes offer to former Oregon AD Bill Moos

Washington State University president Elson Floyd offered the school’s vacant athletic director position to Bill Moos on Thursday afternoon. “He did extend the offer,” said Moos when reached by telephone. “My wife (Kendra) and I are going to consider it and, hopefully, we’ll have a response to president Floyd in the next few days.” Moos declined to go into specifics, saying he was honoring Floyd’s wishes. Earlier in the day, Floyd reiterated his plan to “make a fair offer” and emphasized his desire to bring Moos back to Washington State. – Spokesman-Review

UNLV wanted former Oregon AD Bill Moos

UNLV president Neal Smatresk’s first choice was former Oregon and Montana athletic director Bill Moos, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of confidentiality. An agreement with Moos broke down over a noncompete clause in the $2 million, 10-year buyout that the 58-year-old signed when he left Oregon in 2006, sources said. One source said UNLV and Oregon could have split the final $1.4 million of the buyout if Smatresk had agreed to do so. – Review-Journal

Chip Kelly guaranteed $1.25 million a year

Chip Kelly’s first contract as a head football coach will pay him an annual guaranteed salary of $1.25 million this season and next, plus a share of Oregon’s season ticket sales, and offer a myriad of bonuses for performance on the field and in the classroom. The annual guaranteed salary would increase to $1.5 million beginning with the 2011 season. The five-year contract, through March 2014, requires Kelly to pay the university $1 million if he leaves for a college or pro football job during the first three years, and $750,000 thereafter. The contract is automatically extended by one year if the Ducks play in a bowl game. The agreement also gives Kelly the option of renegotiating the contract, or accepting an annual guaranteed salary of $2.3 million — or walking away from the deal without penalty — if the Ducks win 19 regular-season games, or win 20 games including bowl games, in any two-year period. – Register Guard

Blount may be reinstated today

When the Oregon Ducks resume practice Monday, after a rare 25-hour opportunity to enjoy their victory, they might learn about the return of a player who has yet to participate in an Oregon win this season. Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott met Sunday with running back LeGarrette Blount, university president Richard Lariviere, university counsel, coach Chip Kelly and athletic director Mike Bellotti to discuss the possible return of Blount. Athletic director Mike Bellotti said he expects an announcement Monday on Blount’s status. – The Oregonian

How will Oregon punish Blount for punch?

Oregon Athletic Director Mike Bellotti said the school is contemplating disciplinary action for running back LeGarrette Blount after he punched a Boise State player following the Ducks’ ugly loss on Thursday night. Blount struck the Boise linebacker Byron Hout with a violent right-handed punch to the jaw after No. 14 Boise beat No. 16 Oregon 19-8. The force was so strong that the 241-pound Hout, who was not wearing a helmet, tumbled to the ground. Blount had to literally be pulled off the field by teammates and security personnel. Replays also showed Blount striking one of his own his own players, Garrett Embry, who had his helmet on. “I’ll talk with our conference commissioner and our university president and I think, obviously we’re not very proud of that and I think it’s not something to be condoned and we’ll take steps to correct it,” Bellotti said. He added that since the incident happened after the game ended, the decision will be under the university’s purview. – New York Times

How far Oregon takes its punishment of LeGarrette Blount isn’t yet clear. Coach Chip Kelly said he did not see the incident, but he had been briefed. After carrying the ball 13 times for minus-five yards, Blount got an earful from some Broncos after the game. And when Hout touched Blount’s shoulder pads and had some words for the senior, Blount sucker-punched him. Blount was restrained by his teammates, but he also delivered a shot to teammate Garrett Embry, who was trying to be peacemaker. Then, when receivers coach Scott Frost and a police offer tried to wrestle an angry Blount to the locker room, he got into it again with some fans behind the end zone. – The Oregonian

Chip Kelly Looks to Keep Oregon Ducks Flying High

The rise of the University of Oregon athletics over the past decade and a half has been one that many could have never imagined.  The beauty for Duck fans is that the meteoric rise seems to be just getting underway.  When Oregon hired Mike Bellotti to lead the football program following the 1994 season, he continued the momentum built by Rich Brooks and became the most successful football coach in school history.  Coach Bellotti wasn’t the only coach brought in during that time frame as Ernie Kent came on board at his alma mater and became the most successful coach in Oregon history on the hardwood. As with any program or team that has great success after a long period of mediocrity, many new fans jump on the bandwagon and expect that success to be duplicated every year.  The problem for Oregon is that when this happened after the 2001 year, fans got used to winning and anything less than the BCS or the elite eight was considered failure by many of the Johnny-come-lately fans.  What Mike Bellotti and Ernie Kent have accomplished at a school that was long considered an afterthought and a cellar dweller in the PAC-10 is nothing less than remarkable. – DuckTerritory.com

Cameras on helmets teach quarterbacks at Oregon

Now helmet cam technology is being used in college football to help improve a quarterback’s decision-making process. Oregon’s quarterbacks wore helmet cams for the first time this week at practice. “We’re just trying to see through the eyes of the quarterback and help them make decisions faster,” new offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich says. “You can get a good idea of where their eyes are at any time. It’s a first-person account of exactly what they’re doing. It’s a way to reinforce what they are doing or what we’d like them to do.” – USA Today

Rapid Fire: Focus on Shannon, Prince, Bellotti, Fulmer, Paterno

“Rapid Fire” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on multiple coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on no less than five jobs which could soon be open…

Randy Shannon

Randy Shannon is 7-10 overall and 2-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference since he became UM’s coach. But Shannon said Sunday he’s not feeling any pressure from UM President Donna Shalala or Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt. In fact, Shannon said it’s the opposite. Asked if he felt supported by UM’s administration, he said, “Yeah. As a matter of fact, they’re the ones that are always telling me to calm down. I get frustrated, upset, disappointed and they’re the ones that tell me that you can’t get disappointed about everything.” Shannon, who is in the second year of a four-year contract, said the Hurricanes are “a lot better” than they were last season after five games, despite two straight disappointing conference losses at home. The latest came Saturday when UM bounced back from a 24-point, first-half deficit only to fall to FSU 41-39. UM (2-3) was 4-1 after five games last season. “We’re not far from where we need to be,” said Shannon, whose ‘Canes play Central Florida at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at Dolphin Stadium. “Do I think it’s going to happen this year compared to next year? I’m only worried about this year.” – Palm Beach Post

Ron Prince

After his first 30 games as Kansas State coach, Ron Prince has a 15-15 record. But after watching Prince’s defense yield more than 1,700 yards during the past three games, many Wildcat fans are worried the program is reverting to the pre-Bill Snyder bad ol’ days and questioning whether Prince is the right man for the job. – Topeka Capital-Journal

Mike Bellotti

I hate to say it—I do realize there’s loyalty to the Oregon coach who’s been at U of O since 1995—but Mike Bellotti’s reign as coach should be ending soon. One thing can be said about his teams: They are all hype. When it comes to a big game, Oregon rarely shows up: 5-6 in bowl games, including a three-bowl losing streak, although they did win their bowl game last year. 131 wins and 77 losses is a pretty good record, including one conference championship and one tie for the conference championship. But look at the past few years, when he’s had a really good team that was supposed to be up there in the conference standings and was a supposed favorite for winning the Pac-10. This year it’s shown already, losing 44-10 to USC. It must be frustrating for Duck fans to watch a team with so much talent give up 41 points in a row. That’s inexcusable for a coach of Bellotti’s caliber… It’s time for a change in Eugene, and it starts with Bellotti. – Bleacher Report

Phillip Fulmer

Tennessee plays at No. 10 Georgia on Saturday, and a magical week of practice will be needed for UT to dig itself out of a cavernous hole. When asked if this was more of a must-win or a game of pride, UT Coach Phillip Fulmer didn’t hesitate. “It’s all of the above,” Fulmer said. “It’s not business as usual. This is a very important time for us as we fight like heck to stay in the championship mix and hope somebody else gets beat.” — Tennessean

Joe Paterno

The sad question to ponder today is whether there will be a day when a certain slice on the pie chart of fandom remembers Joe Paterno as the football coach who couldn’t look like a football coach, a guy whose legs were so riddled with pain, walking the sidelines became a weekly impossibility. This isn’t a Joe-should-retire column. This isn’t the time for that. Penn State is 6-0, has legitimate Big Ten title hopes and is coming off a game in which it made a slew of offensive mistakes and still managed to win at Purdue by two touchdowns, 20-6. It would be flat unfair to have criticized Paterno during Penn State’s down times, and then diminish the role he has played during the resurgence. Based on his qualifications and historic status and the kind of success his team is having this season, Paterno has a pretty good case for a contract extension come season’s end. The thing is, the fans and reporters around the program have been looking at the finish line of Paterno’s legendary career for years now. Listening to him Saturday, as he leaned on a metal podium in the bowels of Ross-Ade Stadium as if it were a crutch, you get the feeling that maybe Paterno is starting to see that line for the first time, too. “I’ve got a little arthritis,” he said, casting a frustrated gaze downward toward his left leg. “I take some stuff, and some days, I feel great. Sometimes, I don’t.” Saturday was one of the days he didn’t. As there always seem to be with this program and this man, there are some alternate theories floating around as to why there’s so much pain, so consistently. The main one is that he didn’t just tweak his right knee at all during that now-infamous onside kick drill in summer practice. It’s that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament that day, and now, it won’t get better until he has surgery. In fact, several reporters asked Paterno directly about surgery after Saturday’s game. Never mind the fact that it’s an unfounded theory. The leg Paterno says is causing the problems now is the left leg, the one that he needed surgery to repair after that sideline collision with Andrew Quarless in Wisconsin during the 2006 season. – Scranton Times