5 Story Lines for Presenting Mariota the Heisman

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Hank Stern, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Marcus Mariota via Wikimedia Commons

Marcus Mariota has eliminated any suspense over winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean ESPN should lack a story line or two for the Oregon quarterback’s well-deserved coronation.

But just to make sure there’s no repeat of Sunday’s ESPN debacle when the network’s 2 1/2 hour college football playoff selection show ran out of steam quickly once Baylor and TCU aired their gripes, we’re here to make sure the Heisman show fills its hour in a manner befitting Mariota.

Here are five story lines the “worldwide leader” can follow:

1. Is Mariota such a lock that he will get the highest percent of points possible for a winner since New York’s Downtown Athletic Club first awarded the trophy in 1935? No, but it will be close. To get the highest share of available points, Mariota would have to top the 91.8 percent USC running back Reggie Bush received for his 2005 Heisman (since forfeited because of NCAA violations). Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon won’t siphon away much support from Mariota, but Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper will likely keep Mariota short thanks to his eye-popping season and to SEC voters being parochial.

2. Speaking of parochial, no Pac-12 player has won the Heisman since Bush in 2005, and the league hasn’t had a non-Trojan win the Heisman since Stanford’s Jim Plunkett in 1970 when the conference was the Pac-8. Does Mariota’s victory mean the rest of the country realizes the conference is for real and consists of more than USC? Essentially, yes. Even with many Pac-12 games ending past midnight back east, it’s become much easier in the past decade for fans and Heisman voters to follow teams all over the country. Most games are televised somewhere and they are certainly dissected everywhere. Oregon has become a national brand, winning the league four out of the last six seasons. In other words, no more need for Joey Harrington billboards in Times Square circa 2001.

3. Any chance Mariota might confound the experts and return for a senior season to make a run at becoming the only player besides Ohio State’s Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975 to win the Heisman twice? Impossible to imagine, given the riches that await him in the NFL and the fear that could all get short-circuited by an injury in college. Still, there’s no way Mariota would announce his intentions before the Rose Bowl so Ducks fans can dream for a few weeks more about Mariota returning to an offense in 2015 along with Royce Freeman, Charles Nelson. Darren Carrington, Bralon Addison, Devon Allen, Thomas Tyner and perhaps Pharoah Brown and Byron Marshall.

4. The last two Ducks who got invited to the Heisman awards ceremony – Joey Harrington and LaMichael James – washed out in the pros. Any chance the same fate awaits Mariota? Um, no. There’s always the argument with Oregon’s offensive dominance that its players’ stats get inflated. But Mariota passes any eyeball test for his arm strength, mobility and smarts.

5. Oregon faces Florida State and 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Winston in the Rose Bowl – one of two national semifinals along with Alabama-Ohio State on New Year’s Day. Has a current Heisman winner ever faced the previous year’s Heisman winner in a bowl game? It’s happened twice. In the 2005 Orange Bowl for the national championship, that season’s Heisman winner Matt Leinart led USC to a win over Oklahoma and previous Heisman winner Jason White. In the 2009 championship game between Oklahoma and Florida, that season’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford was on the losing Sooners and previous Heisman winner Tim Tebow played for the winning Gators.

A native Oregonian, Hank Stern had a 24-year career in journalism, working for more than a decade as a reporter with The Associated Press in Oregon, New Jersey and Washington, DC. He worked seven years for The Oregonian as a reporter in east Multnomah County, Washington County and Portland’s City Hall. In 2005, he became Willamette Week’s managing news editor and worked there until 2011.

Related Slideshow: Ten Coaches Who Could Replace Mike Riley at Oregon State

Here's a list of ten coaches who could possibly replace Mike Riley at Oregon State:

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Scott Frost

Offensive Coordinator, Oregon

Frost has been an assistant coach at Oregon for six years, and was promoted from wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach prior to the 2013 season.

He also played several seasons in the NFL.

When Oregon named Frost wide receivers coach, the Duck offense suddenly gained some toughness and effectively became a “power” team with its receivers laying blocks downfield.

His background — playing under Belichick, coaching under Kelly — inspires enough confidence for athletic directors to give Frost an interview. The success of his primary protege — Marcus Mariota — is enough to give him a deal.

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Brady Hoke

(recently fired) Head Coach, Michigan

When athletic directors hire coaches like Brady Hoke, they’re hiring him for the coach he could be — not for the coach he just was before he was fired.

Hoke has West Coast experience: he coached San Diego State in the Mountain West before taking his dream job at Michigan. He was even an Oregon State assistant from 1989 to ‘94.

Hoke may be a good coach, and he may understand the landscapes of recruiting out West.

However, his resume makes him look like one of those guys who never stops looking for the bigger, better job.

Any success at Oregon State, and the Beavs may see him running for greener pastures.

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Beau Baldwin

Head Coach, Eastern Washington

Beau Baldwin is rumored to be on an interview shortlist for Riley’s job.

He’s had moderate success at the FCS level, which has gained legitimacy in the Pac-12 since Chip Kelly came out of New Hampshire.

Like Kelly, Baldwin is thought to be an offensive innovator. After years of jet sweeps, fan in Corvallis are thirsty for new ideas that can compete with the team down the road.

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Dennis Erickson

Running Backs Coach, Utah

Erickson coached Oregon State during one of the better times of Beaver football. He’s in a lowly position now at an unglamorous job.

That means Oregon State could sign him on the cheap.

Because of his implosion at Arizona State, the Beavers may not be expecting an aging Erickson to be able to instill a winning culture.

They will be expecting him to bring in a quick influx of Chad Johnson-level talent, which may be enough to make him worth the hire.

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Steve Coury

Head Coach, Lake Oswego High School

Coury is a wildcard pick to replace Riley. Sure, it may seem crazy to think a major school would hire a high school coach; but just a few years ago, Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn was coaching Springdale High School in Arkansas.

Steve Coury has been the head coach at Lake Oswego high school since 1992. During his tenure, his team has been a perennial power and many of his players have gone on to play college football (a number of them have payed at Oregon State).

Coury has the personality and the youth to lead a program. He understands the landscape of high school football in Oregon well enough that he can at least win the in-state recruiting battle against the Ducks, which used to be annual gimme for OSU.

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Ed Orgeron

Before being passed over for the USC job, Orgeron was the highest paid assistant coach in the nation. When he filled in as USC’s head coach for a fired Lane Kiffin last year, he led the team to a 6-2 record, including an upset win over Stanford that sent gamblers into a tailspin.

Coach O has been the highest paid assistant coach in a nation for a reason: his players love him.

Although he was fired as the head coach at Ole Miss, keep one thing in mind — that was at Ole Miss, and it was a different time. He hardly stood a chance.

Coach O could be a big get for OSU.

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Don Pellum

Defensive Coordinator, Oregon

Pellum may not be interested in a head coaching job, but that doesn’t mean Oregon State shouldn’t interview him. Pellum is a talented coach who gets his players to respond to him.

Before he was named defensive coordinator he was Oregon’s linebackers coach. At that position, he cultivated NFL players out of mid-level recruits; and that’s a skill OSU will need if it wants to be successful.

If Oregon State wants its new coach to bring a new level of intensity and build a program in his own image, it should strongly consider reaching out to Pellum.

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Bronco Mendenhall

Head Coach, BYU

Bronco Mendenhall has also been rumored to be on Oregon State’s short list.

That’s for good reason — he’s a former Oregon State player.

He’s experienced moderate success at Brigham Young and in the wake of conference realignment, he’s found his team in a no-man’s land.

However, BYU coaches rarely choose to make lateral movements.

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Mike Norvell

Offensive Coordinator, Arizona State

At just 33 years old, Norvell is young enough to catch a lower price tag than other prospective coaches.

Considered to be a great offensive mind, Norvell is rumored to be going somewhere soon.

What sets him apart is his ability to relate to recruits, especially in Texas and California, where OSU recruiting has significantly leaned on in past decade.