Thomas Boyd/The OregonianMark Helfrich says he found coaching accidentally, but it's worked out for the Ducks' offensive coordinator.
LOS ANGELES -- When Max Helfrich crawled into Santa's lap the week before Christmas and asked for "something cool," Mark Helfrich knew that fulfilling his 4-year-old's request probably wouldn't have anything to do with football.
Max, the oldest son of Mark and Megan Helfrich, isn't into sports just yet. He might be seen running around the Moshofsky Center with his dad many days after Ducks' practice, but a love of the game hasn't rubbed off on the first of Mark Helfrich's two children. Unlike his father, Max hasn't been a football junkie since he could walk.
"I've loved football ever since I can remember," Helfrich said Thursday in Los Angeles, where the Ducks (11-2) are preparing to take on Wisconsin (11-2) in the Rose Bowl on Monday. "I always wanted to be a player, but I wasn't good enough to do that on multiple levels. My design in life was to be a doctor and I was kind of angled that direction. ... "
Then coaching came along.
An NAIA All-American at Southern Oregon in Ashland, Helfrich hung around after graduating and worked as the running backs coach. Then, in what he describes as a "by chance" situation, Helfrich wound up as a graduate assistant at Oregon. "I just kind of lucked into that part of it," he said. That graduate position led to stops at Boise State, Arizona State and Colorado before returning to Eugene, where he has become the man in charge of the Ducks' offense.
Well, sort of in charge.
Make no mistake, this offense is the brainchild of Chip Kelly. And for the most part, it's the head coach doing the play-calling. But sometimes, no one might be calling the plays; Kelly has talked about how the Ducks will script a plan before the game about what play they'll run in certain yardage situations, a necessity because of their fast-paced offense.
But Helfrich, now in his third year as offensive coordinator at Oregon, has gained more trust with each season and, according to Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas, is as important a piece as anyone else.
"I think Chip's getting a lot of publicity but coach Coach Helf does all the dirty work," Thomas said. "He's the guy teaching us everything but I don't think Coach Helf is worried about (the attention). He's worried about getting us prepared, he's worried about the team."
This year that knack for teaching has led to Helfrich's name coming up in reports during coaching searches at Washington State, Arizona State and Fresno State. One of the youngest offensive coordinators in the Pac-12 at 38, Helfrich says he never had a conversation about any of those jobs.
In fact, he's not sure he wants to be a head coach.
"I don't know," he said in November. "Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A lot of people who I know that have done it, there's mixed emotions."
By the sounds of it, Helfrich is still gleaning everything he can from Kelly.
Helfrich says Oregon assistants "collaborate on everything as an offensive staff," and that it's "awesome" to work for Kelly.
Thomas Boyd/The OregonianDarron Thomas (right) says Mark Helfrich is one of the most well-liked coaches on Oregon's staff.
"He's just a very, very smart guy," Helfrich said. "He's a very positive guy, a funny guy. He has a great feel for the players, too. If guys need to be patted on the fanny or kicked in the fanny, he always gets it right."
Thomas describes Kelly and Helfrich as having "similar minds" and said that this season, the Ducks have incorporated into their playbook more of what Helfrich ran at previous coaching stops.
"I think he has a lot of input in telling Coach Kelly what we do best," Thomas said. "We ran a lot of his offense this year. ... We run the same plays he ran under center, but we run them in the (shot) gun. He knows how to work with speed guys and put them in the best position to put the ball in their hands."
He's also one of the most popular people on the Ducks' staff. Kelly is known for his short, often terse, interactions with the media, so it's Helfrich who has become the spokesman for Oregon's offense. Within the team, Thomas says he might be the most well-liked coach.
"He's a funny guy," Thomas laughed. "He's been to a lot of different places and he's coached many different ethnic groups so you can talk to him about anything. ... He just loves to play the game, loves to coach the game."
--Lindsay Schnell (I came, I saw,
)
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