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Oregon football: Chip Kelly and 5 replacements for Mario Cristobal

By Ethan Lee

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 03: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks looks on during the Pac-12 Conference championship game against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium on December 3, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Utes defeated the Ducks 38-10. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 03: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks looks on during the Pac-12 Conference championship game against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium on December 3, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Utes defeated the Ducks 38-10. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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MONTGOMERY, AL - MARCH 20: Head Coach Deion Sanders talk with his quarterback Jalon Jones #4 of the Jackson State Tigers during a time out during the game against the Alabama State Hornets at New ASU Stadium on March 20, 2021 in Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama State Hornets defeated the Jackson State Tigers 35 to 28. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
MONTGOMERY, AL – MARCH 20: Head Coach Deion Sanders talk with his quarterback Jalon Jones #4 of the Jackson State Tigers during a time out during the game against the Alabama State Hornets at New ASU Stadium on March 20, 2021 in Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama State Hornets defeated the Jackson State Tigers 35 to 28. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

4. Deion Sanders

Look, with all that Deion Sanders has done in a short period of time, it won’t be long before bigger and more prominent jobs start giving him opportunities to be their head coach. He may not have extensive coaching experience, but he is already working on developing a track record of being a winner.

In his first full season with Jackson State, the Tigers went out and managed to go 11-1 with the lone loss coming by five points against an FBS school. Sanders won the SWAC this season and was able to get some impressive crowds showing up to support Jackson State. He’s a dynamic recruiter and has an exciting personality.

There’s a lot to like about what Sanders brings to the table. He has very quickly proven that he can win as a college football coach.

Again, the biggest knock on Sanders right now is that he hasn’t been a head coach for very long. Making the move from Jackson State to Oregon would be a drastic change. Could Sanders thrive at Oregon the same way he has at Jackson State? Maybe. That remains to be seen.

Does he deserve a shot to lead a prominent program? Yeah, he’s shown that he does.

3. Blake Anderson

In 2020, the Utah State Aggies struggled throughout the season, going just 1-5. With Gary Andersen’s second stint at Utah State ending in disappointment, the Aggies turned to Blake Anderson to take over.

And Anderson very quickly found a way to win with Utah State.

With Anderson at the helm, the Aggies were thrilling on offense, scoring 33.2 points per game and averaging 453.6 total yards of offense per game. As a result, Anderson has guided Utah State to a 10-3 record, including a 46-13 victory over No. 19 San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game.

Prior to his time at Utah State, Anderson spent an extensive amount of time with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, making sure that the Red Wolves could remain competitive in any given season.

Anderson has demonstrated that he can be loyal to a program for a long period of time, so getting him to leave Utah State after just one season might be difficult. But, if the Ducks are looking for someone who could bring in an exciting offense and might be willing to stick around for a while, Anderson checks those boxes.

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