Ducks name Mark Helfrich head coach - KPTV - FOX 12

Mark Helfrich has been named the 32nd head football coach in Oregon Ducks' history.
 
Helfrich is an Oregon native and was mostly recently the Ducks' offensive coordinator under coach Chip Kelly, who joined the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles last week.

Helfrich agreed to five-year contract worth $9 million.

Ducks athletic director Rob Mullens said Helfrich "exemplifies excellence, leadership and character."

"Everything kept pointing back to Mark Helfrich," Mullens said of the hiring process.

Helfrich said his team will attack on all fronts, and continue to "embrace innovation."

"I promise you we will work as hard as we possibly can to make you proud," Helfrich said in a statement to Ducks fans.

Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota said he's excited to continue to learn from Helfrich.

"Win the day and all that? That doesn't change for us," Mariota said of the Ducks under their new head coach.

Helfrich is the first native Oregonian to be Ducks' head coach since 1942.

Born in Medford, the 1992 Marshfield (Coos Bay) High School graduate turned down an opportunity to walk on at Oregon in favor of attending Southern Oregon University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1996.

He was a four-year starting quarterback at SOU.

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