Rob Mullens needs to make a decision soon. Time is not a luxury here, given the recruiting challenges any new Ducks head coach will face, and putting a staff together with assistant coaches, etc. According to news reports, by the Cal game on October 21, the Ducks were already seriously considering firing Helfrich. That's about six weeks ago; that's a lot of time.

The search firm has had a defined list of candidates to be the next Ducks head football coach, and three on that list have been interviewed -- Harsin, Taggart, and Schiano. Given the time crunch, there can't be many more left to interview. I don't think P.J. Fleck is in the mix, nor is Dan Mullens, head coach at Mississippi State who Mike Bellotti said on ESPN should be on the short list. And today, Baylor has hired Matt Rhule, (Temple's head coach) as its new head coach. I think Taggart fits the Ducks best, given the combination of experience, recruiting assets, coaching upside, and Tony Dungy's positive reviews.