Bryan Harsin doesn't have the cachet that Chris Petersen enjoyed at Boise State, and Willie Taggart looks like the fall-back choice if a minority hire is part of Oregon's plan. The top choice in that regard would be Penn State's James Franklin, who's accomplished much more than Taggart and is only four years older at 44. Franklin makes $4.5 million at a Nike school, so bumping him from 10th to third on the salary list at $6-plus million, behind Harbaugh and Saban, might be enough. He also molded a three-star sophomore QB into an outstanding passer this year, and he'd bring some solid, loyal assistants, especially on defense, west with him. His winning the Big Ten this year would turn a lot of recruiting heads toward Oregon immediately if he were hired. Harsin and Taggart wouldn't.

Reaching for and getting a big name seems imperative with this hire, because ticket sales matter very much at Oregon. Harsin or Taggart isn't enough to make a difference there, just as Altman wasn't.