Here's Why These Candidates Would Be Smart Hires For Oregon

If you thought that the headline-grabbing coaching changes throughout the NCAA were going to stop with Tennessee, Cal Poly and Auburn, then you were wrong. 

That's because on Friday, in the ultimate news dump, the University of Oregon announced it was letting go head coach Robert Johnson, the program's Director of track and field and cross country who's been with the program since 2011.

As a result, a national coaching search is now underway to find the Ducks' newest leader. Below, we offered a few suggestions as to who could take over for Johnson and lead the iconic program.

Carl Lewis

CURRENT:  HOUSTON ASSISTANT, TRACK AND FIELD

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Do I even need to explain this? On paper, Lewis, the legendary track and field icon who is currently serving as an assistant coach on the University of Houston program, would be the perfect fit.

Making that decision, however, may not be as easy as it may seem.

As most know, Houston is also in a hole after the departure of Leroy Burrell. Lewis is currently the clear favorite to take over that head coaching role. Doing so would allow Lewis to have more control and pay without having to completely restructure a program from scratch. 

At the same time, a pay day from Oregon would be more than what Houston is willing/can offer (at least, theoretically). Lewis, after all, is an iconic name in the track and field world. And his recent work with Houston would be enough to gain an interview. 

Given Robert Johnson's previous role, which closely worked with the sprinters on the team, it would make sense to have Lewis step into this spot. Oregon's current distance coaches, Ben Thomas (men) and Helen Lehman-Winters (women), only just arrived in Eugene a few years ago. Lehman-Winters has taken over the program in the interim. 

Thomas, on paper, has been exceptional, too. 

Those factors make it less likely (but not impossible) for a distance coach to be hired and more likely for someone like Lewis to be brought in.

Mike Smith 

CURRENT: NAU DIRECTOR OF XC & TRACK AND FIELD

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This would be big. Eugene, Oregon is the Mecca of distance running and Smith has done wonders for the Lumberjacks' men's and women's distance programs. He has helped his men's team not only sustain their great cross country success, but he has also developed an all-time dynasty.

With Duane Ross and Leroy Burrell now in the Southeastern Conference, Smith remains as the only non-Power Five Director consistently in the NCAA's top-tier of teams during each three seasons who is not in the Power Five.

Given his frame of work, Smith could yield a greater payday from Oregon compared to what Northern Arizona would be able to offer.

The only challenge with a Smith hiring is that Ben Thomas and Helen Lehman-Winters are already the men's and women's distance coaches, respectively, for the Oregon Ducks. Thomas has been very good during his very short time in Eugene.

As of late, Thomas has been responsible for developing names like Cooper Teare, Cole Hocker, Charlie Hunter, Reed Brown and numerous others. When it comes to the best men's distance coaches in the NCAA, Smith and Thomas have always been in the same conversation.

So to hire Smith could also mean the departure of Thomas. 

 mith's name has been floated around in a few coaching circles and he's a popular pick among many speculative track and field fans.

Vin Lananna 

CURRENT: VIRGINIA DIRECTOR OF XC & TRACK AND FIELD

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The idea of Vin Lananna returning to Eugene would make a ton of sense.

Lananna, who came out of retirement in 2019 to join the University of Virginia as the team's newest Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, is one of the most respected coaches in NCAA history.

The 2012 USTFCCCA Hall of Fame coaching inductee won six NCAA titles between all three seasons -- between the men and the women -- during his previous seven-year stint at Oregon. Lananna was also responsible for sustaining Oregon's elite history of success and then handing the program to Johnson, who took the Ducks to even greater heights.

But before Oregon, Lananna was a superstar coach at Stanford, where he won five other NCAA team titles, the foundation for his all-time lore amongst coaching circles. A reintroduction to the University of Oregon would make sense.

Lananna is one of the most influential names in the sport and has tons of familiarity with the Ducks as a program. However, Lananna is also 69 years old and has already come out of retirement once.

Seeing him as a long-term solution for this opening is the drawback. It's also hard to see Oregon bringing in someone who effectively replaces an outstanding distance coach in Ben Thomas on the men's side.

Connie Price-Smith

CURRENT: OLE MISS DIRECTOR OF XC & TRACK AND FIELD

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Oregon's unfilled Director role is a massive opportunity for the Ducks to make a statement.

Introducing a women's coach in this scenario -- especially as the program endured some controversy with female athletes recently -- would be a massive win for the much-needed coaching diversity that the NCAA currently lacks.

NC State coach Laurie Henes would be a great candidate to pursue, but she's already having tons of success with the Wolfpack. It would be hard for her to walk away from a women's team that likely has one or two more cross country titles in the cards.

Coach Caryl Smith Gilbert has become one of the most respected and most dominant coaches in the NCAA. She specializes in the sprints and would be an incredible piece for the Ducks. However, she only just arrived at Georgia (from USC) last year.

But what about Connie Price-Smith? The Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Ole Miss has had some respectable success with the Rebels. The Ole Miss men and women were never truly competing for SEC titles over the last few indoor and outdoor track seasons, but they did reset the all-time highs when it came to the Rebels highest conference and national meet finishes.

Admittedly, most of the Rebels' greatest firepower came in the distance events thanks to the services of Ryan Vanhoy, who transformed Ole Miss into a middle- and long-distance powerhouse.

However, Vanhoy is now gone, and maybe that's why it makes the most sense for Price-Smith to look for a new challenge. With her superstar distance coach gone, now may be the best time to cash-in her chips and transition to an Oregon program that already has a strong supporting staff there.

Yes, Price-Smith's background as a thrower is a bit non-traditional when it comes to Director roles at the NCAA level, but the four-time Olympian has the best athletic pedigree of almost any coach in the NCAA and her name would likely carry some weight in Eugene.