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Oregon fires coach Mark Helfrich after four seasons

Oregon coach mark Helfrich has been fired after four seasons. (Getty)
Oregon coach mark Helfrich has been fired after four seasons. (Getty)

Oregon announced Tuesday evening that it has fired coach Mark Helfrich after four seasons as the school’s head coach.

Helfrich coached the Ducks to a 37-16 record after taking over for Chip Kelly when he left for the NFL in 2013. Helfrich’s Ducks reached the College Football Playoff championship game in 2014, but after that season the success started to decline. The Ducks went 9-4 in 2015 and had a dismal 2016 campaign, finishing 4-8, which was the worst finish since finishing 3-8 in 1991.

The Ducks were especially bad on defense ranking in the bottom of both total defense (518.4) and scoring defense (41.4) nationally. And the season ended with the first loss to rival Oregon State since 2007.

[Rivals.com: Mark Helfrich’s QB missteps at root of his downfall at Oregon]

“It is a great honor to have served as the head football coach at the University of Oregon,” Helfrich said in a statement released by the school. “It is with respect and disappointment that we receive this decision. Plain and simple — we didn’t win enough games this season.

“Finally, to the players — thank you, and I love you. The future is bright for this young, talented team, and we will be supporting them and their new leadership.”

Helfrich’s buyout is $11.6 million with three years remaining on his current contract, according to Aaron Fentress, who first broke the news. Oregon hasn’t hired from outside the program since 1976.

[For complete coverage of Oregon coaching situation, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com]

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!