'Albert Einstein for Football': Oregon Players Can't Stop Praising New OC

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Replacing a successful offensive coordinator is rarely seamless for a College Football Playoff contender.

But early reviews of Oregon's new offensive coordinator, Drew Mehringer, suggest the Ducks are confident they haven't missed a beat.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning promoted a coach from within for the first time in his career, and Mehringer was the lucky winner.

Previous OC, Will Stein had left town to take the head coaching job for the University of Kentucky, opening the door for Mehringer to take over.

Mehringer has coached at nine different programs and now takes over one of college football's most explosive offenses after previous offensive coordinator experience at Rutgers, James Madison, Florida Atlantic and New Mexico.

And based on the reactions from players, it could be the best thing for Oregon’s already-lethal offense.

"Coach Stein did one hell of a job here. He pushed the group and kept the offense operating the way it was supposed to operate. I hope he does great things at Kentucky, but Coach Mehringer is a scientist." quarterback Dante Moore said. "He's really smart and does a great job dissecting defenses and making sure we have the right play called. He has been coaching me and the rest of the players really well."

Additionally, running back Dierre Hill Jr. likened Mehringer to a “magician,” but senior offensive lineman Kawika Rogers was effusive in his praise for his new OC.

"He's like Albert Einstein for football," Rogers said. “He's the man. He'll look at it for five seconds and turn around and tell you what they're in, what the D-Line is in, tell you where they're going to rotate, what coverage they're in — everything. He can tell you what play to run, what play to pass, if we should pass, RPO. Coach Mehringer is like that."

Many questions surrounding Oregon’s potential to win a national championship are lying on the coordinators. Apart from Mehringer, the Ducks also had to replace defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi with internal promotion, Chris Hampton.

However, given how well received Mehringer was with the Ducks’ players, it doesn’t seem like Oregon is too concerned.

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