In the Hot Take/Overreaction Culture everything is linked, and everything that happens is the beginning of dire consequences and a reflection of an implosive lack of control that will inevitably result in the downfall of The Program and maybe life as we know it.
Social media inflames everything that happens. Talk radio, be it sports or politics, takes a topic and turns it into a shrill flaming rant that incites outrage. Comment sections become playground battlegrounds of name-calling and cyber arm wrestling. Anonymous strangers poke each other in the eye with ridicule and personal insults. The ugliest, loudest voices win the day and set the narrative.
That's what's changed. That's how a hot topic becomes a crisis and controversy. It's the climate, the inevitable cycle of news brief/reaction/overreaction and dire prediction. Every other story now gets a title in capital letters. Deflategate. The Willie Lyles Affair. The Emails.
A coach getting drunk and driving home after having too many? In the days of Bear Bryant, Dennis Erickson and many others, that would have been a Saturday, sometimes even a Tuesday.
Remember in 2003 when Mike Price got frisky with some Florida strippers and lost his new job at Alabama after just a couple of weeks on the job? That was before the days of Snapchat, Instagram and selfies. Imagine the firestorm that might create now. Even so, it didn't exactly bring down the Alabama program forever. Instead, it led to the disastrous tenure of Mike Shula, which led to the legendary tenure of Nick Saban. Destiny is more than just the name of a dancer with a lot of eye makeup and not many clothes.
Getting back to Oregon and the present day, drunken driving is certainly a serious issue. It kills people. The Oregon administration acted rightly in dismissing David Reaves after five days of employment as the Ducks tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator.
Reaves screwed up. A staff and organization that had been working hard and feeling a lot of energy after a great first month on the recruiting trail decided to blow off a little steam, and he got into his car with a passenger at 2 o'clock in the morning, too drunk to drive.
Six cop cars showed up for the arrest, and the former South Florida coached was booked on charges of DUII, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
It looks bad. It sounds bad. It's a black eye for the program and the university that will shape the narrative about Oregon football for quite a while, particularly when coupled with the training incident that hospitalized three players just a week ago.
"What's Willie Taggart doing down at Oregon?" they'll say. "What kind of people has he hired, and how will this affect recruiting?"
"I hear that he's being put on notice, and if there are any more incidents he'll be fired for cause."
Wow.
The incidents involving coaches Reaves and Oderinde couldn't be more different, and neither one was a pattern of behavior or the result of bad hiring practices or a lack of oversight. Three guys trained too hard and needed IVs and observation. A coach went to a social outing and drank too much.
In both cases, the university handed down some strict discipline. Learning took place. Consequences were suffered.
Taggart has assembled a terrific staff at Oregon, knowledgeable and serious, some of the best recruiters and brightest minds in college football. They are motivated, straight-arrow guys with a record of excellence. Mario Cristobal, Joe Salave'a and Jim Leavitt are respected names in NCAA coaching with incredible recruiting prowess, widely known for their acumen and ability to lead.
None of them are angels or saints. But they can teach the game, lead players and identify and develop talent.
This staff has created unprecedented momentum and excitement on the recruiting trail, and Oregon fans can't wait to see what they can do in spring practice, practices they'll be allowed to attend.
No doubt that everyone on the coaching staff and everyone in the meeting room has gotten the message about oversight, consequences and keeping things clean and under control.
Provided they do that, this reboot of Oregon football is right on schedule, embracing destiny in just the right way.
