The Oregon Ducks will promote offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal to head coach, replacing the departed Willie Taggart, according to Aaron Fentress of NBC Sports Northwest.
Cristobal joined Oregon as their co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach prior to the 2017 season after spending four years as Alabama's offensive line coach.
He is known as an elite recruiter and has earned the trust of the Oregon players. At least 70 players signed a petition expressing their desire to have Cristobal - who will serve as the interim head coach for the Las Vegas Bowl - take over the program on a full-time basis.
Cristobal, 47, has previous head coaching experience at FIU, where he went 27-47 and actually won a Sun Belt championship, guiding the Panthers to their first-ever winning season and a bowl win. FIU went 8-5 the year after that, but following a 3-9 season in 2012, FIU made the surprise decision to fire Cristobal - something they still haven't fully recovered from (though Butch Davis is doing a fine job).
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Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was also in the running to replace Taggart and reportedly plans to follow him to Florida State. However, the Ducks plan to make a heavy push to keep him.
Taggart left for FSU earlier this week after just one season at the helm in Eugene, guiding the Ducks to a 7-5 record.
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