Mark Helfrich ( American football ) Mark Helfrich ( born October 28 , 1973 ) is an American football coach . He is the current head football coach at the University of Oregon , where he previously served as the offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012 . Playing career . Recruited out of Marshfield High School in Coos Bay , Oregon , Helfrich was offered an opportunity to walk on at the University of Oregon , however he decided to attend Southern Oregon instead , where he was the starting quarterback from 1992 - 1995 and was a NAIA All - American . Helfrich saw his most successful season in 1993 as he set school records for passing yards , touchdowns , and total offense . In the winter and spring of 1997 , he played quarterback professionally , while also serving as assistant offensive coordinator in Europe for the Vienna Austria Vikings . Coaching career . Early coaching years . Initially starting graduate school with his sights set on becoming an orthopedic surgeon , Helfrich ' s coaching career ignited at Oregon as a graduate assistant working closely under then offensive coordinator , Dirk Koetter . When Koetter was hired as head coach at Boise State in 1998 , the 24 - year - old Helfrich went with him as the quarterbacks coach . At Boise State Helfrich coached Broncos quarterback Bart Hendricks . Under Helfrich ' s development , Hendricks won Big West Conference Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and guided the Broncos to the fourth best passing offense in the nation in 2000 . Helfrich followed Koetter to Arizona State when Koetter became the head coach of the Sun Devils . Under the coaching of Helfrich , Andrew Walter broke nearly every Arizona State passing record and John Elway ' s Pac - 10 touchdown record . Walter would go on to be drafted in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft . Dirk Koetter would later praise Helfrich for his coaching abilities , " He can do it all in his head . He doesn ' t have to draw the pictures on the board ( … ) not many people can do that . He sees the game through the quarterback ' s eyes . We all have ideas , but if your quarterback can ' t execute those ideas , they are lines on a paper . Mark is as smart a football guy as I know . " In 2006 Helfrich joined the Colorado staff to become the youngest offensive coordinator in college football on the BCS level at the age of 32 . His three seasons at Colorado were a challenge as he developed the Buffaloes dismal offense into a modest improvement . Despite the offense struggling and being poorly ranked nationally , Helfrich was on Oregon ' s radar after the 2008 season . University of Oregon . Initially , after the 2006 season Mike Bellotti contacted Helfrich about possibly joining Oregon before Chip Kelly was hired in 2007 , but Helfrich declined to leave Colorado after only one season . Two years later , Helfrich was named Oregon ' s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on April 30 , 2009 , replacing Chip Kelly ' s position as he had been promoted to head coach . Offensive Coordinator ( 2009 – 2012 ) . During Helfrich ' s four seasons as Oregon ' s offensive coordinator the offense produced tremendous success , ranked highly nationally in several offensive categories and became well known for their extremely fast - paced offense built around speed . Although Chip Kelly called the plays on offense , Helfrich still played an integral role in Oregon ' s system . He had a large amount of involvement in the game planning , scripting , and coaching on a weekly basis while having a high amount of input in what plays are called and why they are called . Kelly spoke highly of his protégé , " He ' s really , really smart and has great people skills . Sometimes , smart people can ' t get their point across , but he ' s a great communicator . When I hire people , I want to hire very , very smart people . I wanted somebody who came from a different system . I didn ' t want a yes - man . I wanted someone who would bring new ideas to our system . " With Helfrich coordinating under the philosophy of innovative spread offense guru Chip Kelly , the Ducks played in four straight BCS bowls from 2009 to 2012 , won three straight Pac - 12 Conference championships , and continuously energized college football with one of the nation ' s best offenses in scoring , rushing , and total offense in each of those four seasons . As offensive coordinator during the Kelly era , the offense averaged 44 . 7 points per game with an average of 283 . 4 rushing yards and an average of 500 . 7 yards of total offense . In 2012 Oregon ' s offense was hailed as its best ever as they averaged 49 . 6 points per game with an average of 537 . 4 yards of total offense with 315 . 2 of those yards per game from rushing . As quarterbacks coach , Helfrich was instrumental in the development of the quarterbacks that played under his tutelage at Oregon . In 2009 , Jeremiah Masoli ' s leadership improved as he led Oregon to the 2010 Rose Bowl . The following season sophomore Darron Thomas guided an undefeated Oregon team to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game . Thomas finished his career 23 - 3 as a starter with a school - record 66 touchdown passes and led the Ducks to a 45 - 38 victory over # 10 Wisconsin in the 2012 Rose Bowl . The 2012 season showcased Marcus Mariota as the first freshman to start a season opener for the Ducks in 22 seasons . He led the Ducks to a 12 - 1 record while being named All - Pac - 12 Conference First Team , Pac - 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year , and winning the 2013 Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP Award as he guided the Ducks to a 35 - 17 victory over # 5 Kansas State . Helfrich was recognized for his impact on the Ducks ' offensive success as he was named by FootballScoop as its National Quarterbacks Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2012 , in addition to being one of three finalists as its national offensive coordinator of the year honor . Rumors of Chip Kelly departing college football for the NFL were constant during his tenure as Oregon ' s coach . Kelly refused to accept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offer as head coach weeks after the 2012 Rose Bowl victory because he couldn ' t get a promise from Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens assuring him that Mark Helfrich would be his successor . When Kelly began to interview for numerous NFL head coaching positions after Oregon ' s 2013 Fiesta Bowl victory , it was rumored that a succession plan was put into place for Helfrich to be the next head coach of the Ducks if Kelly were to ever leave . On January 16 , 2013 , Chip Kelly left Oregon to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles . Due to an Oregon state law requiring public universities to interview at least one minority candidate for head - coaching positions , the succession plan became complicated . Head Coach ( 2013 – present ) . On January 20 , 2013 , Mark Helfrich , after speculation and anticipation , accepted the offer from the University of Oregon to become the head coach of the Ducks . As the successor to Chip Kelly , Helfrich ' s promotion continued an Oregon tradition . He is the third consecutive Oregon offensive coordinator promoted to head coach . Before Kelly replaced Mike Bellotti in 2009 , Bellotti succeeded Rich Brooks in 1995 . Since Brooks ' hire in 1977 , Helfrich is just the fourth head coach at Oregon . In his first season as head coach , Helfrich had the difficult task of trying to emerge from the shadow of Chip Kelly . Despite finishing the season with an 11 - 2 record and a top - ten final season ranking , Helfrich ' s first season leading the Ducks was considered by some to be a letdown . Losses to # 6 Stanford and unranked Arizona ( Oregon ' s first loss to an unranked opponent since 2008 ) kept the Ducks from reaching a BCS Bowl berth for the first time in five seasons . Helfrich did however lead his team to a victory over Texas in the 2013 Alamo Bowl , beating the Longhorns 30 - 7 in Mac Brown ' s final game as head coach . In addition , the Ducks offense set a school record for total offense in a season with 7 , 345 yards . Oregon ' s week two matchup versus # 7 Michigan State was hyped by national media outlets as college football ' s non - conference game of the year . After giving up 27 unanswered points to the Spartans , the Ducks would respond and score 28 unanswered points of their own to defeat Michigan State 46 - 27 , ending the defending Big - Ten and Rose Bowl - champion Spartans 11 - game winning streak . Oregon ' s dominance provided a statement win for Helfrich and it propelled Oregon to the # 2 ranking going into week three . Coaching tree . Mark Helfrich is a member of the following coaching trees : Family and personal life . Helfrich was raised about two hours from Eugene in Coos Bay , Oregon . As a child he would toss the football in Autzen Stadium after games , dreaming of someday playing for the Ducks . While playing quarterback at Marshfield High School , he was recruited by Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti to walk on at Oregon . Both his father and uncle played football for the Ducks and his brother and mother went to school at Oregon as well . The first Oregon native to become head coach of the Ducks since 1942 , Helfrich describes coaching at the University of Oregon as being the pinnacle of his career . He and his wife Megan have two children .