Legendary Oregon coach to headline annual coaches clinic

Mike Bellotti is heading back to Oregon. He won’t be on the sidelines, though.

Bellotti is headlining the Ducks’ annual coaches clinic as one of the speakers, the program announced Wednesday. The event starts Thursday and goes through Saturday.

Legendary Oregon Head Coach Mike Bellotti joins the lineup of guest speakers at our 2022 Oregon Coaches Clinic April 7–9.

Registration:https://t.co/0IJafadJXP #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/X4fGTQWkrw

— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) April 7, 2022

Bellotti coached the Ducks from 1995-2008, amassing a 116-55 overall record and a 72-43 mark in Pac-10 action. He also took Oregon to 12 bowl games during his tenure and back-to-back league titles in 2000 and 2001.

Bellotti ended up leaving the program after the 2008 season to become Oregon’s athletic director. He held the position until March 10 when he resigned to join ESPN as a college football analyst. While he was the athletic director, multiple disciplinary issues came up in the football program and he fired men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent.

The coaches clinic is going to be the first under Dan Lanning, who’s taking over for Mario Cristobal after serving as the defensive coordinator at Georgia.

Oregon reveals four legends will serve as honorary coaches for spring game

Oregon revealed four legends are returning to campus as honorary coaches for their spring game. In a video announcement on Twitter, the program announced De’Anthony Thomas, Haloti Ngata, Arik Armstead and LaMichael James are going to teaching the Ducks.

“Legends returning,” tweeted Oregon Football. “@DATBLACKMOMBA13, @Haloti_Ngata92, @arikarmstead and @LaMichaelJames will be back in Autzen Stadium on April 23 to serve as honorary coaches at the Oregon Spring Game.”

First, former offensive weapon De’Anthony Thomas and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata will coach the Yellow Team. For the Green Team, former running back LaMichael James and defensive end Arik Armstead will lead the charge.

As Dan Lanning looks to lead Oregon into a new era, he’s bringing back some of the legends that helped make Oregon great. It’s a smart tactic, as he’s teaching his players what it takes to win with the Ducks.

While Lanning wants his team to move forward, the lessons learned from the past greats will be invaluable. The Ducks will be better for having four legends return to Eugene to help teach them.