Canzano: Breaking some Washington Husky helmet news
The story behind Oregon smashing that Huskies helmet.
I broke some news to Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning this week. At halftime, his team smashed a Washington Huskies’ helmet in the locker room last Saturday. I informed Lanning he isn’t the first UO coach to take a sledgehammer to an opposing team’s football helmet.
“Did you know that?” I asked.
“I didn’t,” Lanning shot back. “Talk to me.”
Former Ducks coach Mike Bellotti had a fondness for smashing things in the locker room. He even utilized a sledgehammer a couple of times to motivate his team. Bellotti lugged one into the Stanford locker room before a game on the road years ago. He set a Cardinal football helmet on the concrete.
The players circled up, shouting.
As former defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti told me back then: “It didn’t go very well. He hit the helmet. The helmet didn’t break.”
It went flying across the room like a watermelon seed.
“The guys were fired up anyway,” Aliotti said.
Lanning loved that story.
“So this is great,” he told me. “Mike (Bellotti) and I talked. You know, we talk a good amount, and he’s always great. After games, I’ve always asked him, ‘Hey, watch it. Just tell me what you see. That doesn’t mean I’m going to agree with it, but let me know what you see.’
“Not that I don’t value your opinion, John, but I like to know what Mike thinks, right? So he’ll hit me. And you know, I don’t think it’s a secret, we’ve struggled at times in the second half this year. So I said, ‘Give me some thoughts, man. What have you done in the past?’ And he mentioned smashing stuff. And I was like, ‘OK, you think that’s successful?’ and Bellotti goes: ‘Oh, yeah.’”
The exchange between Lanning and I happened on my radio show. The Ducks’ coach is preparing to play Penn State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday. Lanning was in an easygoing mood, riffing about Thanksgiving, Gallagher the comedian, the College Football Playoff, and the work that goes into recruiting.
“I think you need to have (Bellotti) on your show and ask him about what kind of things he smashed at halftime,” Lanning told me. “Because it sounds like he was Gallagher. Yeah, it sounds like he was just in there, just smashing stuff, right and left.
“I didn't know that he’d done helmets.”
Lanning didn’t smash the Washington helmet himself. He delegated the duty to his strength and conditioning coach, Wilson Love. Originally, Lanning planned to swing the sledgehammer himself, but then, he got to thinking about the risks involved.
“I thought through it,” Lanning said, “and I was ready to smash the helmet. I was ready to roll. I brought it up to Marshall (Malchow), our chief of staff, and a couple of other people on our staff earlier in the week. I said, ‘You know, I think it’s really important we start right the second half. I think this would fit our theme and some of the stuff we’re talking about. See if you can get me a (Washington) helmet.’ I was planning on it up until that day.”
Lanning happened to look out his office window and observed Love, the program’s strength and conditioning coach, banging a sledgehammer on a line of tires as part of a creative workout.
“I kind of pictured all those moments that you just talked about, right?” Lanning told me. “Like you're hitting something, and what if the helmet doesn’t break? That would be frustrating, right? Like, these helmets are strong nowadays. So yeah, I was like, ‘Hey, Wilson. I mean, how confident do you feel?’ He’s like: ‘Coach, I got it. I can do this.’ And he did.
“I mean, that was some really successful smashing by Wilson. Best guy I’ve seen with a sledgehammer, you know? It was impressive. I was glad I wasn't wearing the helmet at the time.”
While Lanning was telling the story, I was sifting through my notes. I’ve been covering sports in the region for more than 20 years. Bellotti smashed at least two football helmets that I know about. Also, at UCLA in 2008, the coach confronted a cooler filled with ice and Gatorade in the visiting locker room.
Said Lanning: “I’m telling you this is going to make a great book. Yeah, a great book… I don’t know. There’s something here. We should do something with this.”
The Ducks defeated Washington, 49-21, on Saturday.
Last week, I wrote a column about the looming Oregon-Washington matchup. I used the term “catharsis” to describe what was potentially ahead for Lanning. He was 0-3 vs. the Huskies all-time. While the Ducks were heavy favorites on Saturday, beating UW after being ‘o-fer’ would cause a release of pent-up emotion.
Did Oregon’s coach feel that while smashing the helmet and, subsequently, beat Washington?
“Yeah. I don't know if I felt it at that moment (of the helmet getting smashed), but that night, I probably felt (it),” Lanning said. “Yeah. Yeah, it was good. It was good to go up there and beat the team up north.”
Just Win. Just Win.
I asked Lanning about the College Football Playoff rankings. Everyone appears frustrated with the selection committee except undefeated Oregon. The commissioners are complaining, fans are bellyaching, and the on-air honks at ESPN are busy propping up the SEC.
What does Lanning make of the SEC-ESPN love affair?
And all the whining going on about the playoff committee?
Said Lanning: “They pay the bills, right? Doesn’t the (ESPN) pay their bills? I mean, who’s their contract with? Isn’t that ESPN’s contract? So that’s how it works. Like, let’s not pretend like it doesn’t work different than that. But, you know, there’s a secret to all that, John — just win. Just win. They can’t deny you if you just win. You can’t complain if you just win. So, you know, if you lose three games, shame on you, right? If you lose two, shame on you. Right? Win.”
Flipping a Recruit on Signing Day
“Recruiting is not like a one-day thing,” Lanning said. “I think everybody watches signing day, and they’re like, ‘Oh, look, they got these guys to jump and flip,’ and that’s not really how it works. You recruit year-round, and we have a great staff that puts a lot of effort into getting the best players here. Several of those guys that maybe seem like flips on signing day were guys that we felt really comfortable about three months ago or four months ago. You’ve got to battle down to the end. And yeah, I’m really excited about the class that we brought in.”
Lanning on the recruitment of five-star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who was committed to Cal before flipping to Oregon:
“We’ve been dating for a while. Me and Jaron have been dating for a while, so, uh, yeah, it worked out. I’m really excited about him, you know. Just told him at the end. ‘Man, follow your heart. Like, what’s that telling you? Like, that doesn’t lie to you. And if it’s not us, then it’s not us. But if it is like, dang, man, what an opportunity, right? To go play at the University of Oregon and compete for championships like, isn’t that what you want to sign up for?’ So, and that sounds like that’s what he wanted. So it worked out.”
My radio show airs weekdays from 3-6 p.m. across several affiliates. Listen live in Portland (750-AM), Eugene (1050-AM), Bend (92.5-FM), Klamath Falls (960-AM), Roseburg (1490-AM), and Medford (107.9-FM).
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“Just win. They can’t deny you if you just win. You can’t complain if you just win.” Tell that to Florida State 2023. Go Cougs!
Dan needs to tell the rest of the story. I refuse to believe that you can land any 4 or 5 star QB without a big payday. Let's hear how much was paid. All the NFL contracts are public knowledge and no one pretends a player goes to the team whose coach he likes the best.