Canzano: What might have been with Oregon and Mark Helfrich

Why the former Oregon Ducks coach didn't connect.

Mark Helfrich went 37-16 at Oregon in four seasons.

When I started out as a young sportswriter an editor gave me a piece of advice I think about frequently.

He used NASA’s space program as an example. Imagine that you’re sent to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to cover the launch of one of those rocket ships we see on television.

The news release might tell you the rocket stands 212 feet tall with a diameter of 27 feet. And that it’s loaded with liquid oxygen and methane. And that it took two years to build and cost taxpayers a trillion bucks.

“Forget about the rocket,” the editor said. “Nobody cares. Tell readers about the nutty scientist who built it.”

Which brings me to Mark Helfrich.