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Tim DeRuyter is not perfect.
Let’s put that aside from the start. Super nice guy and smart by all accounts. Outstanding defensive coordinator at Cal over the past two years with a 3-4 attacking pattern that gives fouls. But when DeRuyter was head coach at Fresno State, he missed it when he recruited a kid from Texas over a Fresno County native named Josh Allen.
Allen went to Wyoming.
DeRuyter went 30-30.
Which brings us to the big news on Friday – the Oregon Ducks are expected to announce that DeRuyter will be hired to come in and lead the defense. The college football recruiting plant operating in the Hatfield-Dowlin complex at the University of Oregon is not often lacking. I like the rental, if it is formalized. And I’m only bringing up DeRuyter’s mixed head coaching experience to make a point – some guys can really recruit, others can downright coach.
No one should be surprised that Oregon apparently focused on DeRuyter when he needed to recruit a defensive coordinator. The guy owned them.
DeRuyter has tied Mario Cristobal’s offense in knots over the past two seasons, limiting Oregon in two straight games to 17 points per game.
That’s all the Ducks could muster face-to-face against DeRuyter, including one with Justin Herbert at quarterback. No other defensive coordinator on the calendar has held UO a more anemic outing over the past two seasons. No one else has ruled Oregon twice in the half. Which is why hiring DeRuyter is particularly smart, and frankly, why I won’t be surprised if the Ducks break the conference drought and grab a place in the college football playoffs over the next two seasons.
It is moving forward, however.
DeRuyter loves to lobby and is adept at disguising blankets. He has this reputation as a good guy. Gamers, colleagues and the media love it. But what I like most about this rental is how well it fits into Cristobal’s operation at the moment.
Cristobal is still evolving as a head coach and game director. He’s a talented recruiter. Its high-end messaging makes no sense. Ducks run with relentless energy. But there are glaring holes in the handling of the game. Not the kind of problems that cost you a Pac-12 title. But the kind of things that sometimes make you lose a match, you should either win it or keep it closer than it should be.
At Cal, DeRuyter was the 263rd highest-paid assistant in the country last season. His base salary of $ 400,000 ranked him 36th in the Pac-12. (His total compensation, including a retention bonus of $ 300,000, was $ 825,000). He will win more in Oregon and have a chance to win bigger. It wasn’t Cristobal’s most difficult recruiting and, frankly, works for DeRuyter in a meaningful way.
Oregon has a great coach to combine with all this top notch talent. But DeRuyter is fortunate enough to absorb some of Cristobal’s head coach strengths, especially recruiting. Plus, he won’t have a defensive head coach looking over his shoulder. If DeRuyter wants to become head coach again, that amounts to more than just a payday transfer. It’s a bridge to a boss position someday, just like offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.
It is a good location for ducks. Probably the best they could have done, considering he turns DeRuyter from foe to friend. No other candidate would have the mix of expertise and familiarity with the conference. Washington was also on the hunt for a defensive coordinator, and getting DeRuyter means the Ducks beat them to the rank of the best possible candidate on the West Coast.
I like the fact that Cristobal wasn’t afraid to bring in assistants with previous head coaching experience. First Moorhead, now DeRuyter. It smacks of confidence. I told Cristobal that after hiring Moorhead he seemed confused. But I don’t think every head coach sitting at the conference welcomes new ideas and values like Cristobal does.
He enjoys looking outside the room for answers.
Cristobal did it with the hire of Andy Avalos and again with Moorhead. Now he’s done it with DeRuyter. That’s three direct key hires. Maybe the outward moves will rub some of Cristobal’s current staff the wrong way. But I suspect they recognize that what Oregon doesn’t need at all right now is to step aside. We had to step up. He didn’t need another great recruiter. It took a trainer.
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