The Oregon Ducks offense did pretty well in their first game after offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer was fired, gaining 441 total yards in a 34-26 win over No. 20 Northwestern on Saturday.

Jay Johnson is calling the plays for the Ducks for the remainder of the season, but Oregon's offensive coordinator job is expected to be one of the more exciting openings in college football in this hiring cycle.

A big coaching domino fell on Sunday that ties into the Ducks’ offensive coordinator position. Florida State fired head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday after the Noles fell to 3-5 by losing to Clemson on Saturday night.

Tom Fornelli asked in jest how soon until Norvell will be named the offensive coordinator at Oregon.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is familiar with Norvell. Lanning was an inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator (2016–17) at Memphis when Norvell was the head coach of the Tigers. 

For Norvell, the Oregon job would offer him a chance to coach at a program with vast resources. He could focus on the offense while providing Lanning experience on the coaching staff. 

There are questions about Norvell's ability to develop quarterbacks. It wouldn't be a slam-dunk hire, but it's something for Oregon to consider. And now that Norvell is out, the Ducks can start to look at the former FSU head coach to help Oregon for the 2027 season.

Oregon is 5-3 after beating Northwestern on Saturday. Nobody knew what the Ducks would look like after Lanning ruled quarterback Dante Moore out for the season and fired Mehringer. 

The Ducks have a lot of fight, and they have an opportunity to make things interesting this weekend when they travel to play No. 11 Ohio State. The Buckeyes were soundly beaten by USC on Saturday night. 

Ohio State will be without quarterback Julian Sayin, who suffered a shoulder injury against Indiana on Oct. 17 and is expected to be out for the rest of the regular season and likely the postseason.

The Ducks should have an opportunity to beat Ohio State. Clearly, the Buckeyes are not the same without Sayin on the field. 

Then, Oregon will play Michigan, Michigan State, and Washington to finish the season. All three of those games are winnable. It's not inconceivable that the Ducks could finish the regular season 9-3 and 7-2 in Big Ten play