Rowland out at OTC

Nike is cutting the program at the end of the year. Not official but there has been rumors among the birds at USAs.

This is the beginning of the Eugene realignment. Rowland out. OTC pro team will go away. Jerry to UofO and BTC will be the new home team.

So would Jerry run the UofO program and still coach Bowerman? And would he just be running the program, or would he be coaching distance? And where does that leave Ben Thomas?

If BTC aligns with UofO, they will have the ideal recruiting pipeline as well. Can use Nike money to funnel the top HS recruits to Oregon under NIL and then right to Bowerman after.

Could this mean Rowland will coach Gabriela DeBues-Stafford and Gen Lalonde instead of Trent Stellingwerff?

That's my big question as well. Would be crazy if GDS had to switch coaches again after the last few years

I don't believe Trent coaches Lalonde, I believe she is co-coached by his partner Hilary and long-time highschool coach out east Joel Bourgeiois. Historically athletes just choose their own coach (best fit) with AThletics Canada, and lots of athletes out in Victoria/Vancouver that aren't coached by an AC Coach - i can't see that changing. SO if GDS feels Stellingwerff is the best fit/option for her, it would stay that way.

I can't see Jerry going back to coaching college. No way. He's been out so long, fully invested in BTC, has a big team there to manage. Where is any of this coming from?

My understanding is that Trent+Hilary Stellingwerff co-coach their athletes with one taking point on certain athletes. From GDS strava and social media she did quite a few workouts with Lalonde post BTC pre her injury. Hilary is listed as head coach at UVic, Trent is listed as an assistant there too. Seems there isn't much of a distinction.

I highly doubt AC would force her to change coach. I could see Rowland and Stellingwerff(s) collaborating on some workouts and pooling resources for camps, but given how tight Stellingwerff is with AC management (former IST lead, i think he still consults for them as a scientist), the number of CAP (Athletics Canada sponsored athletes) athletes he works with (Bishop, Lalonde, GDS, Wodak), I don't see AC giving them a hard time about that.

100% I imagine Will Paulsen and Brandon McBride will go with Rowland to Victoria and leave OTC.

OTC has been dead for years. Good riddance.

re: Schumacher to Oregon

It only comes up because people lack imagination. In reality he's not suited to an administrative role, has no experience doing that (was an event coach at Wisconsin, never a head coach), and has failed miserably with anything larger scale than pure coaching while at BTC (his response to the Houlihan positive and the Debues departure come to mind).

If they really wanted Schumacher in Eugene they'd give him an assistant position and hire an administrator to be the head track coach. It would be an uninspired hire, but the people pulling the strings at Oregon aren't very creative they just have a lot of money.

OTC Elite is not without some excellent talent and I don't envision them leaving Eugene. A logical promotion might be to have Pascal Dobert take over. He is a likeable and energetic guy who has paid his dues under Schumacher and has had success, especially with the Steeplers.

This is correct. there is no way Jerry is going back to college.

Adobe has it right on the money. Jerry being hired by Oregon would be just about the worst hire in collegiate history. Think about trying to run the two-headed monster in Oregon cc/track and BTC at the same time. There is no one in the country that could do justice to both groups. And Jerry wouldn't even be close to someone to do this. Little to no experience with a collegiate overall program. This hire would make TRACK coaches in the country giddy.

Thomas to OTC, integrates with the informal “Ducks Track Club” of Teare, Hocker, and West

Lets Oregon replace Johnson with a distance-oriented person

I think this makes a lot of sense

Mandy white to sprints, RJ to lane CC, Ben Thomas to open his own daycare. “Ben’s play pen.”

Pascal couldn't organize a one car parade. He had a real job at Nike for a while and could barely open his email. To give him responsibility again would be a mistake.

Not unreasonable considering how much nepotism drives what Nike / Uncle Phil does. Knight finds people he trusts and sics them on whatever dirty deeds need doing - Howard Slusher is the best example. I think it's >50% chance Capriotti gets the impresario position at Oregon to whip the place into shape, with no coaching responsibilities and just a bunch of assistants below him coaching their own events.

10 years too late. Was the dead end for careers for >decade. Think of the piles of dead careers buried there in Eugene. I mean, it is DEEP.