Former Oregon head football coach Mark Helfrich spoke publically for the first time since being fired by Oregon on Tuesday when he went onto ESPN Radio's Russillo and Kannell's national radio show Friday morning.

"I am doing as best as possible at this point," Helfrich said.

Helfrich said he felt like he was coaching for his job over the last month of the season. The Ducks entered the final stretch 3-5 and finished the year 1-3 for a 4-8 final record.

"It's kind of a week to week deal in our existence," said Helfrich. "It was kind of what we were in the last month or so. Nobody is safe in this business. You just have to do the best you can."

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When Helfrich was asked what went wrong he said the "little things" and "the details that you do" played a factor, but there were many issues at play with this team. Helfrich also addressed the youth, the poor defense, and the injuries this team dealt with.

"We had a very, very young team playing a tough schedule and injuries," said Helfrich. "That is probably one of the most frustrating parts. We had it where 1o of the 11 guys playing the right coverage, but one guy wasn't and it was a touchdown."

Helfrich was raised in the state of Oregon, grew up an Oregon fan, played college football at Southern Oregon, spent a year as a graduate assistant coach, and has most recently been on staff at Oregon since 2009. That connection with the Ducks made this decision a tough one to handle.

"It would have been easier getting fired from wherever else," said Helfrich.

What's next for Helfrich? He said he's got options as a head coach or as an assistant at the college level and that he's also heard about NFL options as well.

"Everything is open now," said Helfrich.

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Helfrich was 37-16 as the head coach of the Ducks from 2013 to 2016. In 2014 he won a Pac-12 championship and led the Ducks to the innagural College Football Playoff Championship game.