EUGENE -- In the end for

, there were too many days like Nov. 12.



With a 3-6 record and three games left in college football's 2016 regular season, the Oregon Ducks entered the day facing a predicament not seen in years, needing to win all their remaining games to become eligible for a postseason bowl.



But those slim hopes were dashed quickly early that afternoon during UO's home game against Stanford. The Cardinal's sputtering offense, which averaged fewer than 20 points per game, erupted for 21 in the first quarter.



In the third quarter, Elijah Molden, the top-ranked Oregon high school recruit and the son of a former Ducks star enshrined in the school's Hall of Fame, announced he would attend archrival Washington.



By the fourth quarter, large swaths of Autzen Stadium, once one of the state's hottest tickets, sat empty. The 25-point defeat guaranteed UO its first losing season since 2004.



Afterward, Helfrich ended his postgame speech to players in the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex locker room with the same message he repeated for four years as UO's head coach: Take care of one another that evening. Though rarely an emotional speaker, Helfrich's admonition to stay out of trouble had a particular edge.



"We knew it was not the day to cross him," one player said.



Within nine hours, Eugene police arrested defensive tackle Austin Maloata near campus for DUII, among other charges.



"Right then and there, Helfrich made it clear as day, don't do anything stupid," said another UO player. "Something stupid happens."



The day encapsulated a 4-8 season that several UO assistants likened to "a perfect storm" as Oregon's poor performances on the field were compounded by a lack of discipline off it. At the heart of the unraveling was a void of leadership and commitment that fueled inconsistency and breakdowns at all levels, from players who brushed off teammates' critiques to coaches who failed to hold them accountable. Overseeing it all was Helfrich, a cerebral thinker without an iron fist.



Somewhere in its quest to "Win The Day," Oregon stopped heeding the details, said a dozen players, coaches, administrators and boosters in interviews with The Oregonian/OregonLive.



"The little things define you as a team," a third UO player said, "and we were missing a lot of things."



All those little things added up to a huge change: Oregon's first firing of its head football coach in 40 years.



"It goes back to the culture," Ducks athletic director Rob Mullens told The Oregonian/OregonLive. "With the parity in college football and the level we compete at, every little piece matters and I know the formula has worked here, obviously. We won a lot of football games. Over the last eight months, something changed."

"Broken windows"

Those inside the program say the bitter end of Oregon's 2015 season, its 31-point collapse in the Alamo Bowl against TCU, felt like a distant memory by springtime.



But if that humiliation was behind them, other issues awaited.



In the weight room during the offseason, a large number of players, and rarely the same ones, balked at completing UO's weightlifting workouts. One current Duck -- who like all players interviewed requested anonymity in exchange for their candor -- recalled teammates who finished workouts to the letter, but with much lighter weights. Another said it was common for some to mark down that they had completed all the repetitions -- even though they had not done so.



At the height of summer, players left the weight room barely sweating.



"Half effort," one player said. "Cutting corners."



In the offseason, when NCAA rules limit how often position coaches can observe workouts, sneaking this past the powers that be wasn't difficult. Though UO's strength and conditioning coaches have offices in the football complex's sparkling weight room, many keep their primary offices in the Casanova Center's old facility where they work with other UO teams, too.



The cost of those incomplete workouts added up.



Because Oregon typically recruits leaner, speedier athletes, it often plays at a strength disadvantage -- and the skipped work widened that divide as summer turned to fall.

During 2016 practices, several Ducks said, players cut short their repetitions in the weight room and on the practice field in moves that were called symbolic of the team's lack of commitment and focus.

As fall practices began, other issues arose. Undeterred by the punishment of extra running after Thursday practices, players arrived late for meetings time and again.

During the Ducks' simple "stretch" period that opened each practice, players began cutting repetitions. They were each supposed to go a distance of 20 yards, loosening up for practice with a mix of jogging, stretching and skipping. But many stopped short, and they weren't always held accountable by teammates or coaches, some of whom chatted among themselves instead of watching the warm-up.

By itself, the drill did not win or lose Oregon any games, players said. But the shortcomings were symbolic of the small fissures developing inside UO's foundation last season.



When players later groused publicly that the team lacked unity, they might as well have been talking about "stretch," which, done correctly, required only a few minutes of focus.

"I'd relay what happened just as there's a term, 'broken windows,'" said Steve Greatwood, who coached for 25 seasons at UO over two stints, most recently overseeing the offensive line. "If there's an abandoned factory it can stand untouched for weeks, maybe months, years, unscathed. But as soon as someone throws a rock through the first window, it doesn't take long for all the windows to be broken out."

Leadership void

In Oregon's team structure, players are the first line of defense for accountability if teammates shirk responsibilities. UO calls it "horizontal" leadership, with freshmen granted as much of a voice as seniors, but in reality a strong upperclassman presence is necessary.

Yet unlike in past seasons, when All-Americans Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu kept especially close watch in the weight room, the pushback against those cutting corners this fall wasn't as forceful or effective. Players who say they tried to raise issues during workouts often received blank stares back.



Injuries blunted the effectiveness of other leaders such as receivers Dwayne Stanford, Devon Allen and linebacker Johnny Ragin, and the void was never truly filled. There were high hopes that graduate transfer quarterback Dakota Prukop would grow into a leadership role, given the demands and visibility of the position. He'd arrived in January, giving him nine months to prepare for the regular season. But he was replaced as starter after four games by the gifted, but quiet, true freshman Justin Herbert.



More than one player said the Ducks were selfish.



"This year it was about individuals," redshirt safety Brady Breeze said at a news conference a day after Helfrich's firing. "Guys were doing it for themselves or so they could go for the league (the NFL), and not really worrying about how the season was going but worrying about how good their stats are."



Many interviewed contend the locker room atmosphere wasn't as corrosive as it seemed when, in October, true freshman Brenden Schooler and senior Cameron Hunt separately called out teammates they believed no longer cared about winning.



Yet the team dynamics weren't always harmonious: When veterans called out younger teammates, the young guys often shot back, which upset veterans who felt younger players hadn't earned the right.



"The biggest thing we need to work on is being better teammates," offensive lineman Doug Brenner said after Helfrich's firing. "As a teammate, you have to set high standards for yourself, and the great teammates also hold your other teammates to the same high standards."

Colorado defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon (23) intercepts Dakota Prukop's pass in the final moments of a Sept. 24 game at Autzen Stadium in front of receiver Darren Carrington. The interceptions sealed Colorado's victory and Oregon's second loss in a row -- part of a losing streak that eventually would reach five.

Sloppiness on the field

Privately, Oregon coaches left the summer concerned about the team's inexperience and lack of vocal upperclassmen, and as a result were cautious with the expectations surrounding UO. In August, Oregon was ranked in the AP preseason Top 25 poll for the eighth consecutive season.



But if some at UO figured the Ducks might take a step back in 2016, their fall was deeper and faster than expected. At the end of September, Helfrich likened the team's 2-2 start, with losses to Nebraska and Colorado by three points apiece, to a "train wreck."



Receiver Darren Carrington was prophetic when he told reporters in August that Oregon would "shock a lot of people" in 2016 -- just in a way few saw coming.



UO's sloppiness had carried over to the field. It committed 19 personal foul penalties, allowed a school-record 41.4 points per game and offensively scored on an opening drive just once in 12 games.



Instead of making rash changes, Helfrich preferred that Oregon trust the culture that had delivered a Pac-12 title two years prior.



But even Helfrich acknowledged UO's Oct. 8 blowout loss to Washington was "different than a normal loss." The Huskies hung 70 points on the Ducks' beleaguered defense, more than any UO opponent since 1941. As salt in the wound, UW was coached by former Ducks assistant Chris Petersen. Many interviewed wished Helfrich had put coaches and players on notice, even if it went against his personality.



"Sometimes," one player said, "it's better to be feared than loved."



The oddity: Helfrich was known for his attention to detail.



Colleagues call him one of the most intelligent people they've ever worked with; before coaching, he planned to become an orthopedic surgeon. The team-building exercises he scheduled in spring 2014, and his refusal to make any knee-jerk reactions following UO's first loss that season, both were cited as galvanizing moments in Oregon's run to the national title game at the end of the season.



He also was plugged into the world outside of football, a rarity in the all-consuming job of college coaching.



Helfrich, who did not return messages for this story, assigned veteran players to mentor incoming freshmen and accommodated all manner of requests from ill Ducks fans from across the country. Helfrich, whose youngest years were spent in southern Oregon, was among the first at UO to push to honor the victims of the October 2015 mass shooting at Umpqua Community College near Roseburg.



He helped conceive and execute UO's tribute to Sam Foltz, the late Nebraska punter, in Lincoln on Sept. 17, with Helfrich and Ducks kicker Matt Wogan laying a bouquet of yellow flowers on the 27-yard line (Foltz wore 27) along Nebraska's sideline before the game. Wogan had known Foltz from camps. The gesture drew cheers from Nebraska's student section, then praise across social media.



"He thought of the actual idea," Wogan said of Helfrich. "It was emotional."

Mark Helfrich and Matt Wogan bringing flowers over to the 27-yard line in honor for Nebraska punter Sam Foltz pic.twitter.com/CGs1QI5ZLa — Tyson Alger (@tysonalger) September 17, 2016

Players and colleagues recall Helfrich at his best in those personal moments of collaboration, one-on-one, whether watching film or meeting personally. But in front of a group he could seem uncomfortable and fail to capture the room. Helfrich's jokes during team meetings often bombed.



Even players wholly supportive of Helfrich felt his communication was lacking, and that the increasing questions about his job status this fall made him increasingly easier to tune out.



If players sought a rah-rah leader by default, Helfrich's own default was to go analytical. His key themes were less you versus your opponent, and more you versus yourself. It didn't always resonate.



Said one offensive player: "We don't have a room full of thinkers on our team."

Injuries and off-field issues

The morning after the loss to Washington, assistants left to recruit like it was business as usual. Though Helfrich later met with Hunt, the offensive lineman, to discuss his postgame assertions that a large percentage of players did not care, Helfrich did not chew out any of those whose play or effort was out of line, according to players who spoke to The Oregonian/OregonLive.



But this wasn't business as usual for Oregon. Its losing streak skidded to five, the program's longest in 20 years, during a nationally broadcast game at Cal on Oct. 21. The silver lining was the play of Herbert, who threw for six touchdowns in the defeat.



When Oregon finally snapped the streak Oct. 29 against Arizona State, it was a fleeting respite from the slog.



"We suck," one player recalled feeling. "But we don't suck that bad."



The win temporarily buoyed the mood, but the following week Oregon fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter against USC, one of seven times this season UO trailed by at least two touchdowns in the first half.



"It just didn't seem like it could have gotten that bad," said one booster, who requested anonymity to preserve his relationship with the athletic department. "Clearly it was not going in a direction that anybody was really excited about. It was kind of hard to wrap your head around."

Mark Helfrich pats defensive back Ugo Amadi on the helmet after a California touchdown on Oct. 21, during UO's fifth consecutive loss, its longest losing streak in 20 years.



One reason was recruiting. Two months before the season opener, UO emerged from the specter of three years of NCAA probation and scholarship reductions. For a school located far from traditionally talent-rich areas, however, the killer was the reduction of paid, official recruiting visits from 56 to 37.



But recruits also said staff could handcuff themselves: One former "blue-chip recruit" playing in Monday's national title game between Clemson and Alabama told a college football podcast that UO staffers weren't savvy in their use of social media.



UO's 2016 signing class was its first since 2009 to be ranked outside of Rivals.com's top 25, and due to attrition, the Ducks became startlingly dependent on players from that class. True freshmen led the team in passing, tackles, sacks and interceptions. UO's starting lineup against USC featured eight freshmen. Injuries or disciplinary reasons cost starters listed on the season-opening depth chart a combined 42 games.



By November, the offensive and defensive line had so few healthy bodies that Oregon often abandoned its usual 3-on-3 blocking circuit in practice.



The injuries exposed the Ducks' already thin depth chart, and the losses took a toll on team confidence. Past UO teams shined on the big stage of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, but players said the body language was flat from the start. Oregon's pregame locker room was quiet. Next door, a blaring soundtrack of Meek Mill could be heard from USC's quarters.



"The one thing about our past teams was we never worried about where we were in the game until the very end because we knew even if we got behind, we could come back and win games," said Gary Campbell, who coached UO running backs since 1983. "You've got to be confident you can make something happen and you can win the game no matter what. I don't think our team had that attitude, particularly after losing some close games."



Big losses followed. After Oregon's Nov. 12 loss to Stanford, it had allowed 50 points or more in six of its previous 20 games. The program had allowed 50-plus points six times combined between 2000-14. First-year defensive coordinator Brady Hoke didn't have many answers in his postgame review after Stanford. Instead, he tried looking ahead.



"We have to have a hell of an offseason," Hoke said.



He wouldn't get another in Eugene. As bad as the Ducks' on-field results were, a steady drip of off-field incidents factored into UO pulling the plug on Helfrich and his staff after one losing season.



Helfrich said UO became aware that defensive end Torrodney Prevot was under investigation in the spring for alleged assaults on a former UO female student-athlete. Prevot has since been suspended from UO for two years, a school spokesman said, after being found responsible for a "serious violation of the student conduct code."



Between early October and mid-November, six more players were charged with or accused of violent acts that include allegations of sexual assault.



On weekends, support staffers sent team-wide texts to players telling them to be mindful of their activities, but after the string of off-field incidents, a frustrated Greatwood chose a more direct approach on Nov. 19.



That evening, after Oregon returned home following its upset of Utah in Salt Lake City, the assistant coach showed up to Taylor's, the popular off-campus bar that had been the site of at least one incident involving a player this fall, players present said. He made his way into the crowded bar, then began ordering all players inside to go home immediately.

Coaching change

Oregon's season ended without a bowl for the first time since 2004. Any hope of sneaking into the postseason through the back door as a 5-7 team ended when Oregon State overcame a 10-point deficit to win its first Civil War in nine seasons.



The day after the loss, Helfrich and his assistants left to recruit with their futures in limbo, still waiting for a decision from UO's decision makers. Two days after he left town, Helfrich was asked to return to Eugene. Mullens fired Helfrich Nov. 29 with a 37-16 record, and three years and $11.6 million remaining on his five-year deal.



"I wanted to give every opportunity throughout the season to get this righted and there was a point there toward the end where I just didn't see the trajectory the way that it needed to be," Mullens said.



Helfrich told his assistants over a conference call, then stood with his family and said an emotional goodbye to players at a hastily arranged team meeting. A number of players later lined up outside his office to share their thanks.



Assistants received the official notice of their termination the following day by certified mail. The next time many staffers heard from anyone at UO came three weeks later when Mullens called to thank a few of the longest-tenured assistants.



The athletic director said he understood if the optics appeared cold to a staff with five coaches who had spent at least the past decade at UO, but added the certified mail was school policy and wasn't reflective of the school's appreciation.





Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens introduces new football coach Willie Taggart on Dec. 8 in Eugene. Taggart was previously head coach at South Florida and Western Kentucky, and in addition to calling UO's offensive plays is considered an ace recruiter. Within hours of his introduction with UO, he was on a plane visiting athletes. "He knew there was some ground to make up on the recruiting trail," Mullens said.

"This staff won a lot of football games and took us to a special place," Mullens said. "We're very thankful."



In an ESPN Radio interview Dec. 2, Helfrich revealed that he called former UO coach Chip Kelly "when it looked like this was going south" to share that his feelings would not be hurt if Kelly took the UO job, because it might save longtime assistants' jobs. Helfrich hadn't shared news of the call with his assistants during the season, one assistant noted.



But Kelly, who would be fired himself by the NFL's San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1, wasn't returning. Oregon hired Willie Taggart from South Florida, persuaded by his recruiting, his ability to rebuild a program and references from well-respected former colleagues such as Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby. A report from CBSSports.com indicated Temple's Matt Rhule turned down the job.

Mullens said he was swayed by Taggart's plans for everything from discipline to academics and recruiting. In his first month on the job, Taggart has impressed his boss by his energy putting those plans in place: The 40-year-old coach has been known to fire off text messages in the middle of the night.



"He knew there was some ground to make up on the recruiting trail, so he had to hit it hard," Mullens said. "In a short amount of time, he's made up a lot of distance."





Taggart will be judged by how quickly Oregon can again close the gap with Pac-12 title contenders such as Washington, which reached the College Football Playoff this season. There are "no excuses" for UO not to be successful in returning to power, Taggart said.



Shortly after his Dec. 7 hiring, Taggart met with players to get an understanding of what went wrong. They told him about the weight room, about the stretching sessions and more. In recent days, Taggart made clear players must "get our priorities back in place."



Taggart said his job is not to judge how the program had been run, only to improve it.



"You kind of look at how they did things, and how you do things, and if you can do something differently to make it better," he said. "I think whenever you're struggling as a program, it's the little things."



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif