EUGENE -- We now continue our review of Oregon Ducks spring football, position-by-position, and attempt to project what UO could look like when fall camp rolls around in August.



The questions we will try to answer for each position include: What did we learn? What questions still remain? What new questions popped up?



Today: The coaches.



Oregon's defensive line and secondary each were hit hard by graduation and NFL early entry this offseason yet entered spring effusing confidence. Why? Because the task of replacing five Alamo Bowl starters would not be done with green rookies but with a mix of veteran upperclassmen and redshirt freshmen. There was familiarity with the system there, even if the responsibilities were new.



Oregon left spring feeling the same way about its coaching staff shakeup.

Out was retiring Nick Aliotti and his 17 years of experience as defensive coordinator. In stepped Don Pellum, a 23-year veteran of Oregon's staff, alongside new outside linebackers coach Erik Chinander, the former Oregon graduate assistant for three seasons.



The feeling after Oregon's 15 spring practices is that both Pellum and Chinander fell into their new jobs showing more "swagger" than growing pains. At a position level, Pellum worked with the inside and weak side linebackers just as he had for the previous 14 seasons.



Chinander returned to coach outside linebackers at the hybrid drop-end position, just as he had helped while under the tutelage of Aliotti and former defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro.



That's not to say neither faced challenges in April -- or that a tidy progress report is available for how they met them. But the signs looked promising from outside Oregon's practices.

Chinander took some time remembering both the verbiage of Oregon's playbook after a season with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and the skillsets of his position group. Likewise, his players said becoming comfortable with his style -- Chinander likes to yell and run after players equally when cajoling and congratulating -- took a bit to get used to but fell into lockstep within a few weeks.

Pellum's challenges were micro (managing a position group) and macro (installing a long-held defensive philosophy that includes changes in who blitzes and how often) in scope, but he felt the work was smooth.



Three of Oregon's other coaches, meanwhile, were one year removed from the adjustments Pellum and Chinander experienced. Receivers coach Matt Lubick, offensive coordinator Scott Frost and head coach Mark Helfrich all said they felt a deeper comfort in their second spring in new roles, which is to be expected.



"I think he's more comfortable with his position, I think I'm more comfortable with my position, I think all of us who are new in a spot are more comfortable," Frost said. "This spring was great for us because we really emphasized fundamentals."



Helfrich's personal growth, according to Pellum, was adding a more authoritative knowledge of all the positions, not just on the offensive side where he made his name. And on offense, Helfrich gave even more freedom to Frost.



"(Helfrich) was awesome last year that he let me call (plays)," Frost said. "He would make suggestions but if I wanted to overrule his suggestion he didn't say a word and so that's the best boss you can work for is someone who trusts you and gives you the ability to do your job. I'm certainly going to listen to him anytime he says anything because he's really smart and has done it a long time. He's been great at giving me the reins to the playbook."



Previously:

Secondary

Linebackers

Defensive line

Top story lines



-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif