Many coaches offer lip service to it, but few carry through with passion and consistency. Mario Cristobal is one of them, and his staff follows suit. If you're a regular reader of DSA columnist Scott Reed, he's been writing for two weeks on the concept of family and the large role it played in the successful recruitment of 2019 defensive linemen Sua’ava Poti.

What makes it exceptional at Oregon is the absolute zeal with which the staff carries through this philosophy. They communicate to prospects, players and families that when they become a Duck, they're joining a family, and the support and commitment to their success on and off the field is genuine and relentless. What's impressive is how far this extends.

Once a Duck always a Duck! You are an inspiration for all of our players! And Will be HONORED to have you back here to speak to the TEAM!!! https://t.co/BspPmZguER — Mario Cristobal (@coach_cristobal) January 30, 2019

Thanks to the @oregonfootball staff for coming all the way from Eugene to Mobile to support their guy @JalenJelks in this year’s #seniorbowl. pic.twitter.com/5H4uH868s0 — Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 23, 2019

Another look at our team's weekend on the hill!#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/sHX5xBWY0Q — OregonGridiron (@OregonGridiron) January 29, 2019

In the classroom, the weight room, a recruiting trip or the inner tube hill, the commitment and passion is the same. Bonds like these are the thing that get a program or a player through adversity. Teams with this kind of culture hang together in the fourth quarter, in the tension of November, in the stress and distraction of a playoff run. When Cristobal was hired as Oregon coach, reporters asked him about his overriding philosophy, the principles that guided him as a leader and mentor. He said simply, "Do it every single day as if you're coaching your son. It doesn't make you kinder or gentler, but it's to maximize the potential of every single student-athlete in the program. This is their final stop, after this it's on (in the real world). "The important thing to us is we operate on a foundation of trust. When you have that, you cannot be broken."

Mario Cristobal has shown himself to be a coach who stands up for his players and never stops believing in them. The decisions of Justin Herbert and Troy Dye to return for their senior seasons is a stirring endorsement. (AP)