Pete Martini

Statesman Journal

Oregon football head coach Willie Taggart is targeting a big name to join the Ducks staff as offensive line coach, according to a report by FootballScoop.com.

The website reports that Taggart has made an offer to Alabama offensive line coach Mario Cristobal, who is preparing for Monday’s national championship game against Clemson.

Hiring Cristobal, who has coached at Alabama under Nick Saban since 2013, would be a home run for Taggart.

Cristobal was a part of the Crimson Tide’s national championship team in 2015, and as a player, he was a part of Miami’s 1989 and 1991 national championship teams.

Cristobal has deep recruiting roots in the South, a hotbed of college football talent. In addition to being an assistant at Alabama, he also was head coach at Florida International University, as well as an assistant with Miami and Rutgers.

If he were to come to Eugene, Cristobal would become the third member of Oregon’s staff to have previous FBS head coaching experience, joining Taggart (Western Kentucky, South Florida, Oregon) and defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who was the head coach at South Florida from 1996-2009.

If Cristobal is hired, he would replace longtime Oregon offensive line coach Steve Greatwood.