For the second time in three days, the Oregon football team hired an assistant coach from the NFL.
Mike Gillhamer, who has spent the last three years working with the NFC Champion New York Giants, was chosen to coach the Ducks’ defensive secondary Wednesday, according to Mike Bellotti, Oregon head coach.
Gillhamer joins Robin Ross, who was hired Monday by Oregon from the Oakland Raiders to be the Ducks’ special teams and linebackers coach.
“For us to add a second coach from a NFL playoff-level organization is a tremendous statement about how the Oregon football program is perceived by other coaching professionals,” Bellotti said in a released statement.
Gillhamer fills the final coaching vacancy and will take over for Bob Gregory, who left to take over the defensive coordinator position at Boise State. Gillhamer’s contract will pay him an annual salary of $90,000 and will last until June 30, 2002.
He has 13 years of experience coaching college defensive secondaries but spent this past season guiding the Giants’ running backs in their Super Bowl season. He cited the opportunity to move back to the defensive side of the ball as one of the main reasons for returning to the college level.
“I felt this was a great opportunity to go to one of the top-10 college programs in the country and get back on defense, as well as go to a great place to raise my family,” Gillhamer said.
Gillhamer, 44, made a strong impression in New York and helped the Giants’ ground game earn a No. 3 ranking in rushing with an average of 125.6 yards per game. Needless to say, his presence will be missed in the professional ranks.
“Mike has done a great job in the four years he has been with the Giants,” New York head coach Jim Fassel said in a released statement on the Giants’ Web Site. “I have high regard for Mike and his coaching ability, and I wish him nothing but the best at Oregon. This gives him a chance to work on the defensive side of the ball, which is his first love.”
Gillhamer began his coaching career at the College of the Sequois from 1979 to 1983 and then moved onto Weber State in 1984. He served as the defensive backs coach at Utah (1985-89) and San Jose State (1990-93) and then accepted a position with Nevada to coach the defensive backs in 1994. He was promoted by the Wolfpack to defensive coordinator in 1995.
His final collegiate coaching spot was as the defensive backs coach for Rutgers in 1996 before heading to New York in 1997.
“I’ve known Mike quite a while from his days as a coach on the West Coast,” Bellotti said. “So I’ve been aware of his expertise as a defensive backfield coach. Mike is very detailed oriented, a great teacher, an excellent recruiter and understands the techniques required to be successful in the secondary.
“[He’s] a great fit for us.”