Nearly two weeks ago to the day it was announced that the Ducks would be parting ways with ballyhooed defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt; a “mutual decision” arrived upon by both parties after it became painfully obvious that neither Leavitt, nor head coach Mario Cristobal, were interested in resolving whatever differences they had beyond the 2018 season.

Almost as soon as the Leavitt news was announced, speculation was rampant as to who would rise as his replacement. That speculation almost exclusively centered around current Oregon safeties coach Keith Heyward, who along with defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, added “co-defensive coordinator” to his title prior to the 2018 season. Heyward, who has never served as a full-time defensive coordinator, is regarded as an ace recruiter and one of Cristobal’s top overall assistants, and in many ways, is a better fit for the young, energetic culture Cristobal has aimed to instill since taking over as head coach.

Fast forward to Tuesday, and it appears the Ducks have found their man to replace Leavitt. But it’s not the name that many, if any, outside of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex expected.

Though the hire has yet to be officially announced by the university as of time of publish, multiple reports expect Cristobal to name Boise State defensive coordinator Andy Avalos – not Keith Heyward – as the Ducks’ next defensive coordinator.

In his three seasons heading up the Broncos defense, the 37-year-old Avalos never had a group that ranked lower than 52nd nationally in total defense, 38th in scoring defense, and 42nd in overall defense for advanced metrics like S&P+. In short, Avalos has an impressive early track record as a defensive coordinator and is widely regarded as one of the best young defensive minds in college football.

Below, WFOD takes a closer look at the hire and attempts to answer some of the biggest questions stemming from this newest addition to the coaching staff.

How might Avalos’ hire impact Heyward’s desire to stay at Oregon?

This is probably the biggest question on the minds of most Duck fans, especially given the recent fallout of the Leavitt-Cristobal divorce. It’s also perhaps the most difficult question to answer, as few truly know how Heyward feels after getting passed over for a job that many anticipated was his to begin with.

On one hand, it’s hard not to feel somewhat slighted if you’re in Heyward’s shoes. Not only is he a well regarded and highly valued member of Cristobal’s staff, but he’s also a coach who likely feels he’s paid his dues in his quest to one day become a defensive coordinator, and perhaps eventually a head coach. The opportunity for him at Oregon appeared ripe for the picking following Leavitt’s departure, especially given the widespread rumors that suggested that Heyward was the true brains behind Oregon’s defense last season – not Leavitt.

On the other hand, though Oregon has a well documented history of promoting from within, Cristobal, if nothing else, has proven that he has every intention of doing things differently than his predecessors. Heyward’s assumed claim to the defensive coordinator job may have been heartfelt and even valid to an extent, but it was by no means his by rights. Cristobal would be doing a disservice to both himself and the program had he elected not to vet all of the options available to him and instead gone with a safe play that didn’t ruffle any feathers. In the end, he appears to have found a coach that was a better fit for the job than the supposed candidate he already had in the building. In some respects, Cristobal should be applauded for denying blind loyalty and risking an awkward conversation with a valued member of his staff, and opting instead to follow his convictions.

What happens to the “co-defensive coordinator” titles held by Heyward and Salave’a?

If you’re a Duck fan wondering how pissed Heyward – and perhaps by extension, Joe Salave’a – might be in aftermath of Avalos’ hire, you’ll want to pay close attention to whether the two coaches retain their “co-defensive coordinator” titles.

Stripping those titles from Heyward and Salave’a wouldn’t likely result in downgraded salaries for either coach, but it could foster a measure of animosity should it occur. Yes, everyone understands that Avalos will (in all likelihood) be the one running the show on the defensive side of the ball, thus rendering those titles more or less meaningless, but we’d be naive to forget that college football is nothing if not an ego-driven business. Cristobal could maneuver to assuage the theoretical discontent by giving both coaches a nice salary bump with the money left over from Leavitt’s departure, but would it be enough? Evidently it wasn’t for Leavitt, who had 1.7 million reasons to grin and bear it. Every situation is different, but hiring Avalos while also keeping his current group of assistants satisfied could require some delicate management on Cristobal’s behalf.

How might Oregon’s defense change schematically under Avalos?

Even before the arrival of Willie Taggart, Jim Leavitt, and Mario Cristobal prior to the 2017 season, the Ducks had primarily operated out of a 3-4 base defense that enjoyed some success – particularly during Chip Kelly’s days as Oregon head coach. With Avalos now calling the shots, the question becomes how far, if at all, do the Ducks deviate from their tried and true 3-4 alignment?

The easy answer is that Avalos will likely incorporate a number of concepts and formations that are both familiar and foreign to the Ducks’ current defensive personnel. However, it’s entirely possible that very little changes beyond the terminology Avalos decides to employ with his defensive schemes. Just a few weeks ago, Avalos was on record saying that his defense at Boise State was more or less transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in advance of the upcoming season. As The Oregonian‘s Andrew Nemec opines in his tweet, whether that decision was born out of a change in philosophy or a change in personnel is unknown, but it lends credence to the argument that things could look very similar from a defensive alignment perspective next season.

Could Avalos’ hire change the way Oregon utilizes Heyward on the recruiting trail?

Admittedly, this feels a little pie in the sky considering Keith Heyward’s noted recruiting prowess, but one does wonder whether Mario Cristobal considers changing the way he utilizes Heyward on the recruiting following the hire of Avalos. After all, Jim Leavitt was seemingly grounded during the 2019 cycle after he was passed over for the head coaching job in favor of Cristobal following Willie Taggart’s departure for Florida State.

In reality, things would have to become far more toxic than they were with Leavitt for things to drastically change with the way Cristobal deploys Heyward with recruits. And in that event, it would probably make more sense for both parties to go their separate ways rather than endure a season full of awkward interactions, which would be two in a row for Cristobal.

Assuming that doesn’t happen, it would make little sense for Cristobal to hold Heyward back or arrange things so that Heyward isn’t involved with top recruits. The truth is, any one of Cristobal’s assistants could be gone after one year, thus sidelining Heyward – arguably the best recruiter on Cristobal’s staff – or even limiting his interactions with recruits out of (potentially) irrational fear would only serve to hamstring your recruiting efforts. Furthermore, one of Cristobal’s known recruiting strategies includes assigning multiple coaches to a single prospect so as to mitigate any potential setbacks that might occur should an assistant leave for another job. Heyward may have lost out on his opportunity to be Oregon’s next defensive coordinator, but it seems highly unlikely that anything would change in terms of his and the team’s approach to recruiting.