Helfrich in 2016
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Sport(s) | Football |
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Current position | |
Title | Head Coach |
Biographical details | |
Born |
Coos Bay, Oregon |
October 28, 1973
Alma mater | Southern Oregon |
Playing career | |
1992–1995 | Southern Oregon |
1997 | Vienna |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1996 | Southern Oregon (RB) |
1997 | Oregon (GA) |
1997 | Vienna (OC) |
1998–2000 | Boise State (QB) |
2001-2002 | Arizona State (QB) |
2003–2005 | Arizona St. (PGC/QB) |
2006–2008 | Colorado (OC/QB) |
2009–2012 | Oregon (OC/QB) |
2013–2016 | Oregon |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 37–16 |
Bowls | 2–2 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 Pac-12 (2014) 2 Pac-12 North Division (2013, 2014) |
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Awards | |
2× National Quarterbacks Coach of the Year (2010, 2012) |
Mark August Helfrich (born October 28, 1973) is an American football coach. He was the head coach for the University of Oregon from 2013 to 2016.
Recruited out of Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, Helfrich was offered an opportunity to walk on at the University of Oregon; however, he decided to attend Southern Oregon instead, where he was the starting quarterback from 1992 to 1995 and was a NAIA All-American. Helfrich saw his most successful season in 1993 as he set school records for passing yards, touchdowns, and total offense. In the winter and spring of 1997, he played quarterback professionally, while also serving as assistant offensive coordinator in Europe for the Vienna Austria Vikings.
Initially starting graduate school with his sights set on becoming an orthopedic surgeon, Helfrich's coaching career ignited at Oregon as a graduate assistant working closely under then offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter. When Koetter was hired as head coach at Boise State in 1998, the 24-year-old Helfrich went with him as the quarterbacks coach. At Boise State Helfrich coached Broncos quarterback Bart Hendricks. Under Helfrich's development, Hendricks won Big West Conference Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and guided the Broncos to the fourth best passing offense in the nation in 2000.
Helfrich followed Koetter to Arizona State when Koetter became the head coach of the Sun Devils. Under the coaching of Helfrich, Andrew Walter broke nearly every Arizona State passing record and John Elway's Pac-10 touchdown record. Walter would go on to be drafted in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Dirk Koetter would later praise Helfrich for his coaching abilities, "He can do it all in his head. He doesn't have to draw the pictures on the board (…) not many people can do that. He sees the game through the quarterback's eyes. We all have ideas, but if your quarterback can't execute those ideas, they are lines on a paper. Mark is as smart a football guy as I know."