Oregon's 2016 season will mostly be remembered as a disappointing year that ultimately led to the firing of Mark Helfrich and the hiring of South Florida coach Willie Taggart.
The season started with high expectations as many assumed that Helfrich’s graduate transfer experiment in 2016 with Dakota Prukop would go as it did in 2015 with Vernon Adams Jr. It did not, and with a struggling defensive unit under Brady Hoke, the team failed to play consistently which ultimately pushed Oregon to a 4-8 record, its worst since 1991. With young talent and a new coach, hopes are high that a turnaround could be possible starting in 2017.