The Willie Taggart era has gotten off to a very bumpy start in Eugene, to say the least. Taggart’s hiring at Oregon was met with near universal praise in early December, and yet just over a month later, troubling signs have emerged from the new administration.

As detailed by Andrew Greif of The Oregonian, offensive linemen Doug Brenner and Sam Poutasi, as well as tight end Cam McCormick, were all hospitalized following the beginning of the team’s winter conditioning under new strength coach Irele Oderinde. While at the hospital, the Oregon players were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, which is when muscle becomes so broken down “leakage into the blood stream of muscle contents” can occur. Oderinde was soon suspended for a month without pay.

Oderinde came with Taggart from USF. Soon after the incident, Taggart issued an apology to the players.

If that incident wasn’t bad enough, co-offensive coordinator David Reaves was arrested in Eugene over the weekend for DUI. Reaves also following Taggart from USF to Oregon.

Making that incident even worse was the fact Oregon was hosting several recruits for an important recruiting weekend for the new staff. You can imagine how difficult it would be for parents to allow send their children off to play for a coach who got a DUI during their official visit weekend.

Oregon has acted swiftly with Reaves and will reportedly let him go before he ever coaches a game in Eugene:

The latest news comes from another new assistant coach, this time receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty. Dougherty did not coach with Taggart at USF but comes over from Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan staff. It was revealed Tuesday that Dougherty was with Reaves upon his arrest for DUI:

If Oregon doesn’t close out its 2017 recruiting class strong by National Signing Day thanks to these events, it could make for a long offseason in Eugene.

All of this bad press will go away if the Ducks win big this fall but it will be awhile before Taggart and his staff have a chance to prove anything on the field. Considering the talent Mark Helfrich left for Taggart to inherit, the wins may not come immediately for Oregon. With Stanford and now Washington picking up steam in the Pac-12 North, Taggart has his work cut out for him in his first season with Oregon.