Oregon fires Helfrich

Oregon has fired coach Mark Helfrich after a disappointing 4-8 season, and just two years after getting the Ducks within a victory of the program's first national championship.

Helfrich was head coach of the Ducks for four seasons, leading the team to the first College Football Playoff championship game after the 2014 season. But Oregon faltered this year with a five-game losing streak, and finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 North with just two conference wins.

After taking over when Chip Kelly left in 2013, Helfrich went 37-16. He had an $11.6-million buyout on his contract.

Helfrich met Tuesday night with athletic director Rob Mullens and was told was being dismissed. Helfrich issued a statement saying he was honored to have served at Oregon.

"It is with respect and disappointment that we receive this decision," Helfrich said. "Plain and simple - we didn't win enough games this season."

Ducks started this season ranked No. 24 in the preseason AP Top 25, but lost 35-32 at Nebraska in the third week of the season, starting the team's longest losing streak since 1996.

The Ducks had a brief revival with a 30-28 victory against then-No. 11 Utah in Salt Lake City two weeks ago, but they ended the season with a 34-24 loss to rival Oregon State in the 120th Civil War game last Saturday. The loss snapped an eight-game Oregon winning streak in the series.

Afterward, Helfrich was asked about job security.

"Nobody's job is safe in college football," he said. "That's just the nature of the beast."

Helfrich went 24-4 in his first two seasons, including a loss to Ohio State in the first College Football Playoff championship.