Column: Despite the last few days, Oregon Ducks football is in a healthy place

Change is always difficult, but it's necessary for continued growth.

After a weekend of uncertainty, Mario Cristobal did what I and a lot of other people totally expected. He dodged questions about his future during the postgame Pac-12 championship press conference last Friday, and Cristobal took his talents to South Beach.

Well, technically, Cristobal went to Coral Gables since that's where the University of Miami is located. Many people have opinions of Cristobal's decision to leave, but it's hard to blame him, especially since it was his hometown and alma mater calling.

Cristobal is a Miami guy through and through, born and raised in the 305-area code. Not to mention, his mother hasn't been in the best of health recently, and the Hurricanes have been starving for a winner for almost two decades. Not even a 10-year, $85 million offer from Oregon could prevent Cristobal from returning to his birthplace.

More:

• Mario Cristobal leaves Oregon to coach at Miami

• McClendon named interim coach for Alamo Bowl

• Possible candidates to replace Cristobal

• Mullens says Oregon will have no shortage of options to replace Cristobal

• Players react to Cristobal's departure

No one likes change, especially when it's sudden and everything has been going well. After the forgettable one-year run of Willie Taggart in 2017, Oregon was looking for stability, and Cristobal gave it to them for four seasons.

In 2018, Oregon went 9-4 in Cristobal's first season as head coach. In his second year with the Ducks in 2019, Cristobal was even better as the team went 12-2 and won the first of what would be two consecutive Pac-12 championships along with winning the Rose Bowl.

During his tenure with the Ducks, Cristobal guided Oregon to two Pac-12 championships and three straight Pac-12 North championships. Not bad for a team that lost won a division and conference title in 2014.l.

Despite Miami's tactics in the way it hired him, Cristobal was all class. He went on talk radio to address his departure when most coaches would have left Eugene in the middle of the night and told the team via text message. If you don't believe me, look at Cristobal's predecessor, Taggart, when he headed to Tallahassee to coach at Florida State.

On Tuesday, Cristobal also wrote a farewell tweet to the University of Oregon and the fans who supported him and his family throughout the years.

"Forever Grateful," Cristobal said. "Thank you for the impact you made on our lives and for allowing us to serve.

"Honored. Blessed. Thank you, Phil and Penny (Knight). Thank you, Rob (Mullens). Thank you, Autzen Stadium. Thank you, players and coaches!!! Forever Grateful!!!"

Cristobal left Oregon in a better place than when he took over the program. Now it is time to find a person who can take the Ducks from a healthy established program to a championship program.

For all that Cristobal did at Oregon, there's still more the program can do on the football field. We've seen the Ducks compete for national championships in 2010 under Chip Kelly and in 2014 under Mark Helfrich. Also, Oregon has held its own in a sport full of traditional powers during the last 25 years.

Since 1994, Oregon has won nine Pac-10 or Pac-12 conference titles, appeared in eight New Year's Six/BCS bowl games and has averaged 9.3 wins a year. More than 90% of FBS schools would sign up for that type of success in a minute.

Not many people during the 1990s thought a school from Eugene could regularly compete with USC and Washington in the same conference, let alone national powerhouses like Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida State. Not only has Oregon done that, but the Ducks have also consistently been better than every other school in the conference for almost three decades.

Now it's time for Ducks athletic director Rob Mullens to hire the person who's going to have Oregon in the College Football Playoff conversation consistently. As much as fans are nostalgic for the Chip Kelly days at Oregon once again, the Ducks need to think outside of the box with this hire.

Lane Kiffin would be a perfect fit, but he reportedly signed a $7.5 contract extension at Ole Miss over the weekend that will keep him in Oxford through 2025. So, if Kiffin isn't an option, then BYU's Kalani Sitake or Baylor's Dave Aranda would make excellent fits.

Sitake was the defensive coordinator at Oregon State prior to being the Cougars coach. In one season, Aranda has turned around the Baylor program as the Bears went from 2-7 to their first Big 12 championship.

Whoever the Ducks decide to hire, the school needs to make sure that person wants to be with the Ducks for the long term. Yeah, Cristobal said all the right things and was great in the community, but nothing kept him from returning home. Same with Taggart, as he is now coaching at Florida Atlantic University after he was fired at Florida State.

Oregon has everything a coach could want in a program. Excellent facilities, administration and boosters that are willing to put money into the program, and a supportive fan base. Now it is time to find that coach who can take Oregon from a program that hoists Pac-12 championships to one that hoists College Football Playoffs trophies.

Contact Register-Guard sportswriter Antwan Staley at astaley@registerguard.com and follow him on Twitter @antwanstaley.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Column: Oregon Ducks football is in a healthy place despite Cristobal's departure