Skip to content

Oregon's Pharaoh Brown hints team isn't 'buying in' to Helfrich

Harry How / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Perhaps not everyone in Eugene, Ore., is pulling the rope in the same direction.

That's the impression Oregon tight end Pharaoh Brown gave Monday, when he suggested his team doesn't have as close-knit a locker room as it needs in order to build a consistent winner.

"You've got 105 men in the building," Brown told Andrew Greif of The Oregonian. "Everybody's not going to like each other but you have to respect it and I think that's what everybody's got to do. Some people don't like some of the stuff that's going on here - you don't have to like it. I'm not asking you to like it. But what I'm asking you to do is respect it and that's just what has got to happen."

Brown, who's notched 12 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown this year, made the remarks while defending embattled coach Mark Helfrich.

Helfrich has been heavily criticized over the past couple of seasons, and especially during the Ducks' current four-game losing streak.

"Everybody got to respect that he's the coach, he's the boss," Brown added. "I'm not changing it, you're not changing it, the fans not changing it, you've got to get on board and respect what he's doing and buying in because the thing is, if you don't respect it, it's never going to work."

Brown made his comments less than two weeks after offensive lineman Cameron Hunt questioned the effort of some of his teammates after the Ducks were beaten 70-21 by Washington.

Oregon takes an ugly 2-4 record into Cal on Friday, looking to pick up its first win since Sept. 10.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox