No they weren’t.
Chip was Head Coach 2009-2012
Oregon 2009 team class rank - 30
Oregon 2010 team class rank - 12
Oregon 2011 team class rank - 12
Oregon 2012 team class rank - 14
Mario Cristobal has been HC at Oregon since 2017
Oregon 2017 team class rank - 19
Oregon 2018 team class rank - 7, highest in program history.
Oregon 2019 team class rank - 16 currently. According to the 247 calculator, adding Flowe would put them at 11. Again, higher than anything Chip ever had. I don’t know if they are expected to add anyone else either
So no, what you stated isn’t really true. Mario landed Oregon’s highest rated class in program history and adding Flowe will give them their second highest rated class in program history as it stands right now.
So again I ask...why is Mario able to reach heights they have never reached without competing for national championships if all of his success is due to Phil Knight money?