By Alec Nederveld
Since 2012, five men have been the head coach of the Oregon Ducks. That number will not yet increase as, despite rumors, Dan Lanning announced he will not leave for the Alabama job.
https://twitter.com/CoachDanLanning/status/1745490828850815112
This was the second time that Lanning was considered for a job in the 2023-2024 season. Earlier in the cycle, he was a candidate to be hired by Texas A&M.
Of the five prior Oregon departures, Chip Kelly left for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, and Mark Helfrich was fired in 2016. Willie Taggert departed for Florida State after one 7-5 season. Lastly, Mario Cristobal was good for four seasons before heading home to Miami for the 2022 season.
Lanning, the former Georgia Defensive Coordinator, picked up where Cristobal left off. After a 49-3 career-opening spanking of his old team, the Ducks rattled off eight in a row. They finished the season 10-3. The offense took a huge leap forward, led by the three-headed monster of QB Bo Nix, RB Bucky Irving, and WR Troy Franklin.
That core returned in 2023 and looked dominant against all teams but Texas Tech (a close eight-point win) and Washington, who beat the Ducks twice. The three-point losses to the Huskies were the only blemishes on Oregon’s 12-2 Fiesta Bowl-winning season.
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Before the 2023 season, Lanning signed a six-year $45 million extension with a $20 million buyout. He also signed another one-year extension in November.
Lanning has coached at seven schools since 2011 and is happy to stay put at Oregon. He has administration support and loves the people in the program. It sounds like Lanning has everything he wants in a school. Prior to the Fiesta Bowl, he stated this:
“When you work with an administration like ours, a guy like Rob Mullens, you see the alignment within the university of the things that you want to accomplish, all of those things exist at Oregon. Innovation; college football is changing so fast and Oregon is willing to be on the cutting edge when it comes to that. For me, I don’t take that lightly and I feel like I have unfinished business here. There’s a lot that I want to accomplish here. Then, maybe more importantly than any of that, my kids, right? I have lived in eight different states. I’m tired of moving, right? You’ve got to change, like, license and all that stuff. It’s just not fun and probably even less fun for my wife. So we love Oregon. It’s been everything that we wanted. We get to coach great players, get to be around great people and this makes a lot of sense for us.”
While, yes, many coaches have said something to the extent of “I’m not leaving” before they eventually left, Lanning’s words are not those of a man who is leaving.
As good as Oregon has been this century, historically, they are pretty mediocre. The Ducks have never won a national championship despite making two title games and many NY6/BCS Bowls.
In a sport like college football, built on its vast history, it’s hard for new blood to break through and win for the first time. The last program to win their first National Championship was Florida back in 1996. Because of that, many other Oregon coaches wanted a more proven school to win at, despite the money pumped into the program by Nike chairman and Oregon alum Phil Knight.
Another idea is that repeated coaching departures could just be bad luck for Oregon. Mario Cristobal was born in Miami, played college football at Miami, was an assistant coach at Miami, and his first Head Coaching job was at FIU – located in the city of Miami. With all of his ties, Miami could have been the only school Cristobal would leave for.
Similarly, Willie Taggert was born and raised in Florida and had the opportunity to coach a program just four years removed from a National Championship.
Both coaches jumped to a better conference with stronger brands. Recruiting could also become easier, being located in the talent-rich Sunshine State.
Meanwhile, Chip Kelly took the rare opportunity to jump into the NFL. He was never much of a recruiter and went to a more popular league where he could focus on his strengths: Xs and Os. Conveniently, he also left before he and Oregon were hit with sanctions for recruiting violations.
With Lanning staying for the foreseeable future, it signals a shift in Oregon’s reputation as a program. They aren’t just the flashy school in the Northwest with cool uniforms. Alabama wanted their 37-year-old, career 22-5 head coach who has no ties to the Oregon/the Northwest. They didn’t get him.
Oregon’s recruiting is the best it’s ever been. After finishing ninth in high school and the portal in 2023, the Ducks are up to sixth in both for 2024, tied for the best finish in school history. Connections to Phil Knight and Nike are only helping Lanning and Co.
A big part of both results is the transition to the Big Ten. They will be a top-five, arguably top-three team next year in the second-best conference. That does a lot for a program. Couple that with everything else Oregon has and Lanning’s circumstances, and it’s no wonder why he didn’t leave.
This is an exciting time if you’re an Oregon fan. Everything is going your way, and I believe more success is on the horizon.
