Mario Cristobal was getting his team ready for a potential third straight Pac-12 championship to start the month of December, but things felt different than the years prior.
In both 2019 and 2020, Cristobal’s teams ended with Pac-12 titles and hope.
But in 2021, it had a different ending.
After one of the most iconic wins in program history at Ohio State, Oregon continued on through most of the season only picking up an upset loss to Stanford. A third straight Pac-12 title and more were on the horizon.
Those hopes died after Utah took care of business in Salt Lake City. The loss served as a wake-up call for the entire organization but had even deeper implications than another failed playoff appearance.
After a revenge win against the always dangerous Beavers, Oregon again set its eyes on Utah, this time for the title. Utah replicated their dominance and shut down the Ducks once more.
Miami was pushing especially hard for Cristobal after the loss. Even enough to pressure Phil Knight into offering up a 10-year, 85 million dollar extension.
His efforts were for nothing. Cristobal did what was expected, joining his alma mater.
This started a domino effect for the Oregon program, shortly after losing almost its entire coaching staff, as well as losing many recruits and players to the transfer portal. The 2022 season brings to Eugene a year of change, with many new faces to look forward to.
Head coach –– Dan Lanning
Five days after losing Cristobal, Oregon found its guy in Dan Lanning, the standing defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia. Lanning brings many positive qualities to Eugene, none more important than his defensive expertise. Georgia’s defense has ranked top-three nationally in each of Lanning’s three years as defensive coordinator.
Defense wins championships, and Lanning embodies that. Lanning, who lacks head coaching experience, brings a lot of wisdom from his prior coaching stops.
“Whether it be Kirby Smart or Nick Saban, any of the coaches I’ve been around — the best coaches I’ve been around are willing to adapt,” Lanning said. “We’re going to quality control everything we do in this program.”
Lanning has already instituted his philosophy with his hirings and recruiting ability. The Oregon coaching staff was left utterly depleted after Cristobal left. Lanning has been able to fill many of the vacancies in a relatively short amount of time. He has also been able to keep many players on the roster for 2022, including the entire offensive line, as well as Bennett Williams, Seven Mcgee and more.
Lanning’s contract extends through January 2028, as he looks to form a new legacy on the West Coast.
“Oregon provides everything that I know you need as a coach to be successful in college football,” he said. “I wanted to be in a place where I knew we could compete, and where we could win — and Oregon has that.”
Lanning is set to officially take over the position after his playoff appearance with Georgia comes to an end.
Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach –– Kenny Dillingham
The Ducks’ new offensive coordinator got to work instantly after joining Lanning’s staff in Eugene. Dillingham, the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Florida State, joins the team and brings four years of experience.
Dillingham has been an offensive coordinator at a handful of schools, with stints at Memphis, Auburn and most recently, Florida State. His connection to Auburn helped him in the process of getting one of the top transfers in the nation to join him in Eugene: Bo Nix.
Dillingham and Lanning both coached under Mike Norvell during their time at Memphis. Lanning made it a recurring theme in his hiring process to hire former co-workers.
Dillingham will take over for Joe Moorhead, who leaves to be the next head coach of Akron. Florida State’s offense averaged over 27 points and upwards of 370 yards per game this season. Those stats are comparable to Oregon’s offensive production, as Dillingham looks to improve with a new roster full of talent.
Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach –– Junior Adams
Junior Adams was one of the final hires in Coach Lanning’s staff, according to the reports that came in on the first day of the new year.
Adams has spent the last three years at Oregon rival Washington as the school’s wide receivers coach. He is no stranger to the West Coast, a California native who played ball at Oregon State while also having coaching stints at schools like Eastern Washington and Boise State.
During his stint at Washington, Adams served as the primary recruiter for a quartet of 4-star receiver commits, one of which, Jalen McMillan, recently entered the transfer portal.
Co-defensive coordinator –– Tosh Lupoi
Although much of the defensive scheme will be determined by new defensive-minded head coach Dan Lanning, new co-defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi will help build Oregon in the trenches. Lupoi returns to college football after a brief three-year stretch in the NFL. Lupoi brings a polished resume, starting in the Pac-12 with California and Washington, as well as five years under Nick Saban at Alabama.
Lupoi worked with Lanning in Alabama in 2015, where he was eventually promoted to defensive coordinator in 2018. Lupoi, known for his recruiting ability, has been responsible as the primary recruiter for 19 top-150 recruits. Five players on his Alabama defense went on to be first-round selections. He’ll look to add to that number with an Oregon defense flooded with top-tier talent.
Co-defensive coordinator –– Matt Powledge
Joining Lupoi as a defensive coordinator is former Baylor safeties/special teams coach Matt Powledge. Powledge was Lanning’s second hire, following offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham. Powledge is yet another hire who has ties to head coach Dan Lanning. The two coached together briefly at Sam Houston State.
While not the prolific recruiter of some of his peers, Powledge has had great success in developing members of the secondary, most recently helping Baylor safety Jalen Pitre be recognized as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award this season. Powledge, Lupoi and Lanning will look to solidify an Oregon defense whose undermanned unit was gashed in the Alamo Bowl.
Offensive line coach –– Adrian Klemm
Adrian Klemm joins Lupoi as another former NFL coach joining Lanning’s staff in Eugene. Klemm most recently was the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, spending three years under Mike Tomlin. He brings over 10 years of coaching experience with him to Oregon, both at the collegiate and professional levels. He started his career as a graduate assistant at SMU before moving up to offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.
Recruiting is one of Klemm’s most promising attributes. He has close connections to the West Coast from his time spent at UCLA. He was instrumental in bringing eventual first-round pick Kolton Miller to the Bruins and helped eight offensive linemen reach All-Pac-12 honors during his tenure. His NFL experience will surely catch the eye of new recruits. He has physically small yet symbolically big shoes to fill in former coach Alex Mirabal.
Defensive line coach –– Tony Tuioti
All of Lanning’s hires have had similar themes. Most have coached alongside him at some point in their career, while others bring in many years of experience. Tony Tuioti falls under the second of those groups, having 19 years of coaching experience under his belt. Tuioti comes to Oregon after spending the last three years as the defensive line coach at Nebraska.
Tuioti also brings his own advantageous connections. He has close ties to the West Coast, Hawaii and the Pacific islands, all places that Oregon has thrived on when it comes to recruiting and player development in the past. He also brings even more NFL experience to a coaching staff with plenty already, spending two seasons as the Cleveland Browns’ assistant defensive line coach.
Defensive backs coach –– Demetrice Martin
Demetrice Martin, also known as “Coach Meat,” has already brought in extreme value in his short time at Oregon. Martin’s son Cole is a four-star defensive back in the 2023 class, who recently committed to Oregon. Add that to a resume full of Pac-12 experience and you have a promising new hire.
Martin has coached all over the Pac-12, spending time at USC, Washington, UCLA, Arizona and most recently, Colorado. He’s especially known for being an elite recruiter, already recognized as one of the best in the conference. In his six years at UCLA, the program ranked in the top 20 recruiting classes every year.
Tight ends coach –– Drew Mehringer
Drew Mehringer, 34, comes to Eugene as one of the youngest members of an already youthful staff. Mehringer spent the last season as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of New Mexico.
Although still very young, he has racked up enough experience. Mehringer has had stops at Houston, FAU, Texas and Rutgers, all with various offensive coaching roles. One of Mehringer’s top achievements was being named Rivals Recruiter of the Year in 2019 when he served as the primary recruiter for a pair of 5-star receiving threats.
Special teams coordinator/inside linebacker coach –– Joe Lorig
Joe Lorig joins the long list of coaches who have some sort of experience with Lanning, spending two years with him at Memphis. Lorig has plenty of coaching under his belt, starting his coaching career in 1997. He’s been an established special teams coordinator at schools like Arizona State, Memphis and Penn State and will look to turn around a unit at times riddled with shortcomings in years past.
Running backs coach –– Carlos Locklyn
Carlos Locklyn comes to Oregon with little on-field coaching experience. Locklyn spent the last season with Western Kentucky in the same role. Prior to that, Locklyn was at Florida State as the director of high school relations.
Locklyn is set to coach one of the most exciting position groups Eugene has to offer. With youngsters like McGee, Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars set to make strides, veterans Travis Dye and CJ Verdell still have decisions to make due to their remaining season of eligibility.
