Dan Lanning spent his last moments as a Georgia Bulldog celebrating a national championship with his players on the field.
But walking into the tunnel, Lanning flipped the switch as he facetimed a potential addition to the Oregon staff.

“That moment I was a Duck,” Lanning said.

Lanning spoke to the Oregon media on Thursday for the first time since winning a national title with Georgia. He addressed personal questions, talking about the transition between teams, while also discussing the future, detailing new team personnel and his duties as a head coach at a new team.
When talking about the change between football programs, Lanning emphasized Georgia head coach Kirby Smart’s support though it all, as Smart himself was in the same position when he went from Alabama to Georgia.

Lanning hopes his accomplishments at Georgia can set a standard here at Oregon for what’s possible for this program.
“Getting to go back there and finish that the right way I think spoke volumes to what I hope we can do here at Oregon and recreate,” Lanning said.

When discussing the staff Lanning has begun to build, he made it clear that they are focused on two things: relationships and development.

With that in mind Lanning looked at personnel that were the best in those two categories.

“Whether the best be in the NFL, or the best be in other college programs, that’s what we targeted… I’m ecstatic about the group we have put together,” Lanning said.
Another big topic in the press conference centered around players like Seven McGee and Sean Dollars and Lannings ability to keep them from staying in the transfer portal.

Lanning didn’t go into detail in what those conversations were like, but emphasized those talks work best in person and he wasn’t able to do that while away from homebase in Eugene.

In the end, Lanning said he was excited about the group of backs at hand, and they will continue to be aggressive when looking for players that can enhance the program.

Lanning feels like players can notice a strongly built program when conversions are had.

“Ultimately I think that if you build your program on honesty, and you’re honest with your players, they recognize that,” Lanning said.
Lastly, Lanning talked about the work that has gone into learning his new team.

“It’s still late nights and early mornings for us,” Lanning said.
Lanning and the staff have spent a lot of time watching film of the current players including last night, two days after winning the national championship.
Looking into the transfer portal and what high schools across the country have to offer is important, but Lanning is committed to learning the players he has on hand.

He wants to form his own opinion as he voiced to the team that it’s a new opportunity for everyone

“When change happens there’s new life and new opportunity,” Lanning said.