The University of Oregon’s perennial-winning football program is a handful for any first time head coach. Thirty-six-year-old Dan Lanning proved his defensive coordinator prowess last season, helping the Georgia Bulldogs win the national championship. He has ambitious aspirations ahead of his first season leading the Ducks.
“My job is to build a winner,” Lanning said at his introductory press conference. “This program is staged to compete and to win championships. We’re going to be methodical in our approach. We’re going to compete to a standard every day, the Oregon standard.”
Lanning is looking for his players to grow one percent better every day. In the fine details of football is where the team can look to find those small points of improvement that help the team get better and win games.
Getting better daily is something that Lanning wants out of his team and himself. He is always looking for opportunities to improve his coaching and his players’ abilities.
“We need to continue to have measured growth,” Lanning said. “Take what’s there and don’t force what’s not. Make great decisions, distribute the ball to playmakers, know our principles and execute.”
Accountability and leadership from the players is what Lanning seems to be looking for in his players. He wants his players to constantly compete and be physical.
“The best teams are player-led,” Lanning said. “Sometimes players can be afraid to be a leader and say things, because they still make mistakes. The reality is, I make mistakes too. What we have to do is own them and still be willing to call people out and get better.”
In his first offseason, Lanning recruited transfers from other top collegiate programs. Veteran players like quarterback Bo Nix, running back MarKeise Irving and wide receiver Chase Cota transferred to Oregon knowing they could compete and win in tight moments of big games.
Lanning also brought on offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham from Florida State. Dillingham was also the coordinator for Nix, at Auburn, when he won 2019’s Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year.
“Football is about culture,” Dillingham said. “It’s about developing a culture more than it’s about Xs and Os. If we don’t have a willingness to compete and go get better today then nothing matters. Absolutely nothing matters if we don’t have the culture and mindset.”
When Mario Cristobal announced his departure from Oregon to take the head coaching job in Miami, nine players declared for the transfer portal. After discussions with Lanning, sophomores Sean Dollars and Seven McGee withdrew from the portal and bought into the Lanning system.
It was a difficult decision for McGee, who had committed to Oregon and Cristobal since 2018. After a conversation with his family and Lanning, he decided to give the new coach a chance, and it has worked out, McGee said.
“Coach Lanning and Coach Dillingham are great with their offensive scheme,” McGee said. “Lanning had arguably one of the best defenses to ever play the game last year. He knows what he’s doing.”
The first true test for Lanning and his Ducks will come on Sept. 3 in Atlanta, Ga. against the Georgia Bulldogs. He returns to compete against the program where he built one of the scariest defenses in college football history.
