Dan Lanning champions offensive-defensive balance despite coaching roots
Dan Lanning might have cut his teeth coaching defense, but he’s committed to making Oregon one of the best teams in the country on both sides of the ball. He accomplished that this past season as the Ducks were one of only two teams to rank among the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense.
Georgia, where Lanning was the defensive coordinator from 2019-21, was the other team.
That time with the Bulldogs working under Kirby Smart taught Lanning the importance of having balance and not relying too heavily on either unit. Georgia was also top 10 in scoring offense and defense during Lanning’s final season as it won the national championship.
Speaking with On3’s J.D. PicKell on Tuesday, Lanning admitted he will always have a defensive mindset. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t focused on doing everything he can to put out the best offensive product.
“I love defensive football, but sitting in this head coach chair, you like it when your offense goes out there and scores a lot of points,” Lanning said. “I’ve become pretty fond of both and I don’t like being on the wrong side of either. We were one of the two teams in college football this past year that finished with a top 10 scoring offense and top 10 scoring defense. I think what that means is you’re getting better in practice. When you go against a really good opponent every day in practice, you hope that can be some of the best competition you see all year.”
Surprisingly, it was the defense instead of the offense that took time to get going when Dan Lanning arrived at Oregon in 2022. The Ducks were still a top 10 scoring offense in the coach’s inaugural season, but ranked just 75th in scoring defense and 71st in total defense.
Oregon saw a drastic improvement in Year 2, particularly on the defensive line to rank third in the Pac-12 against the run and first against the pass. Meanwhile, Bo Nix and Bucky Irving kept the offense humming to rank second in the country with 44.2 points per game.
Both Nix and Irving are gone to the NFL, however, so it will be interesting to see whether the Ducks can keep up that impressive level of play. They brought in quarterback Dillon Gabriel to replace him and return explosive receiver Tez Johnson, so there’s still plenty to work with.
With Oregon set to move into the Big Ten next season, the competition will only get tougher. With teams like Ohio State and Michigan added to the schedule, plus still having to face Washington, they face a difficult path to the College Football Playoff.
Still, there is belief they can get there as the Ducks are one of only four teams with projected win totals of 10.5 according to Vegas. To prove that prediction right, Lanning knows it will take elite play on both offense and defense.