Dan Lanning reveals how coaching staff formed chemistry amid chaos

Dan Lanning was in an interesting situation walking into the head coach’s office with the Oregon Ducks. He was not working full-time with the program until mid-January, winning the national championship with Georgia as the defensive coordinator.

Because of that, there have been some growing pains with Lanning and the coaching staff. He explained how they have been forming chemistry over the past month, saying it’s been a lot of fun focusing on football.

“Early on, it was Zooms until finishing the national championship game,” said Lanning. “Getting here, we were able to have several in-person meetings. I think to share a vision, you have to be on the same page. It’s kind of been a little bit of a frat house mentality for some of us. We’re staying in the same house while our families get adjusted and acclimated to the area.

“For us, football doesn’t stop at seven at night. It’s going into the wee hours of the night, drawing up plays, watching film in the basement. Been really fortunate to talk ball. Think we were drawing plays on a mirror last night in the house. It’s been a lot of fun connecting — just like I talk about connection with our players, connecting with staff is really, really important.”

Dan Lanning discusses recruiting the state of Oregon

During his national signing day press conference, Lanning explained how important in-state recruiting will be for him as the head coach at Oregon. He said even though the Ducks have the ability to grab prospects from any state in the country, he wants to make sure the home state is a priority first.

“I think it’s huge,” Lanning said. “My very first day recruiting — first day I could get on the road — I spent that time in Oregon and that time in Portland in the area. That will always be a priority for us. For us, we will have the ability to go anywhere and it’s a blessing but we have to win home first.”

The state of Oregon had two players in the On300 during the 2022 cycle in wide receivers Darrius Clemons and Justius Lowe. The ladder ended up signing with the Ducks, while Clemons went out of the state to sign with the Michigan Wolverines. Both come out of the Portland area.

On the flip side, Lanning said Oregon has the ability to go anywhere in the country and the 2022 class validates it. Of the 15 players who signed their letter of intent with the Ducks, there are nine different states represented.