Skip to main content
oregon logo

Jhop's Take: Oregon Hires Dan Lanning - Strikes Gold

On3 imageby:Justin Hopkins•12/11/21
Copy of Copy of four-star-julian-phillips-discusses-recruitment-official-visits - 2021-12-11T153415.449
Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

IT’S FINALLY OVER!!!!!!!

We can all resume our normal lives once again. The Oregon Ducks have their next head coach.

Oregon ran an exhaustive search with Phil Knight and Rob Mullens interviewing a slew of candidates that spanned the entire country.

Time was not on Oregon’s side for this search, however the Ducks were intent on making sure they nailed this hire.

And I think they got it right. It’s a risk, but the reward is astronomical.

Dan Lanning will show up to the West coast a relative unknown. I mean he spent 2 years at ASU as a recruiting coordinator and GA but outside of that, not much.

However, as I recall, that’s 2 years more experience out West than Mario Cristobal had out West prior to his arrival. And I recall saying back then it really doesn’t matter. Good recruiters can recruit anywhere. Mario Cristobal proved that, Dan Lanning will too.

In the game of college football chess, Oregon might have just check-mated USC’s big hire. The Trojans kept with the offensive theme in a very big move hiring Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma.

Oregon meanwhile countered with a less-experienced but highly defensive minded coach in Lanning.

Judging from immediate player reactions, this hire is well received by most, if not all, so far on the current Oregon roster. I have no doubt the defensive players are high-fiving and hugging at the news.

He’s unproven and I don’t love that aspect. But I think if you’re crossing off items on our checklist of criteria, it might be the only box he doesn’t check.

But his body of work and his rise in college football are things of urban legend. A mere 10 years ago he broke into the college coaching ranks after begging for a chance with Pitt. Which gave him a GA shot in 2011.

Fast forward 10 years, 10 YEARS and he went from essentially the lowest position on the coaching staff to a defensive coordinator at one of the top three colleges in football. Under a guy that knows defense.

Literally the stuff of urban legend.

You don’t make a rise like that without good reason. It means you’ve been vetted out and when you were given the chance, you exceeded expectations. And then others heard about your hard work and wanted to give you a shot.

That’s a lot of people interviewing you, judging you and giving you the stamp of approval. Not just Phil Knight or Rob Mullens.

There’s always risk here. Really, there’s risk with any hire. Even an experienced coach.

But clearly Phil Knight met and interviewed Dan Lanning and came away with the exact same response as those that gave him a shot before, “I gotta hire this guy.”

You may also like