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Yes and no... bringing in any established defensive mind means that Lanning is open to the continued development of his defense and its evolution. The Mint defense is NOT perfect and has some significant weaknesses in it. No team has the players Georgia had in 2020 and 2021 and teams have learned to exploit the Mint defense. Change isn't admitting defeat because frankly the defense has been pretty good this year but admitting change needs to happen admits that things can get better. I would love new ideas to come into the program and elevate everyone.

Well, we're all about to find our how talented Coach Lanning really is. I still think he has the right stuff.

Hopefully one that actually scores. Oregon Football: Ducks crafting offensive identity under new play-caller

The best we can to for you is a retired strength coach named Brian Doyle. He played for another defunct Boston area college football program. The BU Terriers.

Many moons ago Chris Petersen was OC at Boise State. He ran an offense often known as “Pete’s Poison.” Opposing DC’s literally lost their minds trying to figure out how to stop it. It was Pete’s Poison that beat Oklahoma, Georgia and Oregon. Pete was HC, not OC at that time but the OC was Bryan Harsin and he was an understudy to Pete and definitely ran Pete’s offense. Eventually, Pete simplified that offense because it took a couple of years for incoming players to learn it. The more highly rated players he was recruiting because of the Fiesta Bowl win wanted to play much earlier so the offense could no longer require a Phi Beta Kappa and years of practice. Interestingly, the Boise State Broncos started to score fewer points and win fewer high profile games after the change. (Oregon has chalked up two straight victories over Bronco teams not running that insane offense.) Pete was/is an offensive genius. Those guys exist but they are few. Most are probably working and wouldn’t publicly commit to a move until the season is over. The Ducks would have to back a dump truck full of cash up to the door of a guy like Pete to secure a true offensive guru. But that’s exactly what Oregon must do if it wants to hoist the trophy at the end of the season. JMHO

Not really... Ka'ai, Samples, and Douglas are the only other three and NONE have play calling experience. The youth trap has hit hard! We can't do an outside temp hire because they won't know the system and more importantly the verbage. It would take them time to come up to speed and Johnson already knows it all and had called plays in the past. I do not expect the offense to suddenly look amazing... But that's where we're trapped.

Offense? What offense? Fight on!!!

Coach Lanning's comments on Akili Smith Jr. My question - Why not give him a chance to show what his arm and legs can do? Raiola and Thomas aren't getting it done. Oregon Ducks On SIDan Lanning's Comments on Quarterback Akili Smith Jr. Spe...The Oregon Ducks’ football program dominated college football headlines three days in a row. Saturday’s third loss of 2026 may have knocked them out of College

Dan Lanning's Comments on Quarterback Akili Smith Jr. Speaks VolumesOregon Ducks fans are growing more curious about whether sophomore quarterback Akili Smith Jr. could play behind center in 2026. Oregon Ducks On SIDan Lanning's Comments on Quarterback Akili Smith Jr. Spe...The Oregon Ducks’ football program dominated college football headlines three days in a row. Saturday’s third loss of 2026 may have knocked them out of College

Oregon Ducks to simplify offense after Drew Mehringer firing https://duckswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/ducks/football/2026/10/28/oregon-football-qb-competition-continues-in-simplified-offense-dylan-raiola-dan-lanning/92461003007/

Dan Lanning believes Ducks have 'found some things' along the O-Line as rush attack has best game to dateOregon coach Dan Lanning feels the offensive line is beginning to come together after a poor start to the season. https://247sports.com/college/oregon/article/dan-lanning-believes-ducks-have-found-some-things-along-the-o-line-as-rush-attack-has-best-game-to-date-291855381/

Dan Lanning’s Chip Kelly Warning Ahead of Autzen Stadium ReturnChip Kelly is back in the Big Ten Conference as the offensive coordinator for the Northwestern Wildcats, and a recent photo of him is trending. Oregon Ducks On SIDan Lanning’s Chip Kelly Warning Ahead of Autzen Stadium...The Oregon Ducks (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) Halloween game will feature a ghost from the program's past: Chip Kelly makes his Autzen Stadium return with the Northwester

Northwestern vs. Oregon: How to watch, weather, injuries, odds, announcers, and moreAutzen ZooNorthwestern vs. Oregon: How to watch, weather, injuries,...Coming into the season, no one would've expected to see the late October showdown between Oregon and Northwestern featuring the 20th ranked Wildcats facing an u

He has the look of someone who just found out what he inherited. 😧

The team has suffered from complacency and entitlement from the get-go. As Mike West has observed, the team is not talented at every position and does not have the same talent as the teams that blew out Oregon in the Rose and Peach Bowls and won titles. Unlike Chip Kelly's far less talented team that was so close to winning a BCS title, this team has no schematic advantage on either side of the ball. Marcus Mariota's squad was an awesome group, and Marcus was a run threat when needed. The Ohio State team that defeated Oregon in the title game had one of the most talented squads in CFB history. The loss was sad but understandable. Without a QB who presents an 11-on-11 threat on offense, Oregon's offense is predictable and not difficult to defend. Especially so when the O-line is mediocre at best. But all of these issues can be overcome by a kick-butt attitude and a desire to kick the whey out of the other guy. Of course, better coaching helps the cause, but ultimately it's not generals but the soldiers who have to hit the beach. From the opening game against a G6 opponent, where in Hades has been the desire to kick butt and win? A talented QB was decapitated, and I thought, with the way the team battled in LA after Dante's injury, this team was ready to fight and run the table. I thought leaders would step up in the locker room and on the field. I was wrong. Stuff happens. Bad seasons happen. I hope this isn't a Clemson-like, top-down, long-term endemic problem. We'll soon see. Next year's in-conference schedule is more difficult than this season's Big Ten schedule. BTW, $50 million? Bull Manure.

Lanning has lost all his momentum. How do you sell the program to recruits, if they've seen the recent results on the field? Offer them more money?

Caption? Huh? You can't arrest me! I didn't do it! 😁

While pondering schematic philosophies that come with new coaches, another thing might need to be considered and that's simplicity vs complexity of schemes. The portal era is kind of starting to mimic the five star one and done model of basketball. Portalling in upper classmen only gives players one or two years on the team and they need to grasp their resposibilites fast. I think the days of coming up in the system for years and slowly absorbing the playbook are coming to an end and I think simpler schemes with situational variations that just let four star guys do four star things will be what's needed for plug and play players moving forward.

Hiring Aranda would require Lanning to admit he needs a fundamental shift from the Defensive philosophy he brought with him from Georgia. I like the idea. I believe the offense is going to be a bigger puzzle to solve. Teaching a quarterback to throw open a receiver is a requirement in order to win national championship. Matching an offensive philosophy with the current (and acquired) offensive lineman is going to be the challenge as well. As a side note, I don't like the term constraint play because it connotates limitations in my mind. I like the term sequential play, because I believe it requires having a series of plays surrounding by a fundamental play. I've only seen a few offensive coordinators that consistently design a playbook around forcing defenses to actually think about five plays based off of a look and/or tendency. Not to mention an answer to the type of suffocating defenses we've seen the past three years (at the elite level). Of all the criticism thrown at Lanning, I haven't seen many people dig in the weeds and elaborate on his shortcomings. As much of a gambler that he is, I see a pretty conservative coach that wants his defense to do the heavy lifting. I personally believe you need an offense that can nuke an NFL defense. Of course that is pure fantasy, but it is the attitude I'm looking for. And yes, I think the talent has been B/B+ at best. You can win a title with that kind of talent, but they have to play damn near flawless ball.

In the era of GMs, NIL and the portal just how necessary are recruiter first coaches anymore? What if it were more about coaches, OCs and DCs making wish lists and then sending assistant coaches around the country making contact with the players and then the GMs start talking figures and expectations with parents and players then position coaches come in as closers? This could make coaching way less recruiting dominant and lets the coaches focus on coaching. This would let head coaches hire good coaches And good recruiting staffs.

red shirting no longer exists. Players get five years to play five seasons. No need for coaches to preserve a player’s season.

ADs also should expect that whomever is a coordinator can fill the Head job if necessary. Either short term in the event of accident/illness, or longer term if your Head guy bails out for NFL or another college job. Maybe either coordinator isn't the ideal, but they do serve as an insurance policy if necessary. ADs need to think about that.

When it comes to recruiting it's more important to know how they recruit than who they recruited. Resources change who you can recruit. NIL opens the door to recruitment it's effectively bid to recruit. If you can't make a competitive bid you can't recruit the player. Baylor and Maryland (Aranda and Locksly) neither have had Oregon level resources. Also they'll figure out the west coast if they need to because I'm sure Oregon has people on staff who will make the proper introductions. Also Oregon recruits nationally so knowing the west coast is important but not the end all be all that it used to be. The NIL bid will get them in the door. What they do with an open door is far more important. And that goes for any coach the Ducks look at.

100% agree we need at least one portal QB. Riola can't read a two-defender set over three WR-set pre-snap, cut him loose and get two QB's.

It's like $4-mil to make the playoffs and $4-mil to host a playoff game, and how much to make the conference championship game this last year? College football is a business now and you can't have a QB learn on the job unless they are generational like Trevor Lawerence. The teams playing at the top of the food chain are getting experienced portal QB's