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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

Yep, and the problem is depth; you need to have 4 or 5 QBs to be on the safe side, thus why we continue to recruit HS QBs I believe. However this year....I believe we should get TWO portal QBs, whoever is best starts in '27, with the other waiting for his turn in '28.

My gut is Phil already called Mullens and let him know we aren't doing a first-time play caller type of Lanning buddy hire. I also think Mullens has already told Lanning you're going to hire an experienced top-level OC who can help you from getting blown out in the playoff in embarrassing fashion like the last two years. They might make him get a new high-profile DC as well, I would. Phil is a smart enough businessman to know it was a failure on his and Mullens part to let Lanning do the internal promotions for an OC and a DC. They run the program, not Lanning. We've been beaten like a drum and outcoached in the last two playoffs, they own some culpability letting Lanning make the stupid promotion move. They have another bite at the apple now and the question should be - who is the hire we win a NATTY with, cost don't matter.

This isn't burning it down, it's getting better and building, something it takes a critical eye and less blind loyalist eye to see. Chris Hampton is in his third year of as a DC, and he don't make a pimple on Aranda's butt as a DC. I'd fire him in a heartbeat at the end of the year if I can get Aranda for 2027. I'd sign Aranda today if he wanted to take a deal. We owe Hampton nothing, he got paid to do a job and if we can replace him with a NATTY winning DC then that is just Biz. Aranda has been the highest paid DC and possibly the highest paid Coordinator in the game at one point. He has been a Broyles award finalist with three different teams, he'd be the most decorated DC we ever had at Oregon! This is a business and a game that you have to be all in to get the best to be the best. Tampa drafted Jamies Winston #1 and replaced him with Tom Brady. They didn't sit around thinking maybe Jamies will get it and it will all click, and he will hit his peak, let's be LOYAL. No, they cut him loose and they went and got the best in the game and won a Super Bowl. This is a BUSSINES and Lanning needs to strop hiring his buddies or elite recruiter's and hire elite X and O coaches. I sure the hell want Aranda as my DC at my side in the playoffs, same goes with Locksley as the OC. Go load up for 2027 and come back strong. EDIT: Lets also not overlook the coaches Aranda can pull compared to Hampton. No one says, "Who are you?" when Ardanda calls to recruit you to coach on his defensive staff. Hampton I'd call a third-tier DC and second-tier at best; and it's hard to call him second-tier with his lack of experience.

I agree. As bad as the Offense has been no use risking his nfl prospects

I dont think the big time college coaches have enough time to coach the fundamentals. You either have those down or you dont. Spring and summer football are about conditioning and repetitions.

I'd love to see some smoke leading to fire around this idea.

I can't agree more. If a great hire is just there waiting to be had just go for it. We could easily miss out on A tier candidates while we're "leaving no stone unturned".

I don't disagree. Charles has been talking for a couple years about OBD being better off going to the portal for its QB rather than trying to grow them. Given this new landscape, are star HS QBs now better off going to second-tier programs with good OC and QB coaching in place in order to get playing time and development in hopes of transferring to a top-tier program? Seems like this is becoming the more common pattern...