Sorry for the over dramatic headline but it does cut to the heart of my question. Clearly the U of O is a front running NIL super power and can collect as much 4-5 star talent as anybody. My question is that are the things that Lanning is a master at no longer relevant?

First I want to state that I absolutely love Lanning as the head coach and want him to succeed and also understand that some steps backward are inevitable for even the best teams sometimes. This is more about how the trend seems to be heading as the tone of the NIL era becomes clearer. And that tone to me seems to be heading away from the Lanning style of coaching.

I have never seen a coach be able to fire his team up on game day like Lanning. His pre game speeches and weekly themes to work on have me ready to run through a wall. His players also have shown immense loyalty and even in the first few years of NIL, the only ones hitting the portal were 3rd and 4th stringers that just weren't going to see the field.

But as the NIL monster grew, I think it began to outweigh team/ coach loyalty as the college free agent was born.

At the end of last season, the Ducks finally got their first taste of it. Most of the teams running back room hit the portal even as the Ducks were heading to a semi final date in a rematch with Indiana. Try to imagine key players leaving a Final Four team at the peak of March Madness. It's practically unthinkable and yet it happened to the Ducks.

Then after the season was over, the real exodus began. Players that were looking at second and even possible first string roles abandoned the team in droves looking for better payouts and playing opportunities. Just like that, Lanning's prized recruiting class was decimated before it ever had a chance to impact the game. More recruits and portal additions have been brought in but I think the modern attitude of the players has changed.

I think they are now more concerned about their market value and what their agents have to say than their coaches. I think Lanning's once excellent motivational methods no longer work on guys more interested in building their brand and eyeing their next deal. I believe that his in house coordinator hires were a mistake and better ones need to be brought in but I also think that a bigger underlying issue is at play.

This may also explain how less rah rah and more business like or transactional coaches like Cristobal are having more success lately. I don't know what the answer is and as mentioned before I still love Lanning as the coach, I'm just concerned the game has moved on.

KK, terrific post, thanks.

83.34% of the regular season remains to be played. Will Oregon turn it around? Heck if I know.

Oregon has the 3rd highest-rated composite roster in CFB, one of the most expensive rosters in CFB.

After losing portal players Pregnon, World, and Harkey, Dan went after OL studs like Seaton. He was outbid in an unregulated market, with mega-fan billionaires acting like frenzied college-aged kids and not businessmen. The exact opposite of the NFL.

If there is a season-long problem, it is as much the fault of Dan and the rating services overestimating the talent of recruits as it is bad portal-picking. O-line guys who cannot finish run blocks are not 2* and 3* players. If you can't run the ball ...

Miami paid the most money in the history of CFB to pry Mario away from the Ducks. Mario has frenzied boosters looking to bring back The U regardless of cost, the benefit of a weak regular-season schedule, and no restraint on going after players under contract to another program.

If Oregon had opened at Stanford and then played FAMU, what would the record be? Would there be any concerns heading into the Portland State game?

Out-of-conference scheduling in CFB is an art; in 2026, Rob colored outside the lines.

LSU beat down the premier portal-putz, Dabo Swinney. Let's see how Lane fares at No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 9 Texas A&M, at Kentucky, Mississippi State, at Auburn, No. 10 Alabama, No. 1 Texas, at No. 15 Tennessee, and at Arkansas.

At season's end, will the LSU ROI be enough to justify spending $100 million to bring in Kiffin and buying a $45 + million roster? Today, LSU is searching for private equity money.

Mike West authored an excellent article on the schemes used by Dan, particularly on defense, and whether the schemes work in today's game. But no scheme will work if experienced players, many of whom will play ball in the NFL, don't show up with a want-to-win attitude and don't play disciplined football. Top-rated players are committing game-changing penalties.

I do believe it's fair to ask whether Dan can learn from his mistakes. We saw the Rose Bowl movie rerun in the Peach Bowl. But Saturday was Dan's first loss against an unranked team, and play like they did against the Ducks, these Cowboys could finish in the Top-25.

Get well vs. the Vikings, then let's see how things go in LA.

If it's too expensive to fire the coach, fire the AD. I don't think this will help cover Alabama -20.5.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-state-ad-fired-michael-alford-abc96f2a16e424e5c17ffc6509dd64d6

Not sure if the NIL era has passed Dan by, but his supposed area of expertise is slipping, imo.

I'd also like to add that Lanning is also a way ahead of the curve guy and will most likely readjust his style/ stratedgy to stay ahead of the curve regardless how this season turns out. I'm mostly just pointing out how the dynamics of coaching are evolving in real time.

Lanning and co made a choice to bring back a ton of NFL ready players for another year. This meant bigger payouts for them.

It also meant that those sitting in the second string needed to make a choice... stick around and continue to be second string (and be paid as such) or leave and try to leverage themselves into starters (and potentially a bigger payout). Which led to the loss of players last season. The compensation to keep all those second stringers would be too much.

Additionally... they gotta think about the next year's recruits and the budget there too.

10 minutes ago, David Marsh said:

Additionally... they gotta think about the next year's recruits and the budget there too.

A new D-Line should "free-up" 20+ Mil.

24 minutes ago, David Marsh said:

Lanning and co made a choice to bring back a ton of NFL ready players for another year. This meant bigger payouts for them.

Great point and kind of what I'm getting at. Is a head coach basically simply evolving into a business man making deals and negotiating with agents about prices and expectations and less about rah rah style motivation?

3 hours ago, The Kamikaze Kid said:

Sorry for the over dramatic headline but it does cut to the heart of my question. Clearly the U of O is a front running NIL super power and can collect as much 4-5 star talent as anybody. My question is that are the things that Lanning is a master at no longer relevant?

First I want to state that I absolutely love Lanning as the head coach and want him to succeed and also understand that some steps backward are inevitable for even the best teams sometimes. This is more about how the trend seems to be heading as the tone of the NIL era becomes clearer. And that tone to me seems to be heading away from the Lanning style of coaching.

I have never seen a coach be able to fire his team up on game day like Lanning. His pre game speeches and weekly themes to work on have me ready to run through a wall. His players also have shown immense loyalty and even in the first few years of NIL, the only ones hitting the portal were 3rd and 4th stringers that just weren't going to see the field.

But as the NIL monster grew, I think it began to outweigh team/ coach loyalty as the college free agent was born.

At the end of last season, the Ducks finally got their first taste of it. Most of the teams running back room hit the portal even as the Ducks were heading to a semi final date in a rematch with Indiana. Try to imagine key players leaving a Final Four team at the peak of March Madness. It's practically unthinkable and yet it happened to the Ducks.

Then after the season was over, the real exodus began. Players that were looking at second and even possible first string roles abandoned the team in droves looking for better payouts and playing opportunities. Just like that, Lanning's prized recruiting class was decimated before it ever had a chance to impact the game. More recruits and portal additions have been brought in but I think the modern attitude of the players has changed.

I think they are now more concerned about their market value and what their agents have to say than their coaches. I think Lanning's once excellent motivational methods no longer work on guys more interested in building their brand and eyeing their next deal. I believe that his in house coordinator hires were a mistake and better ones need to be brought in but I also think that a bigger underlying issue is at play.

This may also explain how less rah rah and more business like or transactional coaches like Cristobal are having more success lately. I don't know what the answer is and as mentioned before I still love Lanning as the coach, I'm just concerned the game has moved on.

Excellent comment.

2 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

After losing portal players Pregnon, World, and Harkey, Dan went after OL studs like Seaton. He was outbid in an unregulated market, with mega-fan billionaires acting like frenzied college-aged kids and not businessmen. The exact opposite of the NFL.

This. The business of college football is beyond wild west now. It's not entirely DL's fault for not being the top dog. Indiana succeeded last year because of the brilliant coaching mind and philosophy of Cig. But we will see how they fare this year. Mario is having success in Miami because he seems to be able to recruit not just great players, but also good assistants. Again, we will see how they do this year... Everyone is trying to figure out the right formula in this crazy time. It's not just assembling the best players any more, like Kirby Smart whispered to DL after that first beatdown...

Edited 11 minutes ago11 min by DuckFan93