3 hours ago, BroncoSas said:

Just look at Bend. There was slightly less than 18,000 people living there in 1980. Now it's a roundabout monstrosity...

I live in Central Oregon. Roundabouts are not the issue here...

16 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Fan confidence is the least of Lanning’s worries. If his players lose confidence they’ll quit playing hard for him and his staff. This week’s Nebraska game is a good litmus test. If they get dominated (which is a huge possibility) then we will know he has lost his team.

That’s when he needs to start making wholesale changes. Better to get his big recruits valuable experience than lose them to the portal. As it stands, the vultures are starting to circle above the football facility waiting to pick off the likes of Moore, Lott, Nacho, Jett and McNutt to name a few.

Is a rebound game even possible? I wouldn't bet on it. At Oregon stubbborn pride wins the day, we went from Mari-No to No-Dan-No...

3 hours ago, GODUCKS15 said:

I was very impressed with Lanning's character when he arrived in Eugene; he struck me as a humble, intelligent, hard-working young coach. Having seen many interviews in the past year, I am detecting much less humility and much more arrogance. Has anyone else noticed this or am I just an old guy imagining things? Or is he just becoming impatient with the media? I can understand that!

I think you’re still seeing the same person you saw in the first place.

What has changed is the media’s tone. Losses tend to do that, and they become more aggressive, like sharks smelling blood in the water.

Dan has not altered his original approach to sharing information. He remains committed to not exposing sensitive player and strategy knowledge that could be used against the team, and he carefully reminded certain media when they started pushing him for more sensitive info that that stance has not changed.

If you’ve looking for a source of arrogance, you might look on the other side of the microphones.

15 hours ago, 1Ducker1 said:

From what I hear Oregon is the Canada of California.

Or the Mexico of Washington. ☹️

1 hour ago, Washington Waddler said:

What has changed is the media’s tone. Losses tend to do that, and they become more aggressive, like sharks smelling blood in the water.

Early on Mario Cristobal was actually pretty open with the media. As the inexcusable losses piled up he became more closed off. At the end of the day Cristobal always seems to be good for at least one head scratching loss a season.

Lanning does poorly after a bye week. When opponents also had extra time off, Oregon is 3-4. Losses came against Kalen DeBoer’s Washington, Curt Cignetti’s Indiana, Chesney’s UCLA, and Ryan Day’s Ohio State. (Each coach played the Ducks twice, although Chesney’s two were 10 months apart and with two different teams.) Texas Tech got shut out, but maybe they don’t have the coaching depth? So our offense looks to be too easy to scout for elite coaches. And maybe Lanning doesn’t convey clearly to his 20-something millionaire players what “rest and recuperation” actually looks like.

I agree with a lot of what's being said here, particularly regarding the internal promotions and what I believe has been a serious regression in the overall quality of coaching. And while I think there are several areas that deserve scrutiny, the offensive side of the ball is where my biggest concerns lie.

First and foremost, Drew Mehringer has to be squarely in the conversation. I understand the desire for continuity, especially when you've had success with a particular system, but continuity doesn't mean much if the results aren't there. We're watching an offense loaded with talent struggle to execute some of the most basic aspects of football. The play calling has been questionable, the adjustments have been inadequate, and there doesn't seem to be much of an identity. At some point, you have to stop looking exclusively at the players and start asking whether they're being put in positions to succeed.

Then there's the offensive line. A'lique Terry has been here long enough that we should be seeing consistent development, particularly among the younger players. Instead, we're seeing problems with protection, missed assignments, and an inability to establish a reliable running game. Those aren't things that can simply be dismissed as growing pains. When you have the recruiting classes Oregon has been bringing in, you should reasonably expect to see improvement as those players develop. If that isn't happening, somebody needs to answer for it.

The quarterback situation deserves attention as well. Koa Ka'ai was promoted from an assistant role, and while I'm certainly not suggesting he can't eventually become an excellent quarterbacks coach, I do question whether handing him that responsibility at this stage was the best decision for the program. Especially considering the expectations surrounding this team. Quarterback development is simply too important to leave to chance.

And that brings me to something I've been thinking about regarding Dan Lanning himself.

I genuinely believe Lanning's own upbringing in the coaching profession has a lot to do with his approach to staffing. Here's a guy who worked his way up from being a graduate assistant, moving from program to program, learning from established coaches, earning opportunities, and eventually becoming a defensive coordinator at Georgia before landing the head coaching job at Oregon.

I think those experiences left a lasting impression on him. He knows what it means to have somebody believe in you, take a chance on you, and give you an opportunity to prove yourself. And I suspect he wants to provide those same opportunities to the people working under him. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think it's an admirable quality.

But here's where I think he's making a mistake.

Giving somebody an opportunity and giving somebody a responsibility they're not prepared for are two very different things.

Not everybody develops at the same pace. Not everybody who excels in one position is necessarily ready for the next. A great position coach doesn't automatically become a great coordinator, just as a great coordinator doesn't automatically become a great head coach. Some people need more experience. Some need more time to develop their abilities, learn from their mistakes, and gain a better understanding of the responsibilities that come with the next step.

And that's perfectly fine.

I'm not saying these coaches will never be successful. I'm saying that, based on what we've seen this season, some of them simply don't appear ready for the responsibilities they've been given. They need more time to marinate, so to speak. Unfortunately, Oregon isn't in a position where it should be experimenting with whether somebody might eventually grow into a job. Not with the resources available, not with the talent on this roster, and certainly not with the expectations surrounding this program. We're supposed to be competing for national championships, not serving as a training ground for coaches who are still figuring out how to do their jobs at this level.

And speaking of national championships, I noticed somebody mentioned that nobody wins one without a blue-chip roster. Well, Curt Cignetti and Indiana might have something to say about that. 😏 Indiana won the national championship with a roster that was nowhere near the traditional blue-chip threshold. Cignetti took a group of players who, on paper, had no business competing with the most talented programs in the country and turned them into national champions. Was it an anomaly? Absolutely. But it happened. And to me, that's one of the greatest examples in recent memory of just how much coaching matters.

Recruiting rankings are important. Talent is important. Nobody is suggesting otherwise. But having a roster full of four and five-star athletes doesn't mean a damn thing if those players aren't being developed, properly coached, and put in positions where their abilities can actually make a difference. We've watched USC demonstrate that for years. Highly ranked recruiting classes, talented players everywhere you look, and yet somehow the results consistently fall short of expectations. It's practically become a place where recruiting stars go to die.

And unfortunately, we're starting to see some uncomfortable similarities at Oregon. That's what bothers me most. It's not simply the losses. Teams lose games. Even great teams lose games. It's watching talented players struggle with things that should be getting better through coaching and development.

Which brings me back to Lanning.

I like Dan Lanning. I think he's done tremendous things for Oregon, and I still believe he's capable of leading this program to a national championship. I don't think anybody should ignore what he's accomplished simply because we're having a disappointing season.


But I also believe that Dan Lanning needs to own his job, not his relationships.

Loyalty is important. I respect loyalty. I think it's one of the better qualities a person can have, whether in football, business, or life in general.

But loyalty cannot come at the expense of the responsibilities you've been hired to fulfill. Lanning is one of the highest-paid public employees in the state of Oregon. He wasn't hired and isn't being compensated at that level so he can surround himself with friends, reward relationships, or make sure everybody gets their turn. He was hired to build and maintain a championship-caliber football program.

That's the job.

And sometimes doing that job means making difficult decisions involving people you genuinely care about. Sometimes it means acknowledging that somebody you believed in isn't ready. Sometimes it means going outside your circle and bringing in somebody with more experience, a different perspective, or a proven ability to get the results you're looking for. That's not betrayal. That's leadership. And frankly, anybody who genuinely cares about Lanning, the program, or even their own coaching career should understand that.

Think about it from the perspective of the assistant coaches themselves. What good does it do somebody to be promoted into a position where they're consistently struggling? How does that help their career? Nobody wants their resume to show that they were handed a major responsibility at a nationally recognized program and then watched that part of the team regress under their leadership. They want success. They want to develop their abilities, build a reputation, and earn opportunities to advance. Sometimes the best thing for somebody's career is to spend another year or two learning before taking that next step. There's no shame in that whatsoever.

But there is a problem when personal loyalty starts taking precedence over the success of the organization.

And let's not forget about the players. These young men committed to Oregon because they believed in what this program was building. They believed in the coaching staff, the opportunities, the development, and the chance to compete for championships. As long as they're putting in the effort and holding up their end of the bargain, they deserve a coaching staff that's equally committed to giving them the best possible opportunity to succeed. They don't have unlimited time. Their college careers are short, and for many of them, their performance at Oregon will have a tremendous impact on what opportunities they have afterward. They deserve better than being caught in the middle of somebody else's learning curve. And the same goes for future recruits.

Oregon needs to remain a destination program. A place where talented young athletes want to go because they know they'll be developed, challenged, and given every opportunity to reach their potential. Not a place where highly rated recruits arrive with tremendous expectations only to watch their development stall and their opportunities diminish. That's how programs lose momentum. That's how recruiting starts becoming more difficult. And that's how all the progress made over the last several years can begin slipping away.

I don't want to see that happen. I want Lanning to succeed. I want these coaches to succeed. I want every player wearing an Oregon uniform to succeed.

But wanting somebody to succeed and accepting results that fall short of expectations are not the same thing. At the end of the day, I think Lanning has reached a point in his career where he needs to demonstrate that he's willing to make the difficult decisions necessary to take this program to the next level. That doesn't mean firing everybody or abandoning the culture he's worked so hard to establish. It means taking an objective look at every position, every coach, and every aspect of this program and asking one simple question. Is this the best person for this job, right now? Not whether they're loyal. Not whether they're a good recruiter. Not whether they've been here since the beginning. Not whether they might become a great coach someday.

Are they the best person to help Oregon win football games and compete for national championships today?

If the answer is no, then something needs to change.

Because ultimately, the responsibility for the success or failure of this program rests with Dan Lanning. And if he's going to receive the credit when things go right, he has to be willing to accept the responsibility when things go wrong. I still believe in Lanning. But that belief shouldn't come with a free pass, and it certainly shouldn't mean ignoring problems that are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. There's still an opportunity to turn this season into something respectable, learn from what's gone wrong, and come back stronger. But that starts with accountability. And sometimes the most important thing a leader can do is recognize that loyalty to the people around him can never be more important than loyalty to the program he's been entrusted to lead.

Well, that's my two cents. Go Ducks. 🦆

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Krsmqn

It would be nice to have the offensive mind of Chip with the recruiting ability of Dan. That's not easy to find.

On 10/14/2026 at 11:15 AM, Cigarstar said:

As an assistant at Georgia and now as HC at Oregon Lanning has never known football failure. We all fail at one time or another. Dan now has to deal with professional adversity. Lord knows at home he has dealt with more than most.

Let’s see how he deals with things.

Another quick note. Chesney takes the easy three in the first quarter. Dan gambles and goes for two and fails, make us have to go for two again. Instead of 14 it’s 12. What was UCLA’s margin of victory?

Good observations, thanks.

Dan was an assistant with Alabama when Kirby Smart was Saban's DC. Not much failure to deal with in this tour of duty.

Dan was also an assistant at ASU, under Todd Graham, and at Memphis, under Mike Dorrell. ASU was not a world beater, and G5 Memphis was good but not Boise State-level good.

Dan has dealt with losses in the SEC pressure cooker and elsewhere. And he and the team have bounced back from tough losses to Washington, Ohio State, and Indiana

3-2 after five games and no longer ranked is a new experience at Oregon for Dan and for younger fans. But I don't view this season to date as leading to a Clemson-like decline.

Unlike Dabo, Dan knows how to play ball in today's world of CFB. Hopefully, the D will continue to play to its potential. The O-line? Will Dante Moore be able to play another game this season?

The schedule has been more difficult than many expected. I believe Oregon is the only team to have played four ranked teams in the first five games.

And three of the next four games are against 5-1 Nebraska that outplayed Indiana last week, a ranked Northwestern team, and at No. 4 Ohio State. And a road game at Illinois is not a layup.

A lot of football remains to be played. Less than a handful of CFB teams do not experience a bump in the road from time to time.

I don't see another coach out there who is a realistic candidate for the Oregon job that I'd rather have than Dan.

I wholeheartedly agree that going for two was senseless.

On 10/14/2026 at 11:15 AM, Cigarstar said:

Dan gambles and goes for two and fails, make us have to go for two again. Instead of 14 it’s 12. What was UCLA’s margin of victory?

I made mention to a fellow duck fan at work that this was the most 'Helfrich' loss I've seen since Helfrich was coach.

Just to clarify - Lanning was co-coordinator at Georgia.

https://www.redandblack.com/sports/breaking-georgia-names-dan-lanning-as-new-defensive-coordinator-releases-other-new-titles-for-staff/article_eaf1cfb2-316b-11e9-81cd-27b69bd73b50.html

In addition, head coach Kirby Smart had been the D-coordinator at Alabama.

2025: Joey McGuire brought in playcallers Shiel Wood (defense) and Mack Leftwich (offense) to Texas Tech to accelerate the ascent of an improved roster with championship aspirations.

"You're like, 'Hey, we're not rebuilding. You're coming in and we've been in a bowl game the last three years, won two of the three,'" McGuire told ESPN. "'You need to understand we're putting all this money in. You've got to be ready to go.'"

Winning fixes everything. DL can get away with being prickly to the media (which in essence is the defacto fan interface) as long he keeps winning. That just doesn't work though, when everyone who follows OBD can see what he's doing is just not working.

I get that DL doesn't want to give any kind of competitive advantage to the opposition, but if he unnecessarily alienates the fan base they quit watching and buying tickets. Fine line to walk for sure, but that's why he gets the big $.

1 hour ago, HDuck said:

Just to clarify - Lanning was co-coordinator at Georgia.

https://www.redandblack.com/sports/breaking-georgia-names-dan-lanning-as-new-defensive-coordinator-releases-other-new-titles-for-staff/article_eaf1cfb2-316b-11e9-81cd-27b69bd73b50.html

In addition, head coach Kirby Smart had been the D-coordinator at Alabama.

2025: Joey McGuire brought in playcallers Shiel Wood (defense) and Mack Leftwich (offense) to Texas Tech to accelerate the ascent of an improved roster with championship aspirations.

"You're like, 'Hey, we're not rebuilding. You're coming in and we've been in a bowl game the last three years, won two of the three,'" McGuire told ESPN. "'You need to understand we're putting all this money in. You've got to be ready to go.'"

While the official 2019 Georgia Football Coaches directory gave Glenn Schumann the "co-defensive coordinator" title, Lanning was explicitly designated as the sole Defensive Coordinator.

Lanning carried the full, primary DC title and called the plays during his entire three-year run leading the defense. Schumann was elevated to work under and alongside him as the "co-DC" to assist with game planning and reward his value to the program, but Lanning was never a "co-DC" himself. The lead defensive coordinator role at UGA is officially designated as the Fain & Billy Slaughter Defensive Coordinator.

Edited 50 minutes ago50 min by Krsmqn

Marsh Duck - Trust in Lanning is Breaking

Not in this home.