The question is: which of Dan's "buddies" does he hire? He definitely has a tendency to lean on people he knows, trusts, or has some history with, and for the most part his track record doing it has been pretty damn good.

So rather than just throwing out the usual list of hot coordinator names, I started going backward through Dan's career and looking at offensive coaches he has actually worked with who could fit the job. Some are realistic, some could become realistic depending on what happens over the next month, and some are obviously long shots.

Mike Norvell: Probably the most interesting name on the entire list. Dan worked with Norvell at Pitt in 2011, again at Arizona State, and then Norvell was the guy who hired Dan at Memphis. Norvell is still the head coach at Florida State, but FSU is sitting at 3 and 4 and 1 and 3 in the ACC, so I don't think you can simply cross his name off because he's currently a head coach. His future at FSU is very much worth watching. If they make a change, you'd suddenly have a proven offensive coach and former Power Four head coach with a very strong personal connection to Dan sitting on the market.

Chip Long: Worked with Dan at Arizona State and again at Memphis in 2016, where Long was Norvell's OC. He's also been the OC at Notre Dame, Tulane, Georgia Tech and Southern Miss. I can't find him on a current 2026 FBS coaching staff, so unlike a lot of these guys, availability wouldn't appear to be a major obstacle. His stock isn't what it was during the Notre Dame years, but he has a ton of actual play calling experience and a long history with Dan.

Aaron Pflugrad: Worked with Dan at Arizona State. Pflugrad has coordinator experience from Northern Arizona, spent 2025 as Michigan State's passing game coordinator and is now the quarterbacks coach at James Madison. JMU is 7 and 1 this season. He's younger, coaches quarterbacks, has experience designing a passing game and has a direct relationship with Dan. This feels like exactly the kind of under the radar name Dan could hire and everyone would immediately understand once they looked at the connection.

Chris Thomsen: Worked with Dan at Arizona State in 2013. He's currently Florida State's deputy head coach and tight ends coach and has both head coaching and offensive coordinator experience. He's spent more of his career with offensive lines and tight ends than as a pure play caller, so I wouldn't put him among my favorites. If Florida State makes wholesale staff changes, though, he could become available very quickly.

Phil Longo: Was Dan's offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State in 2014. Longo later ran offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina and Wisconsin and is now the head coach at Sam Houston. The interesting part is that Sam Houston went 2 and 10 last year and is 1 and 6 right now. So while he's technically a head coach today, I would not automatically assume he'll still be one when the coaching carousel really starts. If he becomes available, there is a direct Dan connection and an enormous amount of offensive coordinator experience.

Lane Kiffin: Dan spent the 2015 season at Alabama while Kiffin was running the offense. Kiffin is now the head coach at LSU, so this one is obviously in the fantasy category unless something completely bizarre happens. Still, if we're actually going through Dan's coaching history and looking at offensive coaches he worked alongside, Kiffin belongs on the list.

Billy Napier: Also worked with Dan on Alabama's 2015 staff, where Napier coached receivers. Napier has been an offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and head coach and is now the head coach at James Madison. JMU is 7 and 1 in his first season. That makes him extremely unlikely to leave for a coordinator job, but the connection and offensive background are both there.

Kenny Dillingham: Worked with Dan at Memphis in 2016 and 2017, and Dan then hired him as his first offensive coordinator at Oregon. He's now the head coach at Arizona State, so I don't see a reunion happening. But Dillingham is probably the single best piece of evidence for the entire premise here. When Dan needed his first OC, he went directly to someone he'd already worked with and trusted.

Darrell Dickey: Worked with Dan at Memphis. Dickey was assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2016 and became the OC in 2017. He's been an offensive coordinator at multiple schools and was the head coach at North Texas. He doesn't appear to be on a current coaching staff and has recently been doing football analysis around Texas A&M. He's probably not the young, splashy hire most Oregon fans would picture, but he's experienced, appears available and knows Dan personally.

Ryan Silverfield: Worked with Dan at Memphis as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator. He's now in his first season as the head coach at Arkansas. I don't see him leaving a new SEC head coaching job to become Oregon's OC, but he's another significant offensive connection from Dan's Memphis years.

James Coley: Worked alongside Dan at Georgia in 2018 and 2019. Coley was co OC and quarterbacks coach in 2018 and became Georgia's OC in 2019. He's now back at Georgia coaching wide receivers.

He's also coordinated offenses at Miami and has a long recruiting résumé. His one season as Georgia's primary OC is going to be the obvious concern, but he's currently in a position Oregon could realistically hire him away from and he has a substantial history with Dan.

Buster Faulkner: Worked with Dan at Georgia in 2020 and 2021 while Faulkner was on the offensive staff and Dan was running the defense. Faulkner spent the next three seasons as Georgia Tech's OC, was named the 2025 FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year and is now Florida's OC. Florida is currently 5 and 2. He's an experienced quarterback coach and play caller, his résumé is trending up rather than down, and he already knows Dan. To me, he's one of the strongest realistic names on the entire list.

Todd Monken: Worked alongside Dan at Georgia in 2020 and 2021, with Monken running the offense and Dan running the defense. They won a national championship together. Monken became the Cleveland Browns head coach in January, so this one is basically impossible. But from the standpoint of offensive coaches Dan knows and respects, he's obviously part of the tree.

Cortez Hankton: Worked with Dan throughout Dan's four years at Georgia. Hankton coached receivers there, then went to LSU, where he became passing game coordinator and eventually co OC. He's now Ohio State's wide receivers coach. That makes this one especially interesting because Oregon could potentially offer him a genuine step up, full offensive coordinator responsibility and possibly the opportunity to call plays. He has the Dan relationship, SEC and Big Ten experience, high end recruiting chops and experience helping coordinate elite passing offenses. This one makes a lot of sense.

Jim Chaney: Was Georgia's offensive coordinator during Dan's first season there in 2018. Chaney has also coordinated offenses at Purdue, Tennessee, Arkansas and Pitt and is currently the offensive coordinator at Georgia State. He has about as much play calling experience as anyone on this list and would presumably be obtainable. The question would be whether Dan wants that kind of veteran coordinator or somebody younger with more upside.

Junior Adams: Spent three seasons on Dan's Oregon staff as wide receivers coach and co OC before leaving for the NFL. He's now in his second season coaching receivers for the Dallas Cowboys. He already knows the program, players, recruiting footprint and Dan's expectations. Convincing him to leave the NFL might be difficult, but becoming Oregon's full offensive coordinator would be a substantially different job than the one he left.

Ra'Shaad Samples: Already on Dan's staff as assistant head coach and running backs coach. He previously coached in the NFL with the Rams and was Arizona State's passing game coordinator before coming to Oregon. He's young, considered an excellent recruiter and is obviously someone Dan thinks highly of. The question is experience. Giving him full control of the offense and play calling duties would be a major promotion.

Ross Douglas: Currently Oregon's wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. He previously held the same role at Syracuse and coached receivers for the New England Patriots. He's another young coach Dan clearly values and he's already involved in Oregon's passing game. Like Samples, though, promoting him to full OC and primary play caller would be a pretty significant leap.

So who knows which direction Dan actually goes, but I think the larger point is that the list of legitimate possibilities gets a lot more interesting once you stop looking only at the obvious national names and start looking at the people he already knows. His history says familiarity and trust matter to him, especially with coordinators. I would not be surprised at all if the eventual hire is somebody most people barely mention at first, then five minutes after the announcement everyone looks at the connection and says, "Yeah, that actually makes perfect sense."

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Krsmqn

Norvell is gone after this year. Makes a ton of sense for all of the above reasons.