Dan Lanning Is Defining the Present and Shaping the Future of College Football
In his postgame interview on Saturday night, as stunned Penn State fans flooded to familiar exits like zombies, Dan Lanning looked and sounded more like an Oregon fan than the team's head football coach.
The emotions of a dramatic evening poured out all at once. He could barely stand still; his shoulders swaying violently back and forth, as if his body was readying for orbit. His eyes wide as dinner plates. His voice, leaking oil after a night of yelling over more than 111,000 people, but still overflowing with emotion.
At some points, he looked as though he was about to cry. In others, he seemed poised to level the nearest tackling dummy. It was raw and real, which has become his norm. As is winning football games of substance, something Lanning has done since becoming of the Ducks in 2022.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
In fact, he's won a ton and lost very little. Forty victories, six defeats. And he's done this despite being a head football coach for less than three-and-a-half years.
He's won a conference championship. He's led his team to the playoff and been a model for success, despite having three different starting quarterbacks the past three seasons.
And now, as Oregon sprints toward the meat of its schedule with a massive victory over Penn State in hand, it's fair to wonder whether any collegiate coach is better than the one currently residing in Eugene.
In fact, let's do an exercise to talk through this very thought.
You're the parent of an elite high school football player somewhere across the country. What coach would you have the most faith in to develop your child into a star?
Ryan Day, you say? A fine choice, especially if he plays quarterback. Day is coming off his first national championship, silencing the unrest caused by a series of losses to rival Michigan. Not a bad option, especially given his abundance of offensive knowledge.
How about Kirby Smart? The resume, at least compared to current coaches, is probably unmatched. Smart has won four national championships, including two as the head coach of Georgia. The success over the past decade is undeniable.
From there, things drop off quickly. Dabo Swinney has climbed the mountain, but it's been a minute since he has and things aren't exactly thriving. Steve Sarkisian knows how to build a program and certainly lead an offense, but we need to see more.
Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, Kalen DeBoer and James Franklin (perhaps not the week for his name to be included) all might make the team photo. Plenty of others warrant mention, although none are perfect answers.
If we're being honest, Lanning has more coaching momentum than any coach in college football. And he has done it his own way, often wearing his emotions on his sleeve for the world to see.
In a sense, this is what has made him unique and absolutely delightful to watch. At only 39 years old, he's closer to his players in age than he is to many coaches he is competing against.
His youthful confidence and energy is a great equalizer, although he pairs that with the mindset of a CEO, which is a must for a head coach at a major school in the year 2025.
He's been in a force in recruiting, and he might just have the best transfer portal success of any coach in college football. For further proof, just look at his last three starting quarterbacks: Bo Nix, Dillion Gabriel and Dante Moore.
Nix and Gabriel each finished in the top three in Heisman voting. Moore, who will enter Week 6 with 14 touchdowns and only one interception, is on his way to doing the same.
Lanning's background in defense has also unquestionably played a role. While Oregon has garnered the reputation of being offensively focused—and that side of the ball has largely been superb over the past 15 years—the balance of this current program is often forgotten.
In the past two-plus years, the Ducks have not finished lower than No. 16 in scoring defense. Currently, they're No. 11 in the same category. Lanning will never get same credit as some of the offensive-minded coaches around the country, although it's worth noting just how much of an impact he has had.
The next step, of course, is obvious. While Lanning has won big, he hasn't won a national championship. In fact, if we had one major critique of the coach, it's that he's yet to experience true postseason success.
Last season's magical run was cut short by Ohio State, which ultimately went on to win a title. Having to play the Buckeyes in the team's first game, despite earning the No. 1 overall seed, certainly didn't help.
This year, regardless of the path or the opposition, Lanning must take that next, next step. Given the success he's had in big games during the regular season, this is the natural progression.
We'll get there. And Lanning will get there. At this point, it's the only thing standing between him and the debate over his standing across the sport. The fact that he mixes in a personality to go with it is simply icing on the cake.
Make no mistake about it, Lanning will soon be the biggest and most coveted coaching star across college football if he isn't already. The NFL interest will undoubtedly arise, as will ties to major jobs that open up along the way.
Such is the life of a wildly successful coach, who is stacking wins against major programs in huge spots seemingly each and every year. Lanning's mix of success and swagger has him approaching rarified as October begins.
And he's only getting started.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
