Dan Lanning gives the key to his goals as a coach not changing

The hiring of Dan Lanning at Oregon has been nothing but a slam dunk so far, as Lanning has led the Ducks to a 35-6 record over three seasons. Oregon won the Big Ten Championship in its first season in the conference in 2024 and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff with an unblemished 13-0 record.

College football fans were skeptical when Oregon hired the former Georgia defensive coordinator prior to the 2022 season, but he has certainly proved all of the doubters wrong so far. Lanning opened up on not changing as a coach and some of his goals at a media opportunity on Monday.

“Well I think everything in football is about learning different ways to say the same thing over and over again,” Lanning said. “You’ve got to make sure it’s interesting and exciting for your team. Ultimately winning football is winning football and that’s been really consistent. What’s the new run scheme in the league that we haven’t seen? That’s what’s different.”

‘Goals are consistently the same,’ said Lanning

“So you have to be great at stopping the run and great at running the ball. We know that, so thats the goal that stays the same. We want to be able to be a team that can rush consistently for four or five yards per carry. We want to be a team on defense that can hold people under 3.3 yards per rush, so that stays the same.”

Oregon‘s defense ranked 15th in the country in yards per game allowed last season (316.1) and ranked 16th in the country in points allowed per game (19.4). It’s lone loss (41-21) came to eventual National Champions Ohio State in the Rose Bowl (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal).

“What’s gonna change is ‘how are we gonna do it?’ So I think the goals are consistently the same,” Lanning continued. “There are some of those goals that we have hit in the past and some that we haven’t. That tells you quickly that this is an area that we want to attack. This is something we’ve got to do better this season. Ultimately, a lot of it’s the same. The process of getting there may be a little bit different but the process in itself is also the same.”

Still chasing its first National Championship in program history, Oregon opens the 2025 season at home against Montana State on Aug. 30. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM on Big Ten Network.