Dan Lanning shares what Oregon players returning means to him

After a successful run as Georgia’s defensive coordinator, Dan Lanning is now settled in Eugene, Oregon to lead the Oregon Ducks‘ football program. While taking over a top-tier program like Oregon isn’t an easy task, Lanning has said on multiple occasions that he’s ready for the job.

As all college football head coaches today are dealing with players coming and going through the NCAA Transfer Portal, it can be difficult for a coach to maintain continuity on their team. However, Lanning’s been able to get some guys to stay put with him at Oregon.

While Lanning had a group of guys make it clear that they wanted to stay and play for the Ducks in 2022, the new Oregon head coach shared what it means to him.

“I’m excited about this team,” Lanning said. “For the players that we have, the caliber of men that we have on this team that are excited to compete, I think they share a vision that I share of what we can be here and what this program can become. I think they recognize what we’re putting together. It’s really special. I want the guys that want to be here.

“I told our players the very first time I met them the reality is we’re going to win with the players that here, the players that are on this team right now. We’re going to continue to focus on the guys that are on this team right now building our success moving forward with those players.”

Lanning discusses how he handled double duty at Georgia, Oregon in last month

Lanning — who spent the last several weeks of the College Football Playoff run playing double duty between his jobs at Georgia and Oregon — is now focused on Oregon and Oregon only.

“Walking off the field, in the tunnel, after winning the national championship, I was on a FaceTime with a guy that can enhance our program [at Oregon] and make us better,” Lanning said with a smile, shooting down any implication that he struggled to man both stations simultaneously. “That moment — you enjoy it, you get to coach your entire career and don’t always get the opportunity to win a championship.

“But I’ve been fortunate enough to watch other people do that and juggle that in my time. I got to watch [Kirby] Smart do that first-hand in his time going from Alabama to Georgia, and luckily enough, that was someone I could lean on during that process. But it’s full steam ahead at Oregon. Everything Oregon.”

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this report.