While Mario Cristobal was a great coach for the Oregon Ducks, over the last several seasons, the program has started to hit another level. Dan Lanning arrived with a ton of energy and excitement and has taken what Cristobal built and molded into the best possible form. Through three seasons in Eugene, Lanning has gone 35-6 with his worst season coming in his first year where he went 10-3.
When Oregon jumped from the Pac 12 to the Big Ten, everyone assumed they'd have a tougher time playing in a stronger league while also traveling to a different time zone most weeks to take on cold weather teams. Instead, Lanning and Oregon ran through the season going unbeaten until it ran into Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
Over his short time as a Head Coach, Lanning has cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the sport but, the debate is always over how high he ranks. On his podcast "The Triple Option" with Mark Ingram and Rob Stone, Urban Meyer gave his take on where Dan Lanning ranks and what he needs to do next.
"The big gold trophy, that’s it. I went to visit him last year, went to Spring practice, talked to the team, talked to the staff. Watched him behind the scenes. I think he’s certainly one of the Top 2-3 coaches in country right now"Urban Meyer
While being the 2nd or 3rd best coach in the Country may be slightly high for Dan Lanning he's certainly in that conversation which speaks to how great of a job he's done. The next step for Lanning is truly just winning a National Championship and if the Ducks continue to recruit at the level they have been it'll be a matter of when and not if.
Urban Meyer then spoke on Dan Lanning's love and enthusiasm about Oregon which certainly plays into why he's one of the best coaches in the sport.
"I love his enthusiasm. And here’s what’s really neat, he loves Oregon. He loves that place. His family loves it. He’s got a niche out there, he’s got Nike, it’s a beautiful school, he’s got great facilities. This one ain’t going away."Urban Meyer
It's easy to just point to the fact that Nike is a massive recruiting tool and use it to discount what Lanning has accomplished but, that's also not fair as many schools have similar advantages. On a yearly basis, Lanning is dipping into every part of the Country convincing players to move to Eugene and he's turning them into NFL Draft picks which will only keep his program rolling.