Joel Klatt places Dan Lanning fourth nationally, believing the Oregon coach is building a perennial championship contender and is closing in on the elite.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has made significant progress in recent seasons.
The Ducks made it to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in 2024 after winning the Big Ten championship. Last season, Oregon won two CFP games before losing to eventual national champion Indiana in the CFP semifinal.
Lanning, 39, is 48-8 during his first four seasons in Eugene, his first stint as a college football head coach.
On his show Monday, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt ranked Lanning as the No. 4 college coach in the country. He thinks Lanning has a chance to climb the rankings as the program sets out for a national championship.
“I have said for a long time, if I had to buy stock in a coach, I said this a couple of years ago in a coach, that it would have been Dan Lanning," Klatt said. "And I still feel that way. Oregon is a perennial national championship contender under Lanning.
"He has elevated them above what they were before he got there, period. He just has. He is a phenomenal coach."
Klatt noted that Oregon's recent losses were all against CFP teams.
“He's 48 and eight in his four seasons at Oregon," Klatt said. 48-8 and six of his eight career losses came against teams that reached the title game. Four of those losses to the eventual national champ.
"So he's lost five games over the last three years... You do not beat Oregon unless you are the best teams in college football. And you can make an argument that he's gaining on those teams.”
Oregon is expected to compete for the national championship next year. Dante Moore returned for one more year with the program despite being a likely first-round pick if he entered the 2026 NFL Draft.
Klatt thinks Oregon can reach the next level in 2026.
"One more step this next year with his most veteran team, all those defensive linemen coming back. Dante Moore coming back," he said.
The Ducks have never won a national championship. If Lanning finally can achieve that, he'll be a forever hero at Oregon.