Oregon HC Dan Lanning Knew Offense Was Off During Training Camp

The Oregon Ducks season has cratered, and the lost season will be a learning experience for head coach Dan Lanning.

The expectations were high for the Ducks after Dante Moore and several veterans on the defense decided to return for a chance to lead Oregon to its first-ever national championship. With a No. 2 preseason ranking, no one was predicting a 4-3 start to the year. 

But Lanning did have his doubts about the offense in training camp. 

Per Scott Reed of Ducks Sports Central, Lanning knew by the second scrimmage (Aug. 22) that the offense was not where it needed to be for Oregon to be on the path to make the College Football Playoff. 

In a post on X, Reed laid out some of the timeline that led to Oregon firing first-year offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer on Sunday, just a day after Illinois defeated the Ducks 21-10. 

Lanning didn't foresee how bad the offense would be this year, but he was concerned about the offensive line and how consistent the offense would be in the scheme. Lanning knew that there would be growing pains after losing Will Stein, who left Oregon to become the head coach of Kentucky.

Things grew more serious for the Ducks after the loss to Oklahoma State on Sept. 12. Lanning was frustrated with the lack of identity on offense. Oregon looked too predictable. By halftime of Saturday's game against Illinois, Lanning knew he had to part ways with Mehringer.

One feature that made the 2025 Oregon offense so great was the running game. That was not a feature of Mehringer's offense early in the season, though the Ducks are now averaging 4.3 yards per carry, which is still down from the 5.4 yards per carry they averaged last season.

Before the season, there was skepticism of Lanning's decision to promote Mehringer rather than use the Ohio State method of hiring elite coordinators. The plan backfired, and the Ducks’ season is headed for failure.

Moore's season is over. It remains to be seen if he'll enter the 2027 draft or return for another year of college football. The offense isn't expected to drastically improve for the remainder of the season with either Dylan Raiola or Brock Thomas under center.

It's unfortunate that Lanning and his staff were unable to correct course in training camp. If Lanning learns from this experience and makes changes moving forward, Oregon will be better for it. 

But the Ducks will always think about what this season might have been.