Ducks HC Dan Lanning Needs to Nail His Next OC Hire, Just as He Has Done in the Past

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has been elite at hiring coordinators in the past, and now he will be tasked with doing the same thing as they made the decision this week to move on from former offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.

The Ducks' offense has been really bad this season, and not just because of the quarterback. When they had Dante Moore at the quarterback position, they needed a comeback to beat Boise State, but they got totally dominated by the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Then, when the backups came in against UCLA, Nebraska, and Illinois, the wheels totally came off. In those games with the backups, they average just under 11 points per game. It's been a disaster for the Ducks, and now they will be searching for another coordinator for next season.

The positive here is that Mehringer was his first miss as a hire in his time at Oregon. The four hires that he has made have been Will Stein (Kentucky head coach), Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State head coach), Tosh Lupoi (Cal head coach), and current defensive coordinator Chris Hampton, who has been solid so far. 

You can't win them all, and bad hires are going to happen, but Lanning needs to right his wrongs as soon as he possibly can next year.

The 2026 year for Lanning and the Ducks has been a ridiculous disaster. From the start until this moment this week, it has been all things bad for the Ducks. The seat under Lanning is definitely not hot, but there is nothing to say that it won't begin to warm up next year.

In his five years, he has won no fewer than 10 games each year, with two College Football Playoff appearances to his name. In each of those, he lost to the eventual National Champion.

It was a bloodbath in the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes, and then another bloodbath last year against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl. 

Things have gone well for Lanning's teams in the regular season, but the postseason has been horrible. Now add all of that to what is going on this year, and the conversation might start to happen about what his fit is as the head coach is for this team.

That conversation goes completely away if he nails this next OC hire and gets the train back on the tracks. He has to turn it around, and turn it around quickly. The Ducks need it, he needs it, and they have to get the program turned back around as soon as they can.