There are several different ways that you can look at Dan Lanning after one season coaching the Oregon Ducks.
On the one hand, notching 10 wins in your first year as a head coach and winning a bowl game while landing a top 10 recruiting class is absolutely nothing to pass on. However, losses to both Oregon State and Washington are hard to swallow in a single year.
Going into his first season, Lanning was ranked as the No. 8 head coach in the Pac-12 coaching rankings, per CBS Sports. A year later — this time with something to show for his coaching skills — Lanning moved up two spots to No. 6.
There were high expectations in Lanning’s first season at Oregon, and he delivered with a 10-win season. The team got a boost when quarterback Bo Nix announced he was coming back for another season, but the Pac-12 will be as competitive as ever at that position. Couple that with tough conference games on the road against Washington and USC, and it’s possible the Ducks take a step back. To his credit, though, Lanning has emerged as one of the best recruiters in the conference; the Ducks’ 2023 recruiting class ranked second in the Pac-12.
USC’s Lincoln Riley leads the Pac-12, followed by Utah’s Kyle Whittingham at No. 2, and UCLA’s Chip Kelly at No. 3. Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith are also ahead of Lanning.
After the 2023 season comes and goes, it will be interesting to see where Lanning can find himself on this list, especially with another elite recruiting class under his belt as well.