DAN LANNING

Head Coach

Dan Lanning was officially announced as the 35th head coach in Oregon football history on December 11, 2021, as athletic director Rob Mullens brought one of college football’s brightest young coaches and top defensive minds to Eugene to lead the Ducks

“Dan is an outstanding, high-energy football coach who will provide a world-class experience for our football student-athletes,” Mullens said. “He is a tremendous recruiter and developer of talent, and we will continue to compete for championships while providing an environment where our football student-athletes can develop to their fullest potential in the classroom, on the football field, and as people. We are grateful for the opportunity to have Dan as the leader of our football program, and we look forward to the positive impact he will have on our student-athletes.”

In his first season as the Ducks’ head coach, Lanning led Oregon to a 10-3 record and a win over North Carolina in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl. Lanning became the third Oregon head coach to win 10 games in his first season, and the first since Mark Helfrich in 2013.

Lanning came to Oregon after spending the previous four seasons at Georgia, including the last three as defensive coordinator. He directed the top defense in the nation in his three seasons as defensive coordinator, and helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2022 national championship before taking over full-time as Oregon’s new head coach.

A two-time finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach, Lanning joined Georgia in 2018 as outside linebackers coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator.

A Missouri native, Lanning began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 2011, and also had stints at Arizona State (2012-13), Sam Houston State (2014), Alabama (2014), and Memphis (2016-17). He made is on-field collegiate coaching debut at Sam Houston State as the defensive backs coach.

As an assistant coach, Lanning has been to and won four of the New Year’s Six bowl games, including national titles with both Georgia in 2022 and Alabama in 2015. In four years with Lanning on staff, Georgia also won three SEC Eastern Division titles (2018-19, 2021) and reached back-to-back Allstate Sugar Bowls (2018-19), the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (2020), and the Capital One Orange Bowl (2021, CFP Semifinal).

10-WIN DEBUT
Lanning had the Ducks in the national conversation throughout his first season as a head coach, guiding Oregon to 10 wins and a win in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl.

After a tough loss to his former team and the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs to open his Oregon career, Lanning and the Ducks bounced back to win eight consecutive games and were in the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation. A late-season injury to quarterback Bo Nix loomed large in a pair of tight losses to Washington and Oregon State, but the Ducks finished strong with a comeback win over North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl.

Despite his background in elite defense, the calling card for Lanning’s first Oregon team was an electric offense led by Nix. The Ducks were the only team in the nation to rank in the top 20 in both rushing offense (12th, 215.77 YPG) and passing offense (17th, 284.8 YPG) while tying for ninth in scoring offense (38.8 PPG), and boasted the country’s top offensive line with just five sacks allowed.

Nix was phenomenal in his first season as a Duck, before announcing he would return to Oregon for a fifth season of college football in 2023. The UO quarterback ranked fifth in the nation with 44 total touchdowns while setting a new UO single-season record for completion percentage at 71.9, second-best in the nation. Nix led all FBS quarterbacks with 14 rushing touchdowns, the second-most ever in a season by an Oregon quarterback.

Lanning’s inaugural Oregon defense was led by a trio of NFL Draft picks in cornerback Christian Gonzalez, defensive end DJ Johnson and linebacker Noah Sewell. Gonzalez led Oregon with four interceptions and went on to be the No. 17 overall pick by the New England Patriots. Johnson led the Ducks in sacks and was a third-round pick by the Carolina Panthers, and Sewell capped a productive three-year Oregon career by being a fifth-round pick by the Chicago Bears. The trio made up half of a six-player NFL Draft class in 2023, the most for the Ducks since 2009.

Lanning became just the fifth head coach in Oregon history to reach 10 wins in a season, and just the third to do so in his debut season in Eugene.

ELITE DEFENSE
Lanning oversaw the nation’s top overall defense in his three seasons as Georgia’s defensive coordinator, including a historically dominant unit in 2021 as he helped lead the Bulldogs to their third-ever national championship and first since 1980.

In three seasons with Lanning coordinating the defense, Georgia led the country in combined scoring defense (13.6 points per game) and rushing defense (75.7 yards per game), while also ranking No. 2 in total defense (284.3 yards per game).

Lanning’s 2021 Georgia defense led the nation in scoring defense by a wide margin at just 10.2 points per game, 4.6 points per game better than any other team in the country. During 12 regular season contests, Georgia’s opponents mustered just 6.9 points per game.

The Bulldogs’ defense was especially impressive during the 2021 College Football Playoff, with Lanning’s unit fueling the program to the national title. Georgia held Michigan to just 11 points in the CFP semifinal, and then limited an Alabama offense that averaged 41.4 points per game to just 18 points in the national title game.

The 2021 Georgia defense allowed just 16 touchdowns all season under Lanning, five fewer than any other team in the country. The Bulldogs held opponents to 10 points or less nine times in 15 games, and Georgia played 11 full quarters to start the season before surrendering a touchdown. In back-to-back games vs. Vanderbilt and Arkansas, Lanning’s unit pitched consecutive shutouts while winning by a combined score of 99-0.

Georgia’s historic 2021 season also saw the Bulldogs lead the nation in red-zone defense (62.5 score %), while ranking second in total defense (267.9 YPG), rushing defense (78.87 YPG) and yards allowed per play (4.15), and fourth in sacks (49.0). Georgia also had a stout passing defense, ranking 12th overall at 189.1 yards per game.

Lanning also directed the nation’s top scoring defense in 2019 – his first year as defensive coordinator – when the Bulldogs allowed just 12.6 points per game. Georgia led the country in rushing defense (74.6 YPG) and set a school record with an FBS-best two rushing touchdowns allowed, while ranking second nationally in yards allowed per play (4.29) and third in total defense (275.7 YPG).

In a 26-14 win over Baylor in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to cap the 2019 season, Lanning’s defense held the Bears scoreless in the first half and allowed just 61 rushing yards and 295 total yards.

Lanning’s unit led the nation in rushing defense (72.3 YPG) for the second year in a row in 2020 while ranking 12th in total defense (321.0 YPG) and 16th in scoring defense (20.0 PPG). In a 44-21 win over Tennessee, Georgia allowed an incredible minus-1 rushing yards and 214 total yards while recording three forced fumbles and an interception.

The Bulldogs closed out the 2020 season with a thrilling performance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, with Lanning’s defense holding No. 8 Cincinnati scoreless in the fourth quarter as Georgia scored 14 unanswered points to win, 24-21.

In Lanning’s first season at Georgia as the outside linebackers coach in 2018, the Bulldogs ranked 13th nationally in total defense (314.3 YPG) and 14th in scoring defense (19.2 PPG).

Lanning was the inside linebackers coach at Memphis in 2016 and 2017, helping lead a defense that ranked in the top five nationally in turnovers gained both years.

DEVELOPING STARS
Lanning has proven his ability as a talent developer, coaching some of the top defensive players in all of college football throughout his career.

In 2021, Lanning coordinated an elite Georgia defense that was led by a pair of first-team all-Americans in defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean. Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt joined Davis and Dean on the all-SEC first team, and three more Bulldogs earned second-team honors.

Davis was an absolute force in the middle of the Bulldog defense, winning the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player as well as the Outland Trophy as the top FBS interior lineman. He joined Ndamukong Suh (2009, Nebraska) and Aaron Donald (2013, Pittsburgh) as the only players to win the Bednarik Award and the Outland Trophy in the same season.

Dean took home the 2021 Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the country, becoming the second Bulldog to win the honor in its 37-year history. Dean was second on the team with 72 tackles while adding a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions.

That 2021 defense enjoyed a historic 2022 NFL Draft, with a whopping eight players from Lanning’s unit being selected. That group was led defensive end Travon Walker, who went No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Walker was joined by Davis (Philadelphia, No. 13), linebacker Quay Walker (Green Bay, No. 22), Wyatt (Green Bay, No. 28) and safety Lewis Cine (Minnesota, No. 32) in the first round as Georgia became the first defense ever to have five first-round selections in the same draft. Dean and fellow linebacker Channing Tindall both went in the third round to give Lanning’s defense seven picks in the first three rounds.

In 2020, Lanning coached a defense that featured four 2021 NFL Draft selections. Defensive back Eric Stokes was taken by the Green Bay Packers with the 29th overall pick after putting together a first-team all-American season with four interceptions.

Defensive back Tyson Campbell went four picks after Stokes at No. 33 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and linebacker Azeez Ojulari was taken at No. 50 by the New York Giants. Ojulari led the SEC in sacks (8.5) and forced fumbles (3) while ranking second in tackles for loss (11.5). Linebacker Monty Rice went to the Tennessee Titans in the third round with the 92nd overall pick.

Lanning’s 2019 Georgia defense was led by safety J.R. Reed, who earned all-America honors by four different outlets. Linebacker Tae Crowder was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award and was taken by the Giants with the final pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In his first season at Georgia in 2018, Lanning coached outside linebacker D’Andre Walker to a second-team all-SEC selection. Walker led the team in sacks and tackles for loss and was a fifth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2019 NFL Draft.

As the inside linebackers coach at Memphis (2016-17), Lanning coached a two-time first-team all-AAC selection in linebacker Genard Avery, a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Lanning made his on-field collegiate coaching debut at Sam Houston State in 2014 as the defensive backs coach, mentoring three players who earned all-Southland Conference honors. Trenier Orr also received all-America recognition.

RELENTLESS RECRUITER
Lanning is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country. At the time of his hiring at Oregon, 247Sports listed Lanning as the No. 8 ranked recruiter in the nation.

Oregon’s new head coach immediately went to work on the recruiting trail upon arriving in Eugene, signing a 2022 class that 247Sports regarded as the 13th best in the country and best in the Pac-12 entering the season. Lanning’s initial UO class included five-star offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr., as well as 10 four-star recruits.

Lanning continued his recruiting momentum into 2023, landing a consensus top-10 class that was headlined by five-star receiver Jurrion Dickey and five-star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei. Lanning also showed a knack for attacking the transfer portal early in his Oregon tenure, landing key contributors like Nix, Gonzalez and running back Bucky Irving for 2022 before signing receiver Tez Johnson, offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius and defensive end Jordan Burch among a flurry of transfer additions for 2023.

Lanning was the lead recruiter for linebacker Nakobe Dean, the eventual 2021 Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top linebacker and first-team all-American. Dean was 247Sports’ No. 2 ranked inside linebacker in the 2019 class and No. 19 player overall.

Lanning played a huge role in Georgia signing defensive end Nolan Smith, the top-ranked overall player in the 2019 class. In three seasons with the Bulldogs, Smith has racked up 81 total tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks with two forced fumbles and an interception.

According to 247Sports, Lanning has received commitments from five five-star prospects and 14 four-star recruits.

Lanning was the on-campus recruiting coordinator at Arizona State in 2013, helping the Sun Devils land a top-20 signing class. Lanning was also the co-recruiting coordinator during his year at Sam Houston State in 2014.

PLAYING CAREER & PERSONAL
Born in North Kansas City, Mo., Lanning spent his playing days as a linebacker at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. He earned two Bachelor of Science degrees in physical education and secondary education in 2008.

Lanning began his coaching career at Park Hill South High School in Missouri after earning his degree, spending three seasons as the special teams, defensive backs and wide receivers coach. During that time, he completed coursework for his Master’s degree in secondary administration from William Woods University in Fulton, Mo.

Lanning and his wife, Sauphia, have three sons – Caden, Kniles, and Titan.