Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks started their new stint in the Big Ten in strong form, winning the conference championship in their first season in the league. While the national title continues to elude them, the 2024 season can be counted as a success for the Eugene program.
At Big Ten Media Days, Dan Lanning leans into the Las Vegas setting with this year’s theme – “Double Down”.
“As this team has grown, the process works.” pic.twitter.com/6Jx25VG2tX
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) July 23, 2025
But Dan Lanning believes that the national title is close for them; it’s just a matter of repeating what they’ve been doing and believing in themselves. This is what the Oregon coach said during his press conference this Wednesday at the Big Ten media days:
“But since we’re in Vegas, it seems like the right time to say it, our theme for this team is double down. We have done an unbelievable job of building this team over time. You look at our success season to season and as this team has grown, the process works. We’re close, and we’ve been able to accomplish a lot, so that’s really what’s gonna feed our program this offseason, and will feed us into fall camp is believing in the process that we have.”
Oregon is Lanning’s first head coaching job. Through three seasons, he has garnered a very positive 35-6 record with the Ducks and has won a Holiday and a Fiesta Bowl. He has made it to the College Football Playoff once. Previously, he was the defensive coordinator at Georgia during the program’s double national title-winning run between 2021 and 2022.
Dan Lanning about working with a new team for 2025
One of the biggest weaknesses the Ducks have in 2025 is that they lost a significant number of players to the NFL at the end of the 2024 campaign. However, for Lanning, that isn’t as big an issue as you would think:
“We do have a brand new team and brand new challenges. What happened last year has nothing to do with the future. So building that, starting from scratch, getting the opportunity to head back to the kitchen, figure out what we’re going to be able to throw in for our recipe and create a great meal, is something we’re super excited about. I have confidence in this group more than anything, because I’ve seen the work, right? And not everybody always gets to see the work. We’ve been a little bit under the radar this offseason, but these guys have worked extremely hard. They put their best foot forward, and that’s part of what makes this so much fun for me.”
Ten Oregon players got drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, key among them quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who was picked by the Cleveland Browns. A clear sign of positive developments under Lanning, as this is a program record. Nonetheless, it also left them with a difficult set of players to replace.
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