Stuart Mandel, senior college football writer for The Athletic, recently ranked his most intriguing Top 25 head coaches in college football for the 2023 season and it conspicuously left off one high profile name.
That’s right – Dan Lanning wasn’t anywhere to be found on that list.
The usual suspects were there,….Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Brian Kelly, Lincoln Riley, and others.
Even Huskie head coach Kalen DaBoer was on the list.
But not Lanning who led Oregon to a 10-3 rookie record, and spearheaded another top recruiting class headed into 2024.
Now, of course, Lanning only has one year of head coaching experience under his belt.
And he and his staff had a few in-game coaching hiccups that might have cost them the Washington game and certainly cost them the OSU game in Corvallis.
But to be left off a list of Top 25 college football coaches seems a bit ludicrous after all his trajectory seems to be rocket-propelled rather than a dud firecracker.
One of the most interesting storylines headed into the 2023 season is how Lanning has improved his in-game strategy, assuming it does improve. Throughout fall camp, Lanning has consistently put the spotlight on himself in regard to going to the doctor and getting better.
Of course, a list like that is certainly subjective to the person creating the list.
But Lanning is proving he’s not messing around with this Oregon program.
He and his staff have shown their ability to bring marquee talent to Eugene and secure their commitments. His ability to recruit is proving to be better than his predecessor ( Mario Cristobal ), which says a lot considering Cristobal was arguably the best recruiter the Ducks had seen in decades,…or ever.
Oregon has never recruited at this level and had this kind of success on the recruiting trail. It’s nice to be able to get the attention of five-star athletes, but to actually get them to sign is something on another level.
And Lanning’s reach throughout the country has been second to none.
Oregon is signing its fair share of four and five-star players from areas that are typically strongholds of the SEC and Big 10.
Assuming Lanning masters the in-game struggles, and they were few, the Ducks should be formidable for years to come and have a seat at the big kids’ table of college football as they move into the Big Ten Conference next season.
It would be more palatable to accept Mandel’s ranking if Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith wasn’t on the list.
Yes, the Beavers Jonathan Smith was listed as a Top 25 head coach.
Smith certainly got the best of Lanning in their first meeting, but at one point, the Ducks were dominating the Beavers 31-10 in the third quarter before the wheels came off.
This is what Mandel had to say about Smith being ranked No. 24.
“In five seasons, the Oregon State alum has impressively rebuilt the program from 2-10 in 2018 to 10-3 in 2022. Last season culminated with upsets of rival Oregon and SEC foe Florida in the bowl game. Though he’s known as an offensive coach, the Beavers led the Pac-12 in total defense last season.“
The dynamic between Lanning and Smith might drastically change shortly as Oregon ventures into the Big Ten while the future of the Beavers remains up in the air.
Lanning will be walking the sidelines in places like ‘the Big House’,…’the Horseshoe’,…and ‘Happy Valley’ while Smith might be coaching against teams in the Mountain West Conference.
Mandel’s list should look vastly different as quickly as 2025 or sooner.
( FALL CAMP ) DAN LANNING DISCUSSES DUCKS SCRIMMAGE