EUGENE, Ore. — University of Oregon Director of Athletics Rob Mullens announced today that UO has agreed to terms and is finalizing a contract extension with head football coach Dan Lanning. The extension has been approved by the UO Board of Trustees. This agreement runs through the 2028 season and is intended to be funded through philanthropy.
“Dan has exhibited tremendous leadership and an unwavering commitment to providing the best possible experience for our football student-athletes,” Mullens said. “This joint commitment is one component of a bold vision for the future of Oregon football that will allow our program to continue to compete at the highest level and on the cutting edge of innovation and excellence. We are grateful to Dan for his dedication to our football student-athletes and university, and we look forward to a bright future on the horizon under his leadership.”
In his first season at Oregon in 2022, Lanning led the Ducks to a 10-3 record, including three wins against Top 15 teams and a victory over North Carolina in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl. The 2022 Ducks were the only FBS team to rank in the top 20 in both rushing offense (12th, 215.77 yards per game) and passing offense (17th, 284.8 ypg) while ranking tied for ninth in scoring offense (38.8 points per game) and allowing the fewest sacks in the nation with five.
“In coaching, you dream to be at a place where you can both raise your family and win at a high level,” said Lanning. “Oregon has more than exceeded those expectations for my wife, Sauphia, and our three boys, and this will ensure our boys can all graduate from the same school as we continue to grow roots in the community. I am thrilled to be a part of a program that has a shared vision for how to stay on the cutting edge and achieve great success moving forward, and I am grateful to Phil and Penny Knight, Rob Mullens and President Scholz for their faith and unwavering support of our program. Our relentless pursuit of excellence for the Oregon football program will continue to include an innovative and aggressive approach to student-athlete support, world-class facilities, and all program dynamics as we push forward, and I look forward to all of the great days on the horizon for our student-athletes and Duck fans.”
Lanning is the fifth head coach in program history to post a 10-win season and only the third to do so in his first year. The Ducks rose as high as No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings last year.
Regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation, Lanning’s first class in 2022 ranked first in the Pac-12 and the recent class signed in February 2023 was ranked a consensus Top 10 class. He also has shown a propensity for recruiting high-caliber players from the transfer portal, including quarterback Bo Nix, who ranked fifth in the nation with 49 total touchdowns and led all FBS quarterbacks with 14 rushing touchdowns, the second-most in a single-season by an Oregon quarterback. Nix’s completion percentage of 71.9 in 2022 set the Oregon single-season record.
The Ducks also added Christian Gonzalez and Bucky Irving to their transfer class in 2022, with Gonzalez intercepting four passes last season and being selected No. 17 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by New England. Irving returns for his second season with the Ducks in 2023 after a 2022 campaign in which he rushed for 1,058 yards and scored eight total touchdowns while winning SDCCU Holiday Bowl offensive MVP honors after tying his career-high with 149 yards rushing and two touchdowns on only 13 carries.
Lanning coached six NFL draft picks last season, four of whom were from the defensive side of the ball. He joined the Ducks after four seasons at Georgia from 2018-21, including the last three as the defensive coordinator. He led a historically dominant defensive unit during the Bulldogs’ national championship season in 2021, when Georgia led the nation in scoring defense by allowing only 10.2 points per game, 4.6 ppg better than any team in the country. Lanning’s defense that season allowed just 16 touchdowns in 15 games, five fewer than any other team, and held opponents to 10 points or less nine times.
