Dan Lanning, head coach of Oregon Football, has compiled the exact same record in four seasons as Chip Kelly did when he was at the helm in Eugene.
Remember that time? We all do. Oregon Football had climbed out of the pit of “good” teams and shot straight into the stratosphere.
But Chip…well, Chip wasn’t a big recruiter himself. The flash, resources, etc. helped Oregon pull in some great talent, for sure, and Chip maximised it.
But Dan? Dan is a master salesman and a culture-builder.
In the days leading
up to early National Signing Day (today) Oregon Football lost its Offensive Coordinator Will Stein and Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi to head coaching jobs at Kentucky and Cal, respectively.
Good on them, that’s what a good head coach should do, get opportunities for his coordinators.
Thing is, with Oregon positioned to sign a Top Five class nationally, how would this sudden exodus effect who put pen to paper?
Apparently, not all that much.
Yes, when it was all said and done, Chris Henry Jr. ended up sticking with his initial choice of Ohio State.
But clearly, he was cutting it down to the wire.
No longer was it a cut-and-dry decision.
Regardless, here’s who headlined Oregon’s class:
- Five Star WR Jalen Lott
- Five Star WR Gatlin Bair
- Five Star OT Immanuel Iheanacho
- Five Star TE Kendre’ Harrison
- Five Star S Jett Washington
- Five Star Edge Anthony Jones
Back in the Win The Day era, Oregon was thrilled with nabbing one Five Star prospect in a class, you know, mostly to show that they actually could.
Dan just inked six. Immediately after losing his Offensive and Defensive Coordinators.
But the big knock has seemed to be “recruiting is one thing, coaching is another”.
So, back to what I said to remember; Dan has the same record as Chip, by far the winningest coach in Oregon history previously, had through four seasons.
Two major differences; Chip left, and after they ran out of his players, Oregon had to rebuild almost from scratch.
Dan is building not only a consistent contender now, but laying the bedrock for the future.
And his likelihood of jumping ship?
Well, “the grass is damn green in Eugene!”
