Notable quotes from Ducks coach Dan Lanning and Oregon media day
It was just over a week ago that we talked with Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning at the 2023 Pac-12 media day, but much has changed since then.
For starters, the Pac-12 is down another member. The Colorado Buffaloes announced they will leave for the Big 12 next summer. The Ducks have also been thrown back into conference realignment speculation: Will they ditch the Pac-12 for the Big Ten or Big 12?.
On top of that, Lanning signed a contract extension with the Ducks that will keep him around through 2028 at the very least, and some speculation about a cryptic social media post with the Ohio State Buckeyes has created some waves.
It’s safe to say that there was a lot to discuss when we met with Lanning on Monday afternoon at Oregon’s 2023 media day. Here are some of the best quotes from that press conference:
Opening Statement
Lanning: Welcome back, summer’s over. So I’m really excited right now that this 2023 season there’s certainly a belief in our program about Oregon football and we’re really excited about it. I’m super pumped. We’ve got a phenomenal staff that I’m really pumped about got to bring some new additions him with Will Stein, Chris Hampton and A’liqueTerry. They fit schematically what we want to accomplish. They’re phenomenal coaches and teachers but just as important, they fit us. They share like-minded thoughts. They want to coach the way we want to coach. We’re also really excited about a lot of newcomers in our program. We have over 50 new guys in our program that really fit what we do. I think they’ll create some schematic advantages for us. They create some great matchups for us that we can take advantage of. It’s no secret our theme this offseason has been good-to-great and we all know that good is the enemy of great and we’re trying to fight complacency every day, trying to make sure that we never stay satisfied. I’ll be honest, we’re not really worried about any other opponents. We’re worried about ourselves. That’s our focus. I know you guys will have a lot of questions about other teams but I’m gonna keep telling you that we’re worried about the Oregon Ducks. You know right now we believe our business has changed. We have to grow we have talked about their growth mindset in the past. What can we get better at if we came in here and tried to do everything exactly the same as last year? Certainly, we have a process that we believe in, but we’d be failing ourselves want to figure out where’s where we can improve what things we can do better, and we’ve made some adjustments to do that. And also we’re focused on the 20-mile march. Everybody’s excited about the first day of school. Everybody gets excited about the first practice, but the reality is it’s about consistency, consistency in your approach consistency and about the way you attack things and the reality is we also know it won’t be pretty. So when it’s not pretty how are we going to win in those scenarios? We’re ready for it and we’re excited attack this season.
The Process
Question: What’s the process of getting everyone on the same page in order begin fall camp with everyone on that same page?
Lanning: Yeah, there’s secret for us. We’re always looking for opportunities to connect with our guys off the field. (Sunday) we went to play some paintball. Apparently, I was a popular target. I took some good hits. I’m gonna have some some funky bruises all over, but that was a lot of fun. We recently just climbed Spencer’s Butte. Obviously, there are a couple of purposes to that. Spent a lot of time at our coaches’ houses this offseason, my house as well. Just finding moments to spend time with each other.
Going from good to great
Q: When you’re talking about this slogan of going from good to great. What kind of examples can you draw upon to talk to your team about a past coaching experience? Other sports teams, other examples? What kind of examples do you draw from getting in front of your team and talking about that motto?
DL: Yeah, there’s a ton of them but really, we just start within the book, you know, like 20-Mile March is a great example having a consistent approach. Be the head child know what your strength is. Right? So they’re not everybody’s going to have strengths in every field, but what is yours and how are we going to utilize it? I have been around a lot of teams. Seeing a lot of teams make that same approach and take that same march and really our focus is yeah, we want to use those examples. Our focus is us and how can we accomplish that?
Preparing for rule changes
Q: There are a few rule changes this year with untimed downs, and consecutive timeouts running clock. How much impact do you think that’s gonna have on the game and how much time have you spent this offseason trying to prepare for that?
DL: It doesn’t change a ton of things in our approach. Ultimately, we want to be a really educated team on what that looks like. So we’ll spend a lot of time more than anything, just educating our players when it changes what it looks like. I don’t know if there was a scenario last year where we used two timeouts in a row. So I don’t know that that’s going to be something that’s going to show up. Ultimately, I understand the idea of let’s speed up the process of the game and when it gets into two minutes. I think all of us appreciate the rules that exist in college football.
New contract details
Q: Last week when Rob (Mullens) was talking to the board about your new contract. He referred to it as the first part of the whole vision. Two questions for you. In your perspective, what is the second part of that vision? And from your perspective, in this level of commitment from the institution and yourself, why was the buyout throughout the duration of your deal? An important component to show your level of commitment here?
DL: Yeah, I’ll start with the second part of that question. You know, as a coach, all you all you ever really want to focus on is being in a place where you can win and you can raise your family and since the day I got here, it’s been no secret that I want to be here. I’m thrilled about the opportunity that was given to me to be become the head coach of Oregon. It means a lot to me. I don’t I’ve never take it for granted. I wake up every morning, I pinch myself, but ultimately, my love for this place and what it provides for my family and a place where they can meet and have some consistency. I’ve had three kids. They’ve lived in eight states. You know, it’s nice to be able to see him graduate from the same school and when you know there is a bold vision for what’s next when you know that there are opportunities for more things down the road. You see the commitment and the alignment of our university. As a coach, you’re willing to sign up for that because you know, winning, you know, that’s a priority here, right and we have what it takes to win. So we have what it takes to win and you can have some consistency. For your family. I think that shows out. Again, back to my opening statement, how much belief there is at Oregon and what we’re about to achieve. You know, the other part of that question is what’s coming next? There’s a lot we sit back and watch.
Lanning will be here long term
Q: That buyout is pretty high pumping, but around college football and in here as well. We hear heard coaches say, “I’m committed … this is it for the long term. Offers arise and good coaches leave. So why should people believe that you are good for the long term?
DL: You got $20 million? We talked about when you cook breakfast, right? The chicken, right? You pop out an egg, he’s committed but the pig like he’s all in right now. It takes a little bit more coaches so often it is not fair in college football, in my opinion, when the university makes a commitment to the coach and when a coach doesn’t make you committed to that university. I want to be here, right? And believe or not believe whatever you want. I mean, there’s no secret that this is what I want. I’ve said before the grass isn’t always greener. I have everything I want here. There’s a vision for this to continue to grow. We’re able to get elite players. I think that’s no secret. As long as we can continue to recruit at a high level develop and continue to have world-class facilities. Continue to push the bar and everything that we do. Everything’s here that’s necessary for us to be successful. So it’s something I want to sign up for. It’s not something I shy away from.
Pac-12/10: Should the Ducks stay or go?
Q: Why should staying in the Pac-12 or Pac-10 when you don’t even know if one of those opponents might be next season? Why is that best for Oregon going forward?
DL: We get to play elite competition in this league. I’m excited as long as we need to play great teams. That’s what I’m excited for. And I think that’s really clear in this conference. The teams that we’re lined up against we get to go against great guys. It’s the year of the quarterback. We’re going to get the face great ones every single week, but my focus is no further than Game 1.
Traeshon Holden's tenure at Oregon
Q: How would you evaluate what he’s going to bring to this team? And then looking back in February and how that situation was handled in hindsight. How do you feel about the way you guys handle that? Maybe that was a lesson moving forward.
DL: You operate with the information you have at hand? I think we were always going to put the best interest of our players first, but when based on the information you have, you have to utilize that information. And certainly, it’s a learning opportunity for every single one of us, but it doesn’t mean the information would have created a different approach. You just want to make sure that you continue to get accurate information. I’m excited about Traeshon. He’s got great size. He’s a big catch radius. He’s picking up our system. Well, I think he’s proven he can play at a high level in other places. We’re excited to have him play at a high level here.
Excitement for 2023
Q: Practice starts in a couple of days. What excites you about that and maybe just this team as a whole?
DL: Why do you get into coaching, right? I enjoy I certainly enjoy the games but I enjoy the practices as well because that’s where you see a lot of the growth. And for me being on the grass, there’s nothing more fun, right? You enjoy the relationships you build with the players. But these guys are excited to see what their work looks like. We’ve had a lot of guys change their bodies this offseason, had great weights, shed some weight, and get stronger in the weight room. You don’t really get to see those results until you get out there on the field. Then figuring out what we have, like I said we got a lot of new pieces to this team. And it’s great on paper, but what it look like whenever it’s out there on the field?
Rating the Pac-12
Q: Is there anything that’s underrated you think that people aren’t talking about that’s going to be especially difficult about the Pac-12 in particular?
DL: It’s a great league yet again. We got great quarterback play. I think the variety of systems that you see week in and week out. There are some really good coaches in this league, and it’s challenging to prep. And training for the variety of things that you’ll see.
The Future of the Running Back
Q: This last couple of weeks we’ve seen kind of a reemergence of the discussion of the value of running backs, especially at the NFL level. What do you anticipate the future of college running backs to look like? Are elite athletes gonna want to still keep playing running back knowing that that might not be the most valuable position for them in the long term?
DL: Yeah, I think so because they like touching the ball right? That probably starts in Little League. You’re gonna score touchdowns, so you like to be the running back and you play for the love of the game. There’s a lot of lost sight on a view that you want players to play for love the game the guys that love football and love hard work. We’re lucky to have that here. We have a great running back room. This conference has a lot of great running backs as well but I think you’ll keep seeing guys that want to touch the ball if you guys don’t want to touch the ball they’re gonna want to play running back
Seeing 5-star Receiver Jurrion Dickey live
Q: What are the expectations for Dickey? What does he kind of bring to the table that makes that room different.
DL: I’ve said it a bunch but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough so we’re gonna see. We haven’t been out there in pads. Yeah, we have been out there running routes. Obviously, he’s a talented player, as well as a lot of our young players on our team so excited to see what he can bring. His film was great in high school. We want to see it carry over to what it can look like in college. It’s a different game in college and he’s got some work to do.
Creating Veteran Leadership
Q: What are there any key points you want to hear from those veteran players coming to new players and that messaging and are there a couple of players maybe that you’ve noticed doing that a little more maybe than others this spring and summer?
DL: I certainly couldn’t just name a couple because we’ve had a bunch and that’s one of the biggest things I’ve seen in this team compared to last team is how many guys are vocal about what they want to see accomplished and what standard they want out. So really excited about that and what that looks like moving forward. It’s not necessarily about one theme. It’s about consistency again, right? It’s about hard work. Day over day … time over time. If that happens on the field … but it’s the off the field, right? It’s the prehab, rehab, it’s what you’re doing nutritionally, it’s what you do in the classroom, right? All those things add up.
Offense Under Will Stein
Q: When you look at the change with your new OC, how do you envision the offense looking this year? How do you envision being different?
DL: Yeah, I think the DNA traits are who we are. And so it’s Oregon football. So we’re going to continue to do a lot of things really well. I think all great coaches are able to utilize their players and leave the strings to their players. I think that goes back to being a good high school coach, you have to adapt to what you have each year. So what I’m excited about is we’re gonna still have some of those same traits, we’re still going to be a great team and run the ball. But we’re still going to take the opportunities to push the ball downfield because no see we have a really good quarterback. We’re gonna lean on him we’re gonna use the people around them. We have some inexperience on the O-line, but we also have some experience other places. It’s more about getting experience together. We’re able to create some of that consistency, but Will brings in a lot of great ideas. He’s been a part of a variety of systems that I want to see us be able to institute within the framework of what we already do. That’s already happening.
Bo Nix's Injury Impact Prep for 2023 Season
Q: How did that injury and with of the way the regular season ended, do you think affect him and impact the way he’s approaching?
DL: I think Bo’s always had a great approach. I think he’s hungry. There’s a reason he came back. He has some goals that he wants to accomplish. He saw a vision for where we’re at now. Where did his approach change? He came in with that approach, so I don’t think anything that’s really assessed it now. What I think he’s continued to be cognizant of is okay, how can I make sure that I’m available and present? I think that’s every player on our team. What can I continue to do to push myself from a rehab standpoint, from the things that I can do off the field to help control that but some of that stuff you can’t control? You have to go play the game.
Figuring Out an Inexperienced O-line
Q: What are you hoping to see from that group this fall when it comes to ultimately making your decisions of who’s gonna line up there on Sept. 2?
DL: We’ll make our decisions based on who the best group is and who the best players are and there might be more than one player that can contribute to that. There might be more than one player that can help. I think we will. It’s about a group effort, but a lot of that stuff I’ve already seen. I think coach Terry has done a phenomenal job of creating some consistency and toughness in that group. These guys are getting extra they’re spending more time up here on their own. Something that excites me is that they realize that they don’t have the experience together. So how are they creating it?
Creating Leaders
Q: How do you handle leadership guys? player that practices do you approach guys this offseason saying hey, it’s expected you’re gonna be a leader. Or is that something you want to happen organically? How do you approach that?
DL: Organically is part of it. We certainly you have to train leadership right? Just like you train a play just like you’re sharing coaches. You have to train that and you have to make sure you can let guys know that they have that opportunity. What we don’t do is define who can be a leader. I don’t care if you’re a freshman or senior. I don’t care. If you’re a three-year starter, if you never start a game like leadership’s based on who’s gonna follow you. So we have to give our guys the tools we continue to mold that through our get real programs and stuff that we do outside all and then we look for opportunities to challenge guys and where they can push people to be better versions of themselves and push themselves to be better. But I think that develops within the program.
The Role of the Backup QB
Q: There’s been some shuffling you know, in the quarterback room, what do you see, you know, the role of that backup quarterback and what does that composition look like?
DL: You want to make sure that when he comes in and wins games and there isn’t a drop off the expectation is. They trained to become the next guy up, they trained to become the guy that’s on the field. And I think we’ve all seen great examples of that, winning games and winning down the stretch because of that play. There are going to be injuries this year. Those will exist and what we want is our next guy to be up and ready and that’s the expectation across the board.
Bye Colorado
Q: What’s your initial reaction when you heard about the news of Colorado leaving? And does these changes change the approach or your attitude as far as this coming season?
DL: Not a big reaction. I mean, I’m trying to remember what they won to affect this conference. I don’t remember. Do you remember them winning? I don’t remember.
