Dan Lanning's Biggest Weakness Might Actually Be His Biggest Strength

When the Oregon Ducks hired Dan Lanning away from the Georgia Bulldogs' defensive coordinator position, Lanning was one of the youngest head coaches in college football at age 35. Four years later with a 48-8 record at Oregon, Lanning is still one of the younger coaches in the game at 39.

The Oregon coach has led his program to consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff before turning 40, but Lanning and the Ducks have been knocked out of the postseason in blowout fashion twice. Some might point to Lanning's age or lack of experience as a detriment, but it might actually be his biggest strength.

oregon ducks coach dan lanning age college football playoff losses curt cignetti indiana hooosiers big ten championship — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning sticks his tongue out to catch the rain as the No. 6 Oregon Ducks host California Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sky's the Limit for Dan Lanning at Oregon

Lanning's youth gives him plenty of time to grow, and he will most likely be allowed to grow at Oregon if he continues to reach the CFP. Lanning has not won less than 10 games in his four seasons as the Ducks coach, and he has set program records when it comes to sending players to the NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, Lanning's tenure has been equally impressive off of the field. He has been active in Oregon's community service program called "Ducks Do More." One of the Ducks' initiatives has been building and delivering beds for over 600 kids in the community.

Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti recently won his first national championship at 64 years old after coaching in college football for over 40 seasons. While coaching college football has increasingly become more of a young man's game, Cignetti proved the value of experience in his historic turnaround of the Indiana football program.

On the flip side, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald led his team to Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots at only 38 years old, becoming the third-youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. Macdonald's recent success proves that there is no age requirement for winnning championships.

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Dan Lanning's Growth Mindset

After Oregon lost to Indiana in the CFP Semifinal at the Peach Bowl in January, Lanning revealed some of the message he gave his players. If the Ducks are able to respond to adversity in the way that Lanning preaches, he has a chance to be coaching in Eugene for quite some time.

"I think every man can learn from adversity. I just told that whole locker room, right, this is going to be about how you respond in life. This is going to be a life lesson that a lot of people never get. We just got our butt kicked. Right? That's going to happen in life, right, and not just Dante. Every single person in the locker room, every coach, every person can learn," Lanning said.

"Some people crawl into a hole, right, don't face the music. Some people say, okay, let's figure it out. Let me challenge myself so I can be better. Let me be an example of how you handle moments like this. I think there is a way to handle that. . . . But there's a lot of lessons to be learned for everybody in life, and we'll learn the hard lessons here. And you know what, most people will never be in the position where they get to learn that lesson that we get to learn on. These guys were in that position," he continued.