Josh Pate Reveals Respect for Dan Lanning in Latest College Coaches Rankings

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning is widely considered one of the top coaches in the sport, and college football analyst Josh Pate recently ranked Lanning No. 4 in his recent top 10 ranking of the best college football coaches. He's the highest-ranked coach that has yet to win a national title.

Why Dan Lanning Belongs in the Elite Head Coach Discussion

Lanning will be 40 when he leads the Ducks through the 2026 season, and he will still be considered a relatively young head coach in the industry. Still, he has shown remarkable improvement in every season that he's been at Oregon.

josh pate college football coach rankings dan lanning oregon ducks ohio state buckeyes ryan day mario cristobal miami — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks off the field after the Ducks’ loss as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lanning led the Ducks to the College Football Playoff Semifinal before they lost to the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl, but Oregon advanced one round farther than the previous season, which ended in the quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl with a blowout loss to Ohio State.

In the past two seasons, Lanning's only losses have come to the eventual national champions, Ohio State and Indiana. While Ducks fans certainly want to win a CFP title, Lanning has clearly shown his ability to build Oregon into a consistent competitor. The only thing keeping Lanning from being considered the best coach in college football is a national championship win.

He has proven himself as an elite recruit and developer of talent, and his record of 48-8 over four seasons at Oregon speaks for itself.

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What Josh Pate Said About Dan Lanning

In his analysis of Lanning's ranking on Josh Pate's College Football Show, Pate pointed to the Ducks' success on the field. While Oregon's losses in the playoff might keep Lanning from the top three, wins over the Ducks are also now viewed as some of the best wins a program can get.

"12 wins, 13 wins, 13 wins. That's his last three years," Pate said about Lanning. "There's a Big Ten title in there, there's back-to-back playoff appearances mixed in there. The 'yea-but-ers' will say, 'Well yea, but they got blown out by Ohio State and Ryan Day.' Yeah, that's why Ryan Day is yet to be listed. . . . Outside of the few, Dan Lanning and Oregon have pretty much dominated everybody else, so I think Dan Lanning absolutely belongs at No. 4."

"They're a very high-level recruiter, they're a very high-level portal destination. Kind of feels like a matter of time with them," he continued.

Here is the full top 10 ranking from Pate:

1. Ryan Day - Ohio State
2. Kirby Smart - Georgia
3. Curt Cignetti - Indiana
4. Dan Lanning - Oregon
5. Marcus Freeman - Notre Dame
6. Lane Kiffin - LSU
7. Kalen DeBoer - Alabama
8. Steve Sarkisian - Texas
9. Mario Cristobal - Miami
10. Mike Elko - Texas A&M

josh pate college football coach rankings dan lanning oregon ducks ohio state buckeyes ryan day mario cristobal miami hurrica — Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal against the Indiana Hoosiers during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Oregon fans might enjoy the fact that Pate has ranked Lanning a few spots ahead of current Miami coach and former Ducks coach Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes recently reached the national championship game after a dominant run through the CFP, but some of Miami's "bad losses" under Cristobal are what kept him a bit lower in the rankings, per Pate.