Three Offseason Moves the Oregon Ducks Made to Stay in National Title Contention

The Oregon Ducks proved to be one of the top teams in the country this past season. This offseason, the Ducks have made some tough choices. Here are three moves Oregon has made this offseason to compete for a College Football Playoff title next season..

Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks were one game away from reaching the College Football Playoff championship this past season. Over the course of the offseason, the Ducks have made plenty of moves to try and position themselves to be back in the hunt for a national championship in 2026.

These are three moves Oregon has made this offseason to compete for a CFP title next season. 

Retaining Four Defensive Line Starters

Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington (58) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

One of the most surprising moves of the entire offseason, the Ducks were able to hold onto all four starters along the defensive line. Matayo Uiagalelei, A’Mauri Washington, Teitum Tuioti, and Bear Alexander are all making their return to Eugene in 2026. 

It’s a big win for Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who is losing a couple of key pieces in linebacker Brycer Boettcher and safety Dillon Thienmen to the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Uiagalelei and Washington were considered to be some of the top potential prospects in the 2026 draft. Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN had both players inside his top ten positional prospect rankings before they made their intentions known to forgo the draft. 

Oregon did lose some depth with all four starters returning, but if the Ducks’ defense has a big 2026 season, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see the defensive line as a foundation for it all. 

Keeping Dante Moore Out of the 2026 NFL Draft

Jan 9, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) looks to pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half of the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

When the Ducks lost to Indiana in the CFP semifinal, one of the first questions that surrounded quarterback Dante Moore was his decision on entering the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Moore made his decision known on Jan. 14 on SportsCenter that he was going to return to Eugene for his junior season. It was a big win for Oregon considering how highly regarded Moore was in the draft community. Kiper had more as the No. 2 overall prospect on his draft board at one point. 

Oregon will have a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in 2026 with Moore coming back. Sprinkle in the return of wide receiver Evan Stewart and the Ducks have set themselves up to have one of the better pass offenses in the country. 

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Staying In-House for Coordinator Hires

Oct 8, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks tight ends coach Drew Mehringer against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lanning had to deal with navigating the coaching carousel on top of dealing with game planning for the CFP. 

Oregon's offensive coordinator and defense coordinator took off for head coaching jobs at the beginning of the off-season. However, Lanning didn’t have to look too far to find his top targets.

Once Oregon’s season officially ended, Lanning officially promoted tight ends coach Drew Mehringer to offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Chris Hampton to defensive coordinator. 

Landing has a pretty good track record of hiring coordinators. He’s had three coordinators hired away to be head coaches. 

Prior to promoting Hampton, Tosh Lupoi served as the defensive coordinator since Lanning’s arrival in 2022. Lupoi left to take over at Cal. 

Kenny Dillingham and Will Stein served as Lanning’s first two offensive coordinators prior to Mehringer’s promotion. Dillingham took the job at Arizona State and Stein recently became the coach at Kentucky.