Oregon Ducks' New Coordinators Take Over Locker Room and Set the Tone

One big question for the Oregon Ducks heading into 2026 revolves around offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer and defensive coordinator Chris Hampton and their ability to replace Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi, respectively.

Drew Mehringer, Chris Hampton Give Pregame Speeches

oregon ducks Drew Mehringer chris hampton spring game speeches dan lanning autzen stadium will stein tosh lupoi — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon coach Dan Lanning decided to promote from within the program instead of an outside hire, and fans caught a potential glimpse as to why in the new episode of "Ducks vs. Ducks" from the Oregon spring game.

With Lanning taking a neutral role, Mehringer and Hampton seemingly acted as defacto head coaches for their teams, leading the Combat Ducks and the Fighting Ducks against each other alongside former Oregon players in the NFL as guest coaches.

Parts of both Mehringer and Hampton's pregame speeches to their respective teams were revealed in "Ducks vs. Ducks."

"Come out here and play aggressive. Play to win. Everybody in here is a damn good football player. Let’s let the world see it. Everybody in here’s put in work from January to this point. Let’s go see it. There ain’t many places in the country where 40,000 people are gonna come out to watch you play in a spring game. Enjoy every second of it. Enjoy the privilege to put on this uniform," said Mehringer to the Combat Ducks.

"You guys have put in the work. Let’s go out here, and let’s have fun. Play fast, have fun. No anxiety, no pressure. You guys had an unbelievable spring. Now today is when you go put it on display in front of your family, in front of your friends, in front of all the fans that’s out there. Big time players make big time moments in big time games. Every game you’re stepping into this stadium? Big time game. Today’s one of ‘em," Hampton said to the Fighting Ducks.

While Mehringer and Hampton are entering their first season as coordinators at Oregon, both have had prior experiences in the current roles at one point in their careers. Mehringer was the offensive coordinator of Rutgers during the 2016 season, and Hampton was Tulane's defensive coordinator from 2021-22.

After the spring game, Lanning was asked about what he was looking for out of his two new coordinators:

"When roles change in an organization, it's okay, who's talking to the guys before the team? Who's making sure we have our call sheets prepared the way they need to be prepared? There's a lot of that day in and day out. It's really important and us being able to execute at a high level on game day. And again, just as much as it's preparation for the players to catch a ball in front of a bunch of people, in front of thousands of people, it's the same thing for coaches to call a defense or an offense in front of a lot of people," Lanning said.

Dan Lanning's Coaching Tree

Lanning has only been a head coach himself for four seasons, entering his fifth at Oregon, and he is already building a small but respectable coaching tree.

Former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham was hired by the Arizona State Sun Devils after one season with the Ducks, and Dillingham has already led Arizona State to a Big 12 championship win and a College Football Playoff appearance.

In the most recent coaching carousel, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein was hired as the next head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, and Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi was hired by the California Golden Bears.

With Lanning giving his coordinators more responsibilities during the spring game, the Ducks coach seemingly develops his coaches in addition to the players on Oregon's roster.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google