Oregon Ducks New Receiver Coach Ross Douglas Bringing NFL Mindset To Dan Lanning's Staff

With a second week of the Oregon Ducks' spring football training underway, fans are getting to hear from a few new faces joining the flock this season. One of those new additions includes wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator Ross Douglas.

Douglas joins the Ducks from his previous role as the wide receiver coach at Syracuse but has experience as one of the youngest receivers coaches in the NFL at the time he was promoted with the New England Patriots in 2022. Redshirt senior wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. Spoke on Douglas' "Patriot ways" coming through at Oregon as well as highlighting his youthful energy as a 30-year-old coach in a recent spring practice media opportunity.

"A Patriot guy," Bryant Jr. said of Douglas, "You know they do things the 'Patriot Way' over there and it's kind of similar here with [coach Dan Lanning] at Oregon. Coming there, just being a blue collar guy and putting your head down - working every day."

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during warmups as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lanning's mentality as a coach has piqued Douglas' interest for a while, as he shared during the same spring practice media availability.

"He's just somebody I've watch from afar from his time at Georgia, from the time as his head coach at Oregon, it was a great ascending program. You see the trajectory like, they won the Holiday Bowl first year went 10-3 then went 12-2 and then last year won the Big Ten Championship and went 13-0. I just saw the young talent within the wide receiver room and just the talent on the roster overall. So it made [Oregon] very attractive, and luckily I got the interview," Douglas said.

According to Douglas, he knew no one could execute in the Oregon job but himself after the interview. In his previous coaching gig with the Syracuse Orange, Douglas helped direct the nation's top passing offense for 2024. During his two season tenure, Douglas helped bring the trio of receivers in Jackson Meeks, Trebor Pena, and Oronde Gadsen II to becoming top-five ranked in the ACC for receiving yards.

Dec 27, 2024; San Diego, CA, USA; Syracuse Orange wide receiver Jackson Meeks (7) celebrates after converting a first down against the Washington State Cougars during the first quarter at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images | Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images

Douglas also had several connections to Oregon's program before seeking out the open position left by former Oregon wide receiver coach Junior Adams' departure to the Dallas Cowboys.

"I think the interview process was kind of interesting," Douglas said. "You know, Drew Mehringer actually coached me at Rutgers when I was a player and me and Rashaad Samples have known each other for a couple of years in L.A. while I was in New England in the NFL. So, I had two connections on the staff already."

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4-Star ‘26 WR Messiah Hampton is currently on a visit to Oregon 🦆

He was Ross Douglas’ first offer pic.twitter.com/nLxcWyv2od
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) April 1, 2025

For an Ohio-native moving to the West Coast, Douglas says he's adjusting well to the environment while bringing his "Patriot Way" with him.

"I like the West Coast. I mean, shoot, I think the biggest culture shock is my one and a half year old son, and he's adjusting to the Pacific time zone, so that's kind of been the biggest culture shock. He's waking up at two o'clock in the morning, three o'clock in the morning," Douglas said. "The furthest West I've ever lived is Michigan, and that's the Midwest. I like it out here. I think it's beautiful. I love the energy out here. I think it's a great football program, a great university, great people. I think everyone I've met has been very welcoming and very pleasant."

Ready to work and prove he's up for the challenge, Douglas is hoping to make his own unique mark on the Oregon program, starting with his first series of spring practices and similar success on the recruiting trail compared to Adams, but separate from his former.

"Junior Adams is Junior Adams. Ross Douglas is Ross Douglas. I'm just ready to kind of make my own stamp and see what I have - I have big shoes to fill. I just want to take it, put my spin on it, and run with it and hopefully that translates to a lot of success within the wide receiver room," Douglas said.