Oregon's Dan Lanning reveals if he wants to coach in NFL

Dan Lanning has made a name for himself at Oregon, and it doesn't sound like he wants to leave.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks to the clock towards the end of the first half 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

While the lure of the NFL may be strong for some college football coaches, Dan Lanning says he wants to stick with Oregon for the long haul.

The Ducks’ head coach explained why he prefers Oregon when asked if he wants to coach in the NFL.

“No. I used to want to. I think you figure out, where do you really fit? Like, where’s your niche? And I do feel like this age group is the group that I connect with unbelievably,” Lanning told Bussin’ With The Boys.

“More than that, I always think back to, it seems like everybody’s always thinking about ‘What’s next, what’s next, what’s next?’ And for me, I’m more of the ‘Thank you.’ 

“Like, I get to do this here. I can’t imagine going to do this somewhere else because of the opportunity that Oregon’s given me.”

Lanning has made the most of that opportunity so far, emerging as one of college football’s most accomplished young head coaches.

Over three years at Oregon, he’s compiled a 35-6 record and never won fewer than 10 games in a season, completing a 12-0 regular season mark in 2024 and won the Big Ten championship.

That campaign ended with a loss to eventual national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal round.

“So often, everybody’s like, ‘Well, I can go do this somewhere else.’ I want to do it here,” Lanning said of continuing his project at Oregon.

“I want to make it happen here because they believed in me, right? It wasn’t like I was a head coach coming from somewhere else... They gave me an opportunity. Why not do it here?”

--

Read more from College Football HQ

feed