Urban Meyer says this Big Ten head coach coaches like he did

Fox college football analyst Urban Meyer reacts with fans to Cyclones and Hawkeyes fans during Fox Big Noon Kickoff before Iowa and Iowa State Football at JackTrice Stadium Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon coach Dan Lanning isn't lacking for validation these days -- he received a lucrative long-term contract extension in March, his 3-0 Ducks are blowing out opponents week after week and are ranked No. 6 in the country while considered a top national title contender.

However, it was nonetheless notable when Urban Meyer, one of the most successful coaches of this era, said he sees many similarities in how Lanning coaches and runs his program to how Meyer ran his Utah, Florida, and Ohio State teams.

Meyer, who won two national titles with the Gators and one with the Buckeyes, said this about Lanning:

"I went to visit the Oregon staff and coach Lanning last year, and when I walked away from there, I just had this incredible sense of respect," Meyer said. "First, he coaches a lot the way I did, where is it really good enough? We can always be better. And he's pushing his staff nonstop -- respectfully but pushing them.

"But the creativity and scheme offense/defense, but also the way they teach. And whenever I would leave, or I talk to him frequently on the phone, you know what he always ends with? 'What can we do better? What do you see out there that we're not doing?' So it's a model of consistency that he wants to push everybody and find better ways to do."

Lanning, who won a national championship as defensive coordinator at Georgia in 2021, is 38-6 now in his fourth season at Oregon, coming off a 13-1 finish last year.