By all accounts, the Oregon Ducks knocked it out of the park by hiring Dan Lanning. The young, talented coach is an ace recruiter, a defensive mastermind and a forward-thinker. Considering Mario Cristobal left the cupboard pretty full for Lanning and his staff, it makes sense to assume the Ducks are positioned to continue making a push toward the College …
Dan Lanning was a risky hire. The 36-year-old former defensive coordinator has no head coaching experience, and frankly, he has little experience as a coordinator, as well. Aside from spending two years working at Arizona State, he has no ties to the West. And while there are one-off success stories of young, hot-shot coordinators knocking it out of the park …
The news of the nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle recruit Josh Conerly Jr. choosing the Oregon Ducks over the USC Trojans and Washington Huskies shook the college football world to its core and send shockwaves throughout the social media stratosphere (If you are currently living under a rock and haven’t heard the news, check out Mr. FishDuck’s write-up). No doubt, Conerly’s …
When you have been managing a couple Oregon football sites for a decade with hundreds of contacts among all the readers, writers, photographers, editors and volunteers that have helped the sites–you pick up some pretty tasty tidbits of information on occasion. A Duck-Buddy of many years called me the other day to tell of his own interview with a current …
Fresh off of an incredible showing by his defense in the National Championship Game, Dan Lanning’s newest challenge is building a similarly dominant unit at Oregon. Elite defenses aren’t built overnight, and it will take months — or maybe even years — of expert-level coaching and top-tier recruiting for the Ducks to have a defense of Georgia’s caliber. But now …
“How do we fix college football?” That’s the prevailing question just a couple of days removed from yet another all-SEC title game. The 2021 season provided more parity than usual; Michigan and Cincinnati both made their College Football Playoff debuts. But if three particular teams continue to outpace the rest of the country in recruiting, this season will be an …
There’s a catchphrase I’ll miss more than any other slogan in recent memory: “Fill the Sleeves.” Of the flurry of departures from the Oregon Ducks football program over the past month, saying goodbye to strength and conditioning coach Aaron Feld had the biggest impact on me. The ever-enthusiastic mustachioed strongman was a constant source of positivity on the sidelines. I …
Let’s be honest. If Mario Cristobal were returning to Eugene for a fifth season, this time of year would be pretty drab. After four years, Oregon football fans finally knew what to expect from the Miami native and they weren’t necessarily SUPER STOKED about what they were seeing. Looking back, the hopeful justifications in the run-up to a new season …
College football’s postseason is in a state of crisis. Bowl games have become almost entirely irrelevant due to opt outs, transfers and coaching changes. Even the most intriguing matchups on paper lose their luster, as the roster teams field in bowl games hardly resemble the ones they’ve fielded the rest of the season. In the past, today’s matchup between Oregon …
There has been a whirlwind of activity around the Oregon football program over the past couple of weeks — so many topics and issues that it is hard to keep up. But darn it, I try my best. Here are my three thoughts of the day. 1. Nepotism To touch on Mr. FishDuck’s article from yesterday on the unfair influence …
Loyalty for aspiring top-tier programs is dead in College Football. The desire for loyalty is commendable and brings stability to both a program and a fan base, but if the goal of a program is to win a National Championship, then loyalty shouldn’t be a factor. This doesn’t mean a school shouldn’t try to lock down its coach for as …
Kirby Smart is one of the best coaches in college football. He not only understands that championship programs are built by acquiring elite talent, but he also recruits better than just about anybody in the country, even rivaling Nick Saban. As a defensive mind, he’s second to none. His defenses are improving by the year, while just about every other …