Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Reveals National Championship Goals

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning revealed a few of his career goals in a recent interview before facing the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coach Lanning wants to bring a National Championship to Oregon and pass Oregon's Mike Bellotti as the winningest coach in Oregon football history.

Sep 7, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning high-fives fans as he leads his team before a game against the Boise State Broncos at Autzen Stadium. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

As the No. 3 Oregon Ducks prepare to face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon coach Dan Lanning sat down with NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor, and she asked him about everything from his previous coaching experiences, family life, and career goals.

Lanning has told the story of him driving 13 hours from Kansas City to Pittsburgh just for a chance at a meeting with Todd Graham, the Pittsburgh coach at the time, quite a few times. What some Ducks fans might not know is that Lanning writes down his goals on his bathroom mirror, reading them every time he brushes his teeth.

“Number one goal is help my people reach their dreams and goals and aspirations,” Lanning said to Taylor. “I feel like I’m living my dream every day, so the number one goal in there is that. To help the other people in the organization, the players that come play for me get to live their dream, ‘cause I’m living mine. Number two: win a national championship here at Oregon.”

Sep 7, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning high-fives fans as he leads his team before a game against the Boise State Broncos at Autzen Stadium. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Lanning has felt like a breath of fresh air to some Ducks fans because of the public commitments he has made to the football program and the University. His third goal that he has written on his mirror is another testament to Lanning’s loyalty to Oregon.

“Mike Bellotti is the winningest coach in Oregon football. He’s won 116 games, right? I’m a long ways away, so I’m chasing that," said Lanning.

Taylor asked Lanning about the various stops he's made along his coaching career, working for Mike Norvell at Memphis, Nick Saban at Alabama, and Kirby Smart and Georgia.

“I think I stole something kind of from every one of those programs. But, I think the piece that I probably recognized early on in my career is that I’ve seen a lot of coaches become a head coach, and then all of a sudden they try to be somebody else or emulate somebody else. For me, it’s always ‘Hey, you got to do this your way. You got to do it and keep your temperament,'" said Lanning.

Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will be the next head coach at Oregon. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oregon coach continued, revealing the difference between the roles of coordinator and assistant coach compared to leading the entire operation.

Lanning is in his third season at Oregon, and he has won 27 of his first 32 games. He's one of the youngest coaches in college football at 38 years old, but he's already gained some valuable experience under coaches Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Mike Norvell, and Todd Graham.

“You got to be willing to have confrontation," he said. "I learned that from some great head coaches. Like, you got to be willing to point out when things aren’t right, when they don’t look the way they’re supposed to look. I learned that from Kirby (Smart), I learned that from Nick (Saban), I learned that from Mike (Norvell). But the organization behind it, a lot of that footprint comes from coach Saban. The adaptations that we’ve taken off of that certainly come from coach Smart, and how we’ve changed drills, how we’ve changed what we do. I hope you continue to see us adapt and change. . . .”

Lanning’s interview with Taylor is most likely not his last with the highly-anticipated matchup taking place in Autzen Stadium on Saturday. NBC will be broadcasting the game on TV, but ESPN is still sending College GameDay to Eugene because of the excitement surrounding the top-3 tilt.

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