McLaughlin: With Lanning Deal In Hand, How Long Will Continuity Rule The Day In Eugene?
By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game
Dan Lanning signed an extension that on paper keeps him as Oregon’s head coach through the 2030 season. He also was able to give extensions/raises to his coaching staff, which turns eyes principally to OC Will Stein and DC Tosh Lupoi.
First let’s start with the head man.
Lanning is now making a reported $11 million per year salary, which puts him well inside the top 10 of highest paid coaches in the country. Just 3 individuals currently get paid more per year to coach college football.
Their names are Dabo Swinney, Ryan Day, and Kirby Smart. What do they have in common? They’ve all won at least one national championship. Day got a raise up to $12.5 million after winning his first this past season, squashing Dan Lanning’s Ducks in the Rose Bowl en route to doing so. Lanning’s predecessor, Kirby Smart, just won the SEC in what many viewed as a “down year” for the Bulldogs.
A raise for Lanning wasn’t at the top of my mind this offseason, but once I thought about it the more sense it made that AD Rob Mullens wanted to get this done. Dan Lanning is now paid comparatively to what he is expected to achieve.
Despite the Rose Bowl disappointment, it’s important to remember Dan Lanning just won the Big 10 in Oregon’s first year in the league. They beat the eventual national champions in perhaps the biggest game EVER at Autzen Stadium, while also beating 2 other Playoff teams in 2024. The Ducks have won more games than the year prior each season Lanning and his staff have been in charge.
The Georgia job isn’t coming open any time soon. Kirby Smart is 49 years old, and hasn’t shown any significant deterioration on the field that would lead the Bulldogs to even ponder making a change. After Lanning’s brilliant PR handling of the Alabama vacancy last year, Georgia is the only program I could potentially see Lanning bolting for. Which is good news for Duck fans.
So what about the coordinators? Tosh Lupoi has been around for a long time, but is only 43 years old. Curt Cignetti got his first power 4 head coaching gig this past season and he’s 63. I believe that Lupoi can be Oregon’s defensive coordinator as long as Dan Lanning wants him to be. His name is hardly ever brought up when coaching vacancies come available. He’s moved around plenty in his career, but has never given off the vibe of someone who’s searching for an opportunity to be the head coach of a program.
Will Stein, on the other hand, feels like his days at Oregon are numbered. Each of the last 3 offensive coordinators at Oregon have landed head coaching gigs outside of Eugene. Mario Cristobal was OC under Willie Taggart before getting the in-house promotion. Stein has produced consecutive Heisman finalists at Quarterback and now has a Big 10 Championship on his resume, too.
So how long will he stay in Eugene? Sure, an extension/raise might be a slight incentive for him to stick around and help Oregon win its first national championship. But his coaching future beyond the Ducks depends on 2 things if he does in fact want to be a head coach–and I think he does.
First, what sort of job does he want? Arroyo went to UNLV, a difficult place to win (though Barry Odom showed us it’s not impossible). Joe Moorhead has struggled at Akron, while Kenny Dillingham is thriving down at Arizona State fresh off a Big 12 Championship season in 2024. Would Stein be willing to take a G5 head coaching gig to get his feet wet as the head guy?
That could depend on the second consideration, which is when he feels his stock is highest. If Oregon wins a natty in 2025 or 2026, it’s harder to generate more buzz as a coordinator than in the immediate aftermath. But what if that doesn’t happen? Can reshaping Dante Moore’s image as a QB be enough for a power 4 school to give him a shot?There are lots of unknowns with Stein’s future. I’m fascinated to see how it all plays out. I will be surprised if he’s still at Oregon after the 2026 season wraps up.
As for Dan Lanning, what color is that grass in Eugene again?
Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.