Lanning: Ducks have talent and 'continuity'
Oregon Ducks ' head coach Dan Lanning sits down with John Fanta to preview the upcoming season, coaching Dante Moore .
Video Transcript
Dan Lanning, what makes college football special?
It's hard to put into words.
I mean, the, the moment that everyone gets to share together, and then there's the separate group that's working really hard behind the scenes to create something really special that fans, get to enjoy, the communities get to enjoy.
But it's kind of the lifeblood for an entire community, an entire fan base, as the season works.
And then there's a lot of work behind the scenes of a group of guys that are working really hard, to make it happen.
So, it's special.
It's a special moment, for sure.
Moments in college football, and emotion.
You are no stranger to the emotion of this game.
Where's the energy come from?
Man, I just always felt like, obviously I coach with a level of emotion.
I always feel like the players are gonna feed off of that energy, and the game's meant to be played a certain way.
I w- I wanna be, a guy that shares that and shows that, and I want our players to feel it, too.
It's, it's fun to have fun, and especially in big moments and big games.
At what point in your life did you say, "I could do this for a living"?
You know, I never kno- knew that I would probably be q- quite at the level that I get to be at now.
I'm really blessed to be there.
But I think right around seventh grade is when I figured out I wasn't gonna play for the Orlando Magic with Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.
It was probably the moment that I realized I'm not even the best high school basketball player or middle school basketball player here in Richmond, Missouri.
I might be a coach, and I love football as well.
But I, I worked with a guy named Ken Simmons.
He was my He's, he's our PE teacher at the middle school, and he made sports fun, and it made me wanna be a part of that and be able to do something like that the rest of my life.
Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway?
Yeah.
Sha- I had a Shaq backpack, man.
I was a big Shaq fan.
Wow.
Yeah.
What, what was, what were your, biggest traits to your basketball skill set?
I could miss free throws, just like Shaq.
You and me both.
Yeah.
No, I, I mean, I, I In Richmond, you grow up, you play all sports.
We played baseball, basketball, football.
And really, you know, in high school, became infatuated with football.
What's the hype song that the team is pumping these days, and do you enjoy it?
I, you know, each guy listens to their own music, 'cause I'm over there on, like, Last of the Mohicans or Trick Daddy.
I, I, I couldn't tell you what they're listening to.
But everybody's got their own thing.
What is your favorite play?
Well, the ones we score touchdowns.
Yeah.
And for this Oregon team, how many different ways- I hope, I hope you get to see us- can, can that be done?
Yeah, I hope you see us score a lot of 'em.
We've, we've certainly got some dynamic weapons.
We've got some great coaches that'll get us in position to do that, and a quarterback that can sling it or hand it off to the right guys.
When you think about the place, Oregon- Yeah what are the things that you've learned most about it that you didn't know about it prior to when you got there?
You know, in, in coaching you always see teams, you know, from afar, and, and you really base a lot of the information you know off that team based on the way they performed in football, what resources they have, what that looks like, the success they've had.
I've fallen in love with the community.
I've fallen in love with the people that are there.
I've fallen in love with the, the place, you know, the, the distance from the coast, the distance from, you know, Central Oregon, Bend, the rivers that go through it.
Just, it really it feels like home for, for my family and I.
When you think about the 2026 Oregon Ducks, if we were to put a definition of this team, on a dic- in a dictionary, what would it be?
Well, it hasn't been written yet.
Yeah.
But I want us to be the best version of us.
We'll see what that looks like.
But I don't think you can write the definition before the season's played out.
What's the best version of Dante Moore look like?
Oh, it's special.
Yeah, Dante's a, he's a great player.
He's got unbelievable emotional control.
He's got a great vision of what he wants to be, what he wants this team to look like.
But I think he realized that a lot of it runs through him.
Who is he, the person?
Yeah.
He's, the kind of guy that you'd like to s- you know, spend every day around.
He's, like, he's inquisitive.
He, is looking to learn.
He's, he's caring.
He can have a conversation with anybody in the building.
He's a hard worker.
He's competitive.
All those things really show up with Dante.
Everybody in the college football world talks about the fact that the Ducks, they're, they're right there, and they can win that national championship.
Why not Oregon?
Is that how you think?
I'm not really worried about what everybody else thinks.
I'm, I'm, I'm really worried about what, the best version of our team is, and I, I do think this is a team that's capable.
It has, talent.
It has a coaching staff that has some continuity.
But the ball has to bounce the right way.
Certain things have to happen throughout the season.
All we can focus on is being, you know, the best version of us, and what that looks like.
But, is this team capable?
Absolutely.
What, what will it look like?
Time will tell.
What is life in this league like?
Oh, it's a great challenge, and some unbelievable venues.
This is our third year now in the league.
I think we're gonna get the opportunity to see some, play some teams we haven't played yet, see some places we haven't seen yet, which I'm really excited about.
You know, I love the You know, Coach Dan and I were talking about it earlier today.
The coaches in this league, some of the players in this league are a real challenge.
You know, from top to bottom, there's just a, a really special group that make And, and it goes coast to coast, which I think is one of the things that make this league so unique.
I've seen different videos through the years.
I, I remember, one of, of all your guys on the field using the scene from Gladiator, "Are you not entertained?"
Any other favorite movie clips or things that you've shown your team, for motivation?
One in particular maybe.
I mean, there's a lot that we've used.
We, we're, we'll try to grab onto anything that can maybe be motivation, but I enjoyed showing some clips of Inglorious Basterds before we played, Washington- a couple years ago.
What'd you show?
It was a baseball bat scene from that movie.
Yeah.
Yep.
That rivalry.
Yeah.
Special one.
Why?
You know, it means so much to our fans.
And I think you're talking about two programs that are, you know, really good programs.
Coach Fish does an unbelievable job up there.
They've, they've been, you know, extremely competitive, for a long time, right?
And it- it's made it a, a, a fun challenge to have somebody that's that close in proximity, that really cares about their team as well.
Is it true that there's also Chef Lanning?
Are you a chef?
I wouldn't call myself a chef.
But I can cook a little bit.
What would you, what would you call yourself?
Oh, just, Dad.
Yeah.
I'd s- I'd call myself Dad.
But I can cook a little bit every once in a while.
What's Dad making?
I'm an omelet guy.
In the morning I can do omelets.
I'm kind of a steak guy, but it depends on what the flavor of the house is right now, you know?
So I, I, I'd like to think I can cook it all because you can all look it up on a recipe and figure it out.
How do you like your steak cooked?
Medium rare or rare.
Depends on the steak.
Rib eye I like medium rare.
Filet I want rare.
That's- I want to hear it just like moo coming out of the kitchen.
You and me both, if you, if you couldn't tell.
Your boys, what do they mean to you?
Oh, everything.
No, as, as fun as being a coach is, nothing will ever, combat being a dad.
It's by far You know, I'm really fortunate.
I have three unbelievable boys, Kaden, Niles, Titan.
They're all completely different, uniquely themselves.
They care about people.
They, they're really humble and, and grateful for the life experiences they've got to have, but they're a lot of fun to be a part of.
I heard your wife say there's a lot that people do not see that goes into accomplishing the dream.
Yeah.
When you think of that, what comes to mind most?
Oh, some great moments, right?
A lot of sacrifice and some great moments of, getting to do it together.
Legacy, how do you view the term?
I don't think a lo- I don't really think about it a lot.
I try to focus on the now, and I think there's a time later in life to, you know, smell the roses.
We have your game against the USC Trojans in Hollywood under the lights, LA Coliseum.
You talked about this conference and the, the stages that are, are within it, and we talked about Gladiator a few moments ago.
When you think about Oregon, USC, under the lights, LA, Big Ten football, how do you put it in perspective?
Oh, it's excitement.
You know, it's a game that as a kid you never thought you'd get an opportunity to be a part of.
So getting to be a part of a game like that against a team like that, it's pretty special.
Is there a game in, in your career that you look back on and, and, and say, "Man, I..." maybe the first one, "Man, I, I never thought that this would be my reality.
Like, whoa, we're, we're in this."
Oh, there's been a few of them.
You know, even back to my time as a defensive coordinator, you know, getting the I think we played, you know, Notre Dame and, at Georgia.
That was a really, you know, special experience to get to be a part of.
But certainly walking out, at Oregon the first time as a head coach is, is special.
But again, you don't, you don't go back and look at them very often.
Our, our first year in the Big Ten, getting to play in the Big Ten championship game was, you know, a lot of fun.
This entails a little bit of, of off the field.
You told me about your love of music.
You, you told me you can be a chef.
If the Ducks end- You said I could be a chef right, yeah.
Y- that's true.
If, if the Ducks are to win the national championship, and I, I know there's a lot that has to happen, how would Coach Lanning celebrate?
I'm not there yet.
I don't know.
I mean, it would I, I'd be looking for people to hug.
And, there's pro- there's certainly some moments that I've thought about what that would look like.
But I, I'd hope in that moment I get to enjoy the people that I get to do it with.
Why is your place the best in the country?
The people.
You know, I, and I think everyone looks at Oregon and says, "Okay, look at the stuff.
Look at what we have."
But what makes our place so special are the people and the love for the place.
And we have a lot of, a lot of special people and a really special love for our place.
If someone is going to play for you, what do you want them to know most about you?
That I'm gonna give them everything that I got, right?
That I, that I leave it All, all my chips are on the table at all times.
During baseball season, there's been something called tarps off.
Have you seen it?
Tell me more.
Kids in the stands, sometimes regular fans in the stands- Ripping off the shirts ripping off the shirts.
Okay.
Are, are you c- committed to a tarp coming off at some point in the 2026 season?
Probably not.
No commitment, no.
Could it happen?
Absolutely.
