Dan Lanning details biggest changes at Oregon since taking over

For a couple of decades now, the Oregon Ducks have known what it felt like to be a winning program. Under Mike Bellotti, it started, and then continued under the leadership of Chip Kelly, Mark Helfrich, and Mario Cristobal.

So when Dan Lanning arrived in Eugene and began bringing national championship aspirations back to the forefront, it wasn't a major change for fans. The Ducks are a proud group that believes they should be competing near the top of the sport.

Their proximity to the top of the sport has gotten smaller since Lanning took over, though. Each year under his leadership, they've taken a step closer to the national championship game, and now enter the 2026 season as one of the favorites to win it all, led by Dante Moore and a long list of experienced veterans on the roster.

Going back to Lanning's first year at Oregon, what's the biggest difference, though, and where have things grown the most? Ahead of the annual spring game last month, Lanning took an opportunity to reflect for a moment and break down just how far his team has come.

"Yeah, it's certainly different. I think it starts with player standards, right?" Lanning said. "You know, you come in as a coach, and you say, here's the things that I want us to be about. And now you see the players saying, 'Hey, here's the things that we want to be about.' I think that resonates."

It obviously helps when many of the players who have come through Lanning's program go on to reach the ultimate goal: getting drafted by NFL teams and continuing their careers on Sundays.

This type of success makes it easy to buy into what Lanning is selling and leads players to take ownership of what they're trying to accomplish.

"We have a group where it's not just coaches on the field; it's players who are coaches on the field and operating at a really, really high level," Lanning said. "But every year is different. You know, I'm looking at the spring, and you try to compare it to previous years and different seasons, and it's a new group. It's a new team."

While it may be a new team, the expectations remain the same. One thing that has helped the Ducks grow those expectations is the number of people aiding things along. Since Lanning took over, the support staff in Eugene — analysts, assistants, advisors, front-office people, etc. — has grown exponentially. This is what defensive coordinator Chris Hampton credits with much of the success that takes place behind the scenes.