Oregon coach Dan Lanning is back on a national preseason watch list, earning a spot on the Dodd Trophy’s 2026 list of coaches to watch.
The award released its preseason field on Thursday, and Lanning was one of 20 coaches included. He was joined by several of the sport’s biggest names, including Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko.
The Dodd Trophy describes itself as college football’s most coveted national coaching award and says it honors more than wins alone. In the release, the award said, "The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity- the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy," The Dodd Trophy wrote in a release. "The award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field."
Lanning’s résumé at Oregon is already stacked. In four seasons, he has gone 48-8, guided the Ducks to two College Football Playoff appearances and delivered a Big Ten Championship in 2024.
Now the next step is the one that has lingered over Oregon’s recent run: carrying that regular-season success into the postseason. The Ducks have been one of the nation’s most reliable teams during the year, but the playoff has been the tougher hurdle. That’s the challenge facing Lanning heading into a season in which Oregon is expected to have one of the nation’s most talented rosters, and perhaps the strongest one of his tenure.
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Oregons New Indoor Facility Is Starting To Look Like Something Different
Oregons new indoor training facility is taking shape beside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, and the 170,000-square-foot addition already looks like more than a standard practice building. The project, known as 2.MO, is designed around a curved timber roof and a sustainability-minded footprint, with solar panels part of the plan as the Ducks continue building out a space meant to match the scale of the program.
The facility is also being tied to a broader reshaping of the area around Autzen Stadium, with parkway changes, added parking and other access work already part of the effort. Inside, the focus is on giving athletes more than just a place to train, with a rooftop lounge, classroom space and other football-specific amenities helping define what this next phase of Oregon infrastructure is supposed to be, even as the full picture is still coming into view. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Is Suddenly Facing A Huge Decision With Elite Edge Target
The next big recruiting checkpoint for Oregon comes with Darieon Prescott, a four-star edge rusher in the 2028 class who has emerged as one of the more coveted defenders on the board. Prescott has narrowed things to three finalists, with Oregon in the mix alongside Notre Dame and Texas A&M, and his decision is set to be revealed in a live ESPN commitment show on July 27.
For the Ducks, this is the sort of swing piece that can shape the early feel of a class, especially with Prescotts profile as a disruptive edge target drawing national attention. Oregon has stayed in the hunt, but the final stretch now comes down to whether the Ducks can close against two heavyweight programs before the announcement goes public. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Enters Media Days With One Massive Question Over 2026
The Big Tens annual Media Days arrive in Chicago from July 28 to 30, and Oregon is set to take its turn on July 29 with Dan Lanning joined by Dante Moore, Jamari Johnson and Teitum Tuioti. For the Ducks, it is a useful checkpoint in the middle of summer, a chance to hear how the program is framing its progress and where it believes the biggest gains still need to come before the 2026 season begins.
Moore gives Oregon a steady presence at quarterback, while Johnson is among the players whose role could become much more prominent as the offense evolves. But the larger conversation around the Ducks is hard to miss: after getting close in the College Football Playoff and absorbing the kind of postseason lessons that linger, Oregon enters this week with the same question hovering over everything it does, and Media Days should offer the first real clues about how Lanning plans to answer it. [Read more 🡒]