As Oregon heads toward fall camp, Dan Lanning has landed on a preseason watch list that could put him in line for a little program history.
The Ducks’ fifth-year coach was named July 9 to the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation’s preseason list for the 2026 Dodd Trophy. The award goes to the head coach whose team finds success on the field while also emphasizing “scholarship, leadership and integrity.”
Lanning is one of 20 coaches on the watch list. He also joins a field that includes last year’s winner, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, who claimed the 2025 award after leading the Hoosiers to the National Championship. The Big Ten placed seven coaches on the list, more than any other conference.
That group also includes USC’s Lincoln Riley, Washington’s Jedd Fisch, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Illinois’ Bret Bielema.
For Oregon, a Lanning win would mean more than just another coaching honor. The Ducks have had big names on the sideline before, with Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly both guiding the program to conference titles and bowl wins, but Oregon has never had a Dodd Trophy winner.
If Lanning were to finish the job in 2026, he would give the Big Ten back-to-back winners and carve out another first for the Ducks.
The expectations around Oregon entering year five under Lanning are as high as they’ve been. The roster brings back the heart of its 2025 group, including quarterback Dante Moore, starting center Iapani Laloulu and the entire defensive line. The staff also added important transfers, including former Minnesota safety Koi Perich, while signing a top-five recruiting class.
Lanning’s track record in Eugene has followed a steady climb. His first season in 2022 ended 10-3 with a Holiday Bowl win. In 2023, Oregon finished 12-2 and beat its way through the Fiesta Bowl.
By year four, Lanning had the Ducks in the College Football Playoff after a Big Ten Championship and an undefeated run, before Oregon fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. He followed that with a 13-2 season in 2025, pushing the Ducks even deeper into the postseason and into the CFP semifinals.
The pattern has been hard to miss: each year, Oregon has gone a step further. The only loss outside that trend came against Oregon State in 2022, and every other defeat under Lanning has come against teams that either won the National Championship or finished as runner-up.
Oregon will also see several of the coaches on the Dodd Trophy watch list in 2026, including road trips to face Day and Riley. If Lanning can handle those matchups and keep the Ducks moving forward, his case for the award - and for another CFP run - only gets stronger.
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