Drew Mehringer is stepping into a much bigger spotlight in Eugene, and he’s not pretending the shift has been seamless.
With Will Stein gone to Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi headed to California before Oregon’s 2025 College Football Playoff run, Dan Lanning elevated Mehringer and Chris Hampton into the open coordinator jobs. Both coaches still had a chance to work alongside their outgoing counterparts during the playoff push, but fall camp is where the new arrangement really starts to matter.
After Oregon’s third day of fall camp, Mehringer talked through the adjustment and made it clear that the job is about more than just calling plays. It’s also about managing the whole operation.
"I think I have a better understanding of who we are, what we can do at this moment. I do think there's obviously a a clear transition from my role last year to what it is this year.
Just the general organization of a lot of people is more of a task that I thought it would be, to be honest. But it's great, and we have an unbelievable offensive staff that takes a lot of charge, and I don't have to worry about as much things as you maybe think that I would," Mehringer said.
That comfort level makes sense. Mehringer has been around this program for four seasons, and as one of the few coaches brought in during Lanning’s first staff, he’s had time to build familiarity with the Ducks’ personnel and the way things operate. He’s also already shown a knack for developing talent, with names like New York Jet Kenyon Sadiq, Los Angeles Ram Terrance Ferguson, and incoming junior Jamari Johnson tied to his work.
Lanning said at Big Ten Media Days that Mehringer and Hampton have both been "hitting the ground running."
Having Hampton in the same boat has given Mehringer another set of eyes and another voice to lean on. The two have been comparing notes from practice, working through mistakes, and trying to sharpen each other before the games start counting.
"I think that me and Hamp (Chris Hampton) are growing and getting better," Mehringer said. "And like we talked about it as a staff, you know, when we're watching practice tape: 'These are the two things that I messed up in practice, right?
These are the two things that I gotta get better at.' And it's cool sharing ideas with him, 'Hey, this is hard for us.
All right, let's do something with that, right?'"
"And the same thing vice versa. So we can challenge each other to have better answers, so by the time we come and play this thing live, I think we can be as good as we possibly can be," Mehringer said.
Players have even started calling him "Einstein" or "genius" during the program’s media day, which says plenty about the reputation he carries into this season.
Now the challenge is turning that reputation into results with an offense that has plenty to sort through: senior wide receiver Evan Stewart, junior quarterback Dante Moore, senior center Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu, sophomore running back Dierre Hill Jr., freshman receiver Messiah Hampton, receiver Jalen Lott, and an offensive line that still has questions around the center. That’s the group Mehringer and his position coaches will have to piece together as Oregon builds toward the season.
In Other News...
Dan Lanning Just Got Another Chance In A Huge Oregon Recruiting Fight
Oregon is already looking well ahead in the 2028 recruiting cycle, and one of the biggest names on its board is Kameron McGee. The highly ranked edge rusher from Illinois has already spent time on campus in Eugene, giving Dan Lanning and his staff an early chance to sell the Ducks on what they can offer and where he might fit in the defensive pipeline.
McGees recruitment is far from a one-school conversation, though, and Oregon knows it will have to keep working if it wants to stay in the mix. The Ducks are expected to get another crack at him during the 2026 season, and the next round of visits will go a long way toward showing how serious he is about Eugene compared with the other national powers in the hunt. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Lott Is Already Pushing For A Real Oregon Role
Fall camp has offered a clear picture of just how crowded Oregons wide receiver room already is, with experienced veterans working alongside a freshman class that has brought real buzz. Among the newcomers, five-star Jalen Lott has turned heads since enrolling in the summer, showing enough skill and adaptability to draw notice from the coaching staff as he works through the playbook and into the mix.
Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has made it plain that nothing is being handed out in this group, and that message matters for a receiver room where every rep can shape the depth chart. For Lott, the early praise is encouraging, but the real test is still ahead: proving he can translate those flashes into a role when Oregon starts sorting out who truly belongs on the field. [Read more 🡒]