Oregon’s 17-15 home loss to UCLA on Saturday dropped the Ducks to 3-2. By Monday, questions about the offensive staff had moved from message boards and social media into Dan Lanning’s press conference.
Lanning answered them. He just chose not to provide any specific details.
“Everything’s being evaluated. I wouldn’t reveal anything that we would do different,” Lanning shared. “But yeah, there’s going to be some changes. There’s going to be some differences in the way that we operate and what we do, and there already is.”
When pressed on specifics, he pushed back. “Why would I tell you? Why would I tell you that?”
A follow-up asked whether Oregon fans deserve transparency on what’s coming. Lanning’s answer ran more than 600 words, and the core of it was blunt.
“No, I don’t owe it to anybody to reveal that and what advantage it tells the other team what to prepare for,” he said. “Do I think there’s any merit or value for me sharing transparency to fans on what that looks like? No, because they’re not part of the winning process. If I thought telling the fans would help me win, then I’d tell them. But I don’t think it helps me win.”
By Lanning’s count, Oregon turned it over seven times against UCLA. He called five of them “legitimate turnovers that absolutely gave you zero chance to win,” including a red zone fumble he said “could be the difference in the game.” Dylan Raiola, the Nebraska transfer who took over after Dante Moore was injured at USC on Sept. 26, was pulled in favor of Brock Thomas.
The Big Ten acknowledged over the weekend that officials mis-spotted a two-point try, but Lanning wouldn’t lean on it. “That’s no excuse for what the result of the game was,” he said.
Right after the loss, Lanning had already put the play-calling up for review. “We didn’t have success on offense, so I think you have to look at all things, right?” he said Saturday. “Was it the calls? Was it the way we operated in practice?”
Those calls belong to Drew Mehringer, in his first season as Oregon’s offensive coordinator. Mehringer was promoted in January after Will Stein left to become Kentucky’s head coach. He spent 2022 through 2025 in Eugene as co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Before that he was co-OC at New Mexico (2021) and FAU (2020), passing game coordinator and receivers coach at Texas (2017-19), and offensive coordinator at Rutgers (2016). Chris Hampton moved up to defensive coordinator at the same time, replacing Tosh Lupoi, who is now the head coach at Cal.
Both coordinator moves followed a 13-2 season in 2025 that ended with a 56-22 loss to Indiana in the Peach Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal. This year’s Ducks have already lost at Oklahoma State, 39-31, and now to UCLA.
“Bad ball security showed up in the game. I didn’t coach that well enough,” Lanning said Monday. “I didn’t have the accountabilities necessary in practice. So that’s something I can coach better. Our coaching staff can coach better.”
He also refused to pin it on one assistant. “Our whole staff wears it. Our whole team wears it. Every one of us has opportunities to improve.”
Nebraska visits Eugene on Saturday, with Raiola facing his former team and Moore’s status still unclear. Whatever the changes are, everyone will see them by kickoff.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
As pressure mounts in the Oregon fanbase surrounding new OC Drew Mehringer, Dan Lanning says he won’t reveal publicly any changes he’s made around the team as it doesn’t benefit him in terms of winning. Questions from @zacharycneel and @RyanTClarke https://t.co/kxY5rLt9oD
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) October 13, 2026