Dan Lanning Reveals Oregon Ducks' Recipe For Success

An example that Lanning and Pizzo discussed came during the 2024 Big Ten Conference Championship Game against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Former Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson , who the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, approached the Oregon head coach heading into the fourth quarter.

“I went up to coach Lanning and said, ‘I need your best 15 minutes here,’” Johnson said on the Big Ten Championship postgame show. “‘Coach, it don’t matter what you say to us, I just need your best.’”

Johnson was on the receiving end of a 48-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter against Penn State that put Oregon up 38-24. The Ducks scored once more after the receiver challenged Lanning. They won the game 45-37 with Johnson taking home the Big Ten Championship MVP award. He finished with 181 yards on 11 receptions.

“You want to challenge your players to be their best,” Lanning told Pizzo. “But you want them to be able to challenge you to be your best as well.”

The program is 35-6 overall through Lanning’s three seasons. Oregon reached its first national No. 1 overall ranking in over a decade during the 2024 season, with the team staying an undefeated 13-0 through the victory over the Nittany Lions.

But Lanning believes that the untraditional relationship, which allows players like Johnson to have honest discussions with the staff, is what has played a key role in the accomplishments.

“We talk about growth mindset in our program all the time and it doesn’t really matter who you are, you better be finding a way to get better,” Lanning said. “If our players can have open and honest conversations with us on where we can improve, and we can do the same with them, that’s the best recipe for success.”

The 39-year-old coach added that it’s huge having players who can have tough conversations with other players rather than the coaches always having those conversations with players.

Lanning acknowledged the program is in a different spot heading into his fourth season than it was in 2022. Oregon went 10-3 overall in Lanning's first season, 12-2 in 2023, and 13-1 in 2024.

The Ducks enter the fall with a lot of new faces set to start. Players seem keen to be a part of the program’s culture, as Lanning’s picked up nearly a dozen transfer portal additions and the team holds a top-five 2025 recruiting ranking.

Oregon will look to defend its Big Ten Championship and continue its success under Lanning’s reign when the 2025 season kicks off on Aug. 30 against Montana State.

"You got to learn from experience but then you also have to recognize that last year's experience has nothing to do with this year's success," Lanning said.