Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Job Security Ranked: Luke Fickell, Lincoln Riley Hot Seat?

On CBS Sports’s Big Ten coaching hot seat list, Dan Lanning is ranked as having the coolest seat at No. 18 of 18 Big Ten coaches. Here is the compete list:

1. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin Badgers

2. Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans

3. Mike Locksley, Maryland Terrapins

4 .DeShaun Foster, UCLA Bruins

5. Sherrone Moore, Michigan Wolverines 

6. Matt Rhule, Nebraska Cornhuskers

7. David Braun Northwestern Wildcats 

8. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State Spartans

9. PJ Fleck, Minnesota Golden Gophers

10. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes

11. Jed Fisch, Washington Huskies

12. Greg Schiano, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

13. James Franklin, Penn State Nittany Lions

14. Barry Odom, Purdue Boilermakers 

15. Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes

16. Bret Bielema, Illinois Fighting Illini

17. Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers

18. Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks,

Dan Lanning took over for Oregon in 2022. Since then, he and the Ducks have only got better. Oregon went 10-3 in 2022, 12-2 in 2023, and 13-1 in 2024. In their first season as a member of the Big Ten conference in 2024, Lanning led the Ducks to a Big Ten championship and their first College Football Playoff appearance since the 2014 season. 

Luke Fickell, Lincoln Riley on the Hot Seat?

The two coaches in the Big Ten with the seats that are the hottest according to CBS Sports are Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell and USC coach Lincoln Riley. Both Fickell and Riley were hyped up to be great hires for each respective program, but it has not yet panned out that way. 

For Wisconsin, Fickell came in from the Cincinnati Bearcats, taking over for longtime coach Paul Chryst. Chryst was as consistent as could be for the Badgers and led them to a bowl berth in every season he was head coach from 2015 through 2022. He also had a bowl game record of 7-1. Fickell took over for Cryst in 2023 and has gone 7-6 with a bowl game loss and 5-7 and missing a bowl completely for the first time in Badgers history since 2001.

Lincoln Riley on the other hand took over a 4-8 USC team prior to the 2022 season. Riley brought the Trojans to relevance immediately, going 11-1 in the regular season with Heisman trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams. USC lost their final two games of this season in the Pac-12 Championship game and Cotton Bowl. Riley's team has taken a few steps back and finished the 2023 seaosn with a record of 8-5 and the 2024 season with a a record of 7-6.