Oregon Ducks’ Dan Lanning Reveals How He Creates Motivation Tactics, Weekly Themes

The videos delight the fan base, often grab national headlines and surely boost recruiting. The inside look displays that Lanning is a master motivator who excels at anticipating how he can help his team. It’s another way that Oregon is proving it’s “might different” as Lanning would say. Lanning provides full access to the video team but does a say if the videos are too revealing. 

Last season’s examples include his nod to The Gladiator's "Are you not entertained? " when Oregon played at The Big House vs. Big Ten rival Michigan Wolverines and utilizing the psychological concept of Pavlov's dog to join in on the Wisconsin Badgers's Jump Around tradition and find positive momentum.

In an exclusive interview with Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus, Lanning discusses the recruiting benefits of those videos, how he comes up with weekly themes and the overarching genius of his video team.  Lanning's concepts are brainstormed ahead of the season but adjusted that week to the specific point he feels he needs to "hammer home" ahead of an opponent.

Does Lanning feel ahead of the curve in terms of video marketing?

“I think that group is incredibly talented. They're innovative. I think they appreciate the access that we give them. Give them the opportunity to be able to take advantage of moments. They're doing some stuff that nobody else in college football is doing," Lanning said.

 "Give them a long leash and hope that you have to say, ‘whoa’ not ‘go.’ That's been that group's mantra - there's some moments where I'm like, ‘hey, whoa.’ But I'd rather be saying that than ‘go,’ and they're pushing the edge every week. They're making it fun for our fans and our recruits across the nation, and they've done an unbelievable job. The product speaks for itself," Lanning said.

How do the videos affect recruiting?

“I think more than anything, it speaks to like the environment we have here at Autzen. There's some players that we might be recruiting that have never made it here for a game. This is a way that you can get an idea of what it's like to be a day in the life of a player at Oregon.  Watching some of those, it's a nice recap of the game, but it's also an opportunity for them to see that experience," Lanning said.

How and when does Lanning create weekly themes for the football season?

“It’s certainly planned ahead but it's always adaptable and adjustable. There'll be times on a Thursday within a week that we feel like there's a point that we have to hammer home that maybe we haven't hit yet…  It's really about where your team's at and then what you think you might experience in those moments… I have a great group that I work with," Lanning said.

Does Lanning have a favorite theme from last year? 

“I don't know that I did (have a favorite). They're all enjoyable and they all tell a story. Again, I think that our creative team does an unbelievable job of recapturing those moments, and sometimes you almost forget about some of the things that happened, and then we get to relive them within the game, which is awesome," Lanning said.

No doubt, Lanning is deep in preparation for the 2025 football season as fans eagerly await to see the new product on the field and his masterful motivation via cinematic recaps.

Oregon’s season kicks off in Autzen Stadium vs. Montana State on August 30. Of course, every game is important… But the Ducks travel to face Big Ten foe Penn State on September 27 for their iconic, intense white out game. One can only imagine the motivational juice Lanning is preparing for the rematch of the 2024 Big Ten Championship game vs. the Nittany Lions.