"I remember going to Men's Warehouse to pick up coaches' socks": When Dan Lanning recalled his past struggles as a GA

Being the head coach of a top football program is a premier position but as Dan Lanning shared, the journey to get there is not easy. In an appearance on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast in April, the Oregon Ducks head coach gave some advice to young coaching prospects.

“I think every coach has aspirations of being the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator, the head coach, and the reality is you got to go find all the jobs that nobody wants to do and become the best at them," Lanning said. "Like making a call sheet and making yourself (capable to help) where when this guy leaves, he’s like, ‘hey, how do I open up this file’?"

“I remember going to Men’s Warehouse to pick up coaches’ socks," Lanning added. "It certainly wasn’t what I wanted to do at the time, but if that gave me favor with that coach for an opportunity to be his guy that he trusted, then you got to do whatever it is."

Despite what would seem like a quick rise through the coaching ranks Dan Lanning had to go through several jobs. He started as a high school coach in 2008 before joining Pitt as a graduate assistant. He would have two more stints as a GA at Arizona State and Alabama until finally landing a job as linebackers coach at Memphis.

After two years in Memphis, he joined Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia in 2018 and became the defensive coordinator a year later. After the 2021 national championship, Lanning left Georgia to become the head coach at Oregon.

Dan Lanning adds former Belichick assistant to his staff: Reports

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning will be adding a new wide receivers coach to his staff according to 247 Sports. Former Syracuse Orange wide receivers coach Ross Douglas would be taking the same position at Eugene according to the report.

Douglas helped the Orange become the best passing offense in the nation in 2024 and had three different receivers top 900 yards for the season. He will replace Junior Adams, who took the same role with the Dallas Cowboys.

Before arriving at Syracuse, Douglas spent three years on Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots staff, where he went from defensive quality control coach to wide receivers coach.

The Ducks' receiving unit will undergo some changes as WRs Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden won’t be back in Eugene. However, Evan Stewart is primed for a strong season, while Florida State transfer Malik Benson could also make an impact for Dan Lanning's Ducks.