In almost every respect, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning had a very successful first year at Eugene last season. He became only the fifth coach in Oregon history to have 10 wins and the third to do so in his freshman season with the team.
While there are certainly things that could have gone better — losing to rivals Oregon State and Washington in the same year is never something you want — it’s clear that Oregon fans should be encouraged and excited about what’s coming up Ducks. Lanning has proven he is an elite footballer and his recruiting skills have continued what Mario Cristobal started in Eugene and brought some of the nation’s best players to the Pacific Northwest.
The question for the future will be how high the upper limit will be in the future.
If you look back in the Oregon record books, Duck coaches have had some great successes in their sophomore year with the program. Both Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich made it to the national championship game while Mario Cristobal won a Rose Bowl. How will Dan Lanning’s second season with the Ducks compare to his predecessors? It’s impossible to say, but at least he’s on a great path.
To get a good breakdown, I went through what I like to call the “modern era” of Oregon coaches. While the Ducks have been around since 1894, a total of 39 head coaches have gone through the program, often spending just a season or two at Eugene. Until the legendary Len Casanova emerged in 1951, not a single coach had spent more than 5 seasons with the program. So this will be the point where I begin our modern era. There have only been 11 head coaches in Oregon since 1951.
How did these coaches do in their second year with the program? Let’s take a look:
Len Casanova
(Kirby Lee via AP)
Record of the first season: 2-8 (1-6 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: none
Record year 2: 2-7-1 (2-5 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
Len Casanova is celebrated for his longevity with the program on the Oregon campus with the Casanova Center, but the Ducks didn’t find much success early in his tenure.
Jerry Free
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images)
Record of the first season: 2-8 (1-5 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: none
Record year 2: 4-6 (2-4 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
Jerry Frei saw a slight improvement from Year 1 to Year 2, but the Ducks were still unable to make a bowl game or have much success. In his five years with Oregon, Frei never had more than 6 wins.
Dick Enright
(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Record of the first season: 4-7 (2-5 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: none
Record year 2: 2-9 (2-5 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
Unfortunately, Dick Enright is one of the rare cases where there actually was a regression from year 1 to year 2. Enright only lasted two seasons in Eugene.
Don reading
Otto Greule Jr./Allsport
Record of the first season: 2-9 (0-7 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: none
Record year 2: 3-8 (2-5 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
You can probably guess a theme here. Until Mike Bellotti took over and began leading the program into the new era, there wasn’t much success for the Ducks, especially early in their coaching tenure. Don Read is another example of this.
rich streams
Record of the first season: 2-9 (1-6 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: none
Record year 2: 2-9 (2-5 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
Rich Brooks had a great tenure in Oregon over a long period, but he struggled to gain a lot of ground early in his career with the Ducks. Still, a slight improvement in conference play is at least something to expect.
Mike Bellotti
(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Record of the first season: 9-3 (6-2 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Loss – Cotton Bowl vs. Colorado (33-6)
Record year 2: 6-5 (3-5 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: none
analysis
Despite all the success Mike Bellotti has had in his Oregon career, he actually saw quite a drop in production from Year 1 to Year 2, falling from a Cotton Bowl appearance to a missed bowl game.
Chip Kelly
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Record of the first season: 10-3 (8-1 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Loss – Rose Bowl vs. Ohio State (26-17)
Record year 2: 12-1 (9-0 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: Loss – BCS Championship Game vs. Auburn (22-19)
analysis
This is where the Ducks’ sophomore winning streak really began. After making a Rose Bowl his freshman year in Oregon, Chip Kelly really started cooking with fire in his sophomore year, leading the Ducks to a perfect 9-0 Pac-12 record and earning a BCS Championship Game berth . Unfortunately, the Ducks suffered a heartbreaking loss to Auburn at the Natty. Memory: Dwyer was down.
Markus Helfrich
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Record of the first season: 11-2 (7-2 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Victory – Alamo Bowl vs. Texas (30-7)
Record year 2: 13-2 (8-1 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: Victory – Rose Bowl v. Florida State (59-20); Loss – CFP National Championship vs. Ohio State (42-20)
analysis
Mark Helfrich undoubtedly had the best Year 2 of any Oregon coach, leading the team to the first-ever college football playoff and beating the defending champion Florida State Seminoles at the Rose Bowl before losing to Ohio State in the national championship. The Ducks also saw their first-ever Heisman trophy winner in Marcus Mariota during Helfrich’s second year as head coach.
Willy Taggart
Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Record of the first season: 7-5 (4-5 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Loss – Las Vegas Bowl vs. Boise State (38-26)*
*Bowl game coached by Mario Cristobal
Record year 2: N / A
Year 2 Bowl Game: N / A
analysis
Of course, Willie Taggart left the Ducks for his “dream job” at Florida State before his freshman year with the Ducks even ended, leaving Oregon to go to the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State with interim HC Mario Cristobal.
Mario Cristobal
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Record of the first season: 9-4 (5-4 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Victory – Red Box Bowl vs. Michigan State (7-6)
Record year 2: 12-2 (8-1 Pac-12)
Year 2 Bowl Game: Victory – Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin (28-27)
analysis
Year 2 was great for Mario Cristobal, which saw the Ducks field a developed Justin Herbert and strong defense, through to the Rose Bowl where they defeated the Wisconsin Badgers in dramatic fashion.
Dan Lanning
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Record of the first season: 10-3 (7-2 Pac-12)
Bowl Game Result: Victory – Holiday Bowl v. North Carolina (28-27)
Record year 2: open
Year 2 Bowl Game: open
analysis
Of course, we don’t yet know what Dan Lanning’s year 2 with the Ducks will be like, but things are going well in Eugene. With the return of Bo Nix as a Heisman nominee and a defense likely to be vastly improved from a year ago, the Ducks should be in a position to contend for a Pac-12 championship and possibly a spot in college football to get playoffs.
Source : sports.yahoo.com