Photo courtesy of Oregon athletics
Oregon has its head man in Dan Lanning.
The defensive coordinator for No. 3 Georgia, Lanning will reportedly stay in his current position through the College Football Playoff. Part of his double duty will be assembling a staff at Oregon to shore up the current roster and salvage the 2022 recruiting class.
Below is a list of five potential offensive and defensive coordinators.
Offensive Coordinator
Kenny Dillingham, Florida State Offensive Coordinator
Lanning and Dillingham coached together at Memphis. Dillingham is currently the offensive coordinator at Florida State after holding the same position at Auburn and aforementioned Memphis. Dillingham is considered a stellar recruiter — something that is key at Oregon. The feather in Dillingham’s cap for his career is putting up 48 points on Alabama in a 2019 win while at Auburn. Many people see him as the early leader for the position.
Joe Brady, Former LSU Passing Game Coordinator
Brady has become a popular name among fans after his meteoric rise through the college ranks. As passing game coordinator, Brady oversaw an LSU aerial attack that scored more points than any team in FBS history during a national championship season in 2019. Brady quickly moved to the NFL as offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Recently relieved of his duties at Carolina, Brady has stated that he wishes to remain in the NFL. Though Brady is an intriguing name, he may only be fodder for the Twitter-verse when all is said and done.
Warren Ruggiero, Wake Forest Offensive Coordinator
Thanks to Wake Forrest’s unprecedented success this year, Ruggiero has become somewhat of a hot commodity, although he has just been getting real attention this year, Ruggiero’s offense has been setting Wake Forest records since he stepped foot on campus in 2017. He doesn’t seem to be a fit at Oregon on the surface, but this is Lanning’s vision now.
Brennan Marion, Pittsburgh Wide Receivers Coach
Pittsburgh’s wide receivers coach is getting a lot of traction as a name to look out for when it comes to offensive coordinators. Marion is considered a great, young, innovative offensive mind. Former Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal reportedly interviewed him before hiring Joe Moorehead two years ago. Marion could fit with the younger Lanning as far as culture is concerned.
Bryan McClendon, Oregon Wide Receivers Coach
Coach “B-Mac”, as his players fondly refer to him, is a favorite among those currently on the roster. The current interim head coach for the Ducks was the target of a Twitter campaign organized by some players to be named the permanent head coach. McClendon is known to be a fantastic recruiter and has an impressive resume. It has been reported that he has already acepted a position under Cristobal at Miami following the Alamo Bowl.
Defensive Coordinators
Glenn Schumann, Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator
The current co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Georgia is getting early hype as someone who may follow Lanning to Eugene. Schumann is a student of the game. He enrolled at Alabama specifically to be a student assistant under Nick Saban. When Kirby Smart took the head coaching job at Georgia, Schumann was one of his first hires. While not a familiar name to Oregon fans, Schumann may be the leader that the Ducks need.
Jahmile Addae, Georgia Defensive Backs Coach
Another hot name that has been rumored to be in the mix to follow Lanning is Jahmile Addae. Like Schumann, Addae is short on experience but long on reputation. Most every group he has coached from running backs at Cincinnati, special teams at Minnesota and defensive backs at West Virginia and Georgia have ranked at or near the top nationally. Whether or not he ends up at Oregon, Addae has a bright future ahead of him.
Tosh Lupoi, Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Line Coach
Lanning is familiar with Lupoi as they coached at Alabama at the same time. Lupoi has been in the NFL for several years, but may be interested in returning to the college ranks under the right circumstances. As a West Coast guy, Lupoi could bridge the regional gap for Lanning. Controversy surrounded Lupoi while he was coaching in the Pac-12, but he is known to be very good on the recruiting trail.
Donte Williams, USC Interim Head Coach
Williams is the current interim head coach at USC, and is a former assistant at Oregon. Known as an assassin in recruiting the West Coast, Williams is on the wish list for several Pac-12 programs. A lack of experience as a defensive coordinator is a common theme for this list, but it may be the biggest negative on Williams’ resume.
Ikaika Malloe, Washington Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach
Oregon fans may not like this name. Malloe is a former Washington player and coach. Malloe has essentially spent the last half-decade as Washington defensive coordinator Bob Gregory’s protégé. The Huskies’ defense has been consistently stout during his tenure. If Lanning is looking for someone with Pacific Northwest ties and coordinator experience, Malloe would be an intriguing hire.
Coach Lanning has some big decisions ahead of him as he assembles his first staff. With fans hoping for home-run hires, it will be interesting to see what route the young coach goes.
Will he value experience over potential, familiarity over regional candidates or will it be a combination of both? Surely, we will see many names pop up over the next few days. Odds are that at least one of the names above will be on the staff in some capacity.