Changes are coming to the way the Oregon football team operates, that, fifth-year coach Dan Lanning promised in his Monday press conference following a 17-15 loss to UCLA Oct. 10.
Most of those changes, however, will remain a secret ahead of a game vs. Nebraska this weekend.
The tight-lipped Ducks' coach repeatedly said in an over 20-minute media session that it gives Oregon no advantage to reveal who or how the Ducks call plays in the future.
"It’s really easy to point at one spot," Lanning said. "I’d say that. I wear it. Our whole staff wears it. Our whole team wears it. Every one of us has opportunities to improve. There’s going to be some changes, there’s going to be some differences in the way that we operate and what we do and there already is in the way we’ve operated this week. As far as revealing like how we’ll do that, what things look like, I’m not going to share that with you guys."
When pressed about why Lanning won't be transparent with fans and media about Oregon's play-calling structure, and if Oregon is making a change following a dismal offensive showing under offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, Lanning said he didn't want to give opposing teams an advantage.
"I don't owe it to anybody to reveal that," Lanning said. "What advantage does it give? It tells the other team what to prepare for."
He said doing so lets other teams look at the coach's history as a play-caller and look for weaknesses to exploit.
Lanning addresses outside scrutiny from Oregon fans and media
Unprompted, Lanning came to the defense of offensive line coach A'lique Terry saying social media has been unkind to a coach who has led his unit to three straight Joe Moore award finalist seasons. The award is given annually to the nation's best line.
He also said Mehringer has been part of the play-calling process at Oregon since he arrived and has had success, despite rough patches this season as the lead play-caller.
"We continue to assess every evaluation or every piece that shows up on the field and how we can improve it," Lanning said. "That doesn’t mean you throw out the baby with the bathwater, necessarily. Every situation and solving problems is about what do you have as resources to solve those problems and the ability to do that. That’s my job. I’m going to work extremely hard to do it. Are we doing everything exactly the same? Absolutely not.
"Do I think there’s any merit or value for me sharing transparency to fans on what that looks like? No, because they’re not part of the winning process. They are part of that atmosphere that we have, and I love our fans, I hope they respect that ... At the end of the day, I have to answer for wins and losses. If I thought telling the fans would help me win, then I’d tell them. But I don’t think it helps me win. It’s all about how do we win, and that’s what I’m focused on."
Lanning says Oregon's Jamari Johnson, Dakorien Moore and Dierre Hill Jr. are underutilized
While Lanning gave no specifics about who will call plays or how the offensive play-calling process changes moving forward, he did point out several problems.
One of the biggest: getting the ball to playmakers like tight end Jamari Johnson, receiver Dakorien Moore and running back Dierre Hill Jr., just to name a few. Lanning also mentioned the playbook might have too much volume and the Ducks may be better simplifying it and running more of what works.
"We have to be able to do simple jobs and there’s a lot of plays you pull up where you’re one player away or one technique away," Lanning said. "Then again, you’ve got to ask yourself, are you putting guys in the best situation to be successful at all times? That’s in every phrase, special teams, offense, defense, all of it."
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com.
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Dan Lanning promises changes to offense, but keeps Oregon plans secret