Rick Neuheisel was a successful college football coach at Colorado and Washington. He won a Rose Bowl. He had multiple teams finish in the top 10. The former coach, now a CBS college football analyst, thinks Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is going to evolve, and that the Ducks will be better in the Big Ten as a result.
John Canzano has more at his Substack (subscription required):
I asked Neuheisel, who spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the Pac-12, what kind of growth we might expect from Lanning in season No. 3.
Said Neuheisel: “Wisdom comes with experience, right?”
Lanning was criticized last season after coming up short in Week 7 vs. Washington on three straight ‘go-for-it’ decisions on fourth down. It cost Oregon the game, but I didn’t mind the aggressive mentality. It was over the edge, but on-brand for Lanning, who gambled that afternoon like he was playing with house money.
Neuheisel later said this:
“He’s an emotional guy and a defensive guy,” Neuheisel told me. “There’s an aggression that comes with his personality that wants to be full throttle. There’s got to be times when the prudent decision is to back off the throttle.”
It will be fascinating to see how Lanning handles key in-game decisions this year in the Big Ten.
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