Breaking: Dan Lanning’s Ranking so far in the list of Oregon past head coaches

Recently the management and other oregon key contributors ranked their head coaches including Dan Lanning.

1. Mark Helfrich (2013-16)

Mark Helfrich was fired after just four seasons leading Oregon’s program. His firing was due largely to his inability to solve problems when they arose in 2016, as well as a downward trajectory in recruiting. However, he also was the victim of some inflated expectations based on how the team did his first two seasons and under his predecessor, Chip Kelly.

All that being said, Helfrich went 36-16 in his four seasons, including two top-10 finishes in the national rankings, a Pac-12 championship, a Rose Bowl victory and a trip to the national championship game. Also, as a quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and head coach during Marcus Mariota’s career, he played a large role in developing the Ducks’ only Heisman Trophy winner.

2. Chip Kelly (2009-12)

Although Chip Kelly led the Oregon program for just four seasons, the Ducks reached record success under his leadership. During his four seasons, Oregon went 46-7, including three Pac-12 championships, two Rose Bowl games and the program’s first trip to the national championship game. He had three 12-win seasons during his four years as head coach.

Kelly’s best season came in 2010, when the Ducks finished the regular season 12-0 and faced Auburn in the BCS national championship game, which they lost 22-19 on a last-second field goal. After guiding the 2012 Ducks team to a 12-1 record and victory in the Fiesta Bowl, Kelly left Oregon to take the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.

3. Mike Bellotti (1995-2008)

Mike Bellotti took over the program in 1995 after Rich Brooks left for the NFL. Bellotti coached the Ducks for 14 seasons, and during that time he took Oregon to the next level. Bellotti finished with a record of 116-55, and he ranks No. 1 in program history in wins. Bellotti had just one losing season, and he had two Pac-10 championships. His 2001 team won the conference title, won the Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 2 in the national rankings with Joey Harrington at quarterback.

Bellotti left his coaching position after the 2008 season to become Oregon’s athletic director, although he held that position for just nine months.

4. Dan Lanning

The second year of Dan Lanning’s tenure as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks has come to a close. He wrapped up his second year in emphatic fashion with a 45-6 win over the Liberty Flames in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Monday. With the win, Oregon improved to 12-2 on the season, and Lanning picked up the second bowl game victory of his career.

While it’s impossible to perfectly compare coaches throughout the years because of the constantly changing landscape in the world of college football, what we’ve seen from Lanning so far has been impressive, to say the least, and has him up there with some of the best coaches that Oregon has seen over the last several decades.

Now that we have a two-year sample size to go off of, this felt like a great time to see how Lanning’s accolades from the past two years stack up compared to other coaches of the modern era who have come through the Ducks’ program, potentially look at what it might portend for the future.

5. Rich Brooks (1977-94)

Brooks took over the program in 1977 after the Ducks fired Don Reid. Brooks’ 18 seasons as head coach were filled largely with mediocre teams. He coached the Ducks to seven winning seasons, and although it was a lengthy transition, he set the stage for some of the later success to come.

Brooks went out on top in 1994, leading the Ducks to the Pac-10 championship and the program’s first Rose Bowl in 37 years. After the season, Brooks went on to coach the St. Louis Rams in the NFL. The field at Autzen Stadium is named after him — Rich Brooks Field. His 91 wins rank second all-time in program history, and his 109 losses are the most.  He also had four ties.