Drew Mehringer, Chris Hampton have been ‘home run’ hires, per Lanning
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A lot more goes into a head coaching position than just overseeing the college football program, making in-game decisions, and recruiting. Much of their success revolves around hiring the right people who work with you in order to achieve that success.
Changing coordinators happens often for a program as coaches find head coaching jobs elsewhere, but when the 2025 season was over and done with, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning had to go the extra mile in finding both a new offensive and defensive coordinator. As it turns out, after an exhaustive search, it seems as if the two right people were already in the building.
Lanning finally settled on Drew Mehinger to replace Will Stein (Kentucky) to run the Duck offense and Chris Hampton to replace Tosh Lupoi (California) to run the Oregon defense. At Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Wednesday, Lanning said those two in-house hires have been a home run decision.
"You know, our four years here, we've had three guys go on to become Power Four head coaches, and we're certainly excited for Coach Stein and Coach Lupoi and their new opportunities. But that creates a new opportunity for guys in our building, and Chris Hampton and Drew Mehringer," Lanning said. "You know, both these guys are all-stars in the profession.
"They both do an unbelievable job developing players. They understand scheme, and they've created some great memories in their position rooms, and they've done an unbelievable job hitting the ground running this offseason, having guys in your program that understand your culture, what you want to create. Those guys have been home runs so far, and I'm really excited to see what they'll accomplish this year.”
Hampton has been the defensive backs coach for Oregon since 2023, and Mehringer was the co-offensive coordinator/ tight ends coach since Lanning arrived in Eugene in 2022. Both have spent significant time game-planning for the Ducks, so the two promotions seem like a natural fit.
Oregon brings back not only talent, but a wealth of experience on both sides of the ball, so having coordinators familiar with the players and the schemes is a no-brainer as the Ducks compete for their first national championship in the program's history. Should that occur, these two hires will not only be home runs, but they'll be grand slams.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Drew Mehringer, Chris Hampton have been ‘home run’ hires, per Lanning
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