One reason Dan Lanning has risen higher than Lincoln Riley

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Oregon coach Dan Lanning beat USC and Lincoln Riley last year. Lanning beat Riley a few years earlier. Oregon has won a Big Ten championship. USC has not. Oregon has made the College Football Playoff and won a playoff game. USC has not. Ducks Wire offers one of several reasons why Lanning has eclipsed Lincoln Riley.

"When you have dealt with and are expecting to deal with as much coordinator turnover as Lanning has, a plan needs to be put into place, though. Fortunately, he saw two of his mentors — Nick Saban and Kirby Smart — do something similar to what he is now.

"'Getting to watch Nick and Kirby both, there were things that you walked away with,' Lanning said. 'It's evolved over time. It started with all of us on offense and Kenny (Dillingham) bringing some pieces that we wanted to have, but there were some non-negotiables that we knew we wanted in there.'

"So far, the plan has worked well for Lanning and the Ducks. His first two hires at OC have not only gotten head-coaching jobs but also landed them at their dream schools. Meanwhile, Oregon has continued to have great success and take things a step further in the postseason each year. If the trend continues, they will find themselves playing for a national championship this year. If that happens? The Ducks could be looking for a new OC sooner rather than later.

"'If we continue to win games, guess what? We'll have more guys to become head coaches on our staff, and that's a win for us, right?' Lanning said. 'But ultimately, we want to be able to keep and maintain the Oregon offense, the Oregon defense. What does that look like as we develop it and adjust it?'"

There has been plenty of staff turnover at Oregon and USC, but at Oregon, it has been more a case of coaches succeeding and then getting their own head coaching jobs. At USC, it has been more a case of Lincoln Riley not finding the best assistants and not having an overall plan or culture which has led to championships. Riley's hire of Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator has to be a home run. If it's just a bloop double, Oregon will probably remain better than USC this season.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: One reason Dan Lanning has risen higher than Lincoln Riley

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos