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Oregon Fires OC Mehringer After Third Loss
· Confirmed
In Short: Unranked Oregon fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer following their third loss of the season.
Oregon announced Sunday that they had fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer after just seven games, following their third loss of the season.
The Ducks' offense, which had been one of the best backup quarterback situations in the country with Dylan Raiola's transfer from Nebraska, struggled in a 21-10 loss to Illinois on Sunday.
With starting quarterback Jayden de Laura out of the lineup, Oregon has averaged only 14 points per game this season.
The Ducks' offensive performance against Illinois was the final straw for Mehringer, as the team should have been able to put more points on the board despite being down key offensive players.
Dan Lanning, Oregon's head coach, promoted Mehringer from co-offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator following Will Stein's departure to Kentucky in the offseason.
Lanning's decision to promote Mehringer has been criticized, as the Ducks have struggled on offense all year.
Under Mehringer's leadership, Oregon's offense went from a top-20 rushing unit and a top-10 scoring unit to 88th in rushing and 40th in scoring.
Mehringer joined Oregon's staff as a tight ends coach in 2022 and was promoted to offensive coordinator ahead of this season.
In seven games under Mehringer’s leadership, Oregon averaged 33.1 points and 423.1 yards per game, with a third-down efficiency of 35.1%.
Illinois ranks 16th in the Big Ten in yards allowed per game (382.4) and 17th in passing yards allowed per game (248.0).
Lanning did not elaborate on what specifically was changing or whether Mehringer would be asked to change his approach.
Lanning previously defended his decision to promote from within with Mehringer, but the team's offense has not looked as explosive as it did last year.
Background
Oregon has fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer following their third loss of the season, the school announced Sunday.
What's confirmed
- Unranked Oregon fires OC Mehringer following 3rd loss | ESPN La Crosse 105.5 You are using an outdated browser.
- "Drew has been a valued member of this staff since 2022, and I am appreciative of everything he's done for Oregon," Lanning said in a statement.
- "He played a tremendous role in what this program has accomplished over the last several seasons. This was a decision I felt was in the best interest of our football program, as I believe a new direction is necessary to move our offense forward. I thank Drew for his efforts and wish him all the best."
What's still developing
- "I think it's the easy thing to say if you're watching, like, 'Oh yeah, it's obviously an OC-DC thing.' No, it's a combination of the staff, right. The decisions I make, right. The decisions we make as an offensive staff, the decisions we make as a defensive staff, and then execution," Lanning said after the team's loss to Oklahoma State in September.
- While Lanning appeared to prioritize continuity with the hire, Mehringer never quite got the offense to work as well as his predecessor.
- After the loss to UCLA at home two weeks ago, Lanning said the entire offensive approach needed to be evaluated, including the playcalling and preparation.
- Saturday’s loss to Illinois — another 4-3 team that’s lost to Purdue, Duke, and Ohio State — was a sobering wake-up call for Lanning that something had to change.
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- The Wildcats are averaging 32.9 points per game with considerably fewer resources than the Ducks.
- In Big Ten play, the Ducks have topped 17 points just once -- a 41-27 win over USC in which quarterback Dante Moore exited with a concussion that has sidelined him for the last three games.