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Oregon head coach Dan Lanning continued to campaign for the college football season to end on January 1 each year in an effort to address several issues.
Noting the challenges of coordinators taking head coaching jobs being forced to juggle responsibilities, Lanning said he prefers to reduce the long layoffs between games. The 39-year-old has talked since the summer about ending the college football season sooner.
“Every playoff game has to be played every single weekend until you’re done with the season,” Lanning said during his press conference Wednesday. “Even if that means we start Week 0, or you eliminate a bye, the season ends on January 1st, and then the portal opens, then coaches who are going to move on to their next opportunities can move to their next opportunities.”
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Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the fourth quarter against the James Madison Dukes at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon on Dec. 20, 2025. (Craig Strobeck/Imagn Images)
Lanning reiterated throughout his press conference that he believed the play in the first round allowed his team to keep rhythm. Last season, Oregon was the No. 1 seed and lost in their first College Football Playoff game to Ohio State.
The NFL plays games on Saturdays throughout the month of December, which Lanning disagrees with. He’d rather see Saturdays remain exclusive to college football so they could pick up the pace in the College Football Playoff to finish their season before January 1st.
“I have a ton of respect for the NFL, but we’re a prep league for the NFL,” Lanning said. “We do a lot of services for the NFL. We’re the minor league in a lot of ways, but there’s no money paid by the NFL to take care of college football.
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Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks at the scoreboard during the first half of the first round of the NCAA College Football Playoff against James Madison on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Eugene, Oregon. (AP Photo/Lydia Ely)
“We’ve given up some of our days to the NFL. We said, ‘Oh, you’ve got to have this day, you’ve got this day, you’ve got this day.’ Saturday should be sacred to college football, and every Saturday through the month of December should belong to college football.”
Oregon’s offensive and defensive coordinators are both trying to navigate their dual responsibilities. Offensive coordinator Will Stein took the Kentucky job, while defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi took the California job.
If Oregon advances beyond the quarterfinals, both coaches will be busy navigating the transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2, while also trying to coach the Ducks to a national championship.
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“Our national championship game this year is Jan. 19, and it’s really hard to imagine as a coach going out and trying to join a new program and start a staff,” Lanning said.
“It’s hard for players to understand what continuity looks like and where they need to be and to manage that with visits, the portal, everything else that’s there. The clear way to do that is to bump up the season and make those playoff games happen a lot faster.”
Oregon will take on Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1 at noon ET.
