Fall. Sorry for the confusion. I probably should have provided more context rather than trying to summarize an hour-long conversation I had with someone last night in a single sentence. Did Dan Lanning know after scrimmage two that the offense was going to struggle this badly? I don't think so. There were concerns about the OL, offensive consistency and some structural issues, but that's different from knowing how significant those problems might become. And context matters. It was fall camp with a new OC. Some growing pains were expected, and there was reason to believe those issues could be worked through. I don't think anyone was looking at that scrimmage and concluding the offense was headed for this kind of trouble. By the Oklahoma State loss, though, my understanding is that those concerns had become more serious. There was growing frustration with the lack of offensive identity, consistency and predictability. That's also around the time more substantial internal conversations and structural adjustments appear to have begun. That's really the distinction I was making. They recognized some problems early, but believed they could correct them. The Illinois loss wasn't necessarily when those concerns first emerged. It was more likely the point where the inability to resolve them became impossible to overlook.

I have a major unpopular opinion. Before you crucify me, yes Drew needed to be fired without a doubt and this was the game you do it. After watching the film against Illinois this is the third week in a row where QB play has been atrocious. I don’t know if thats Drew and staff failing to teach these kids when they install the plan, or if its the players, or if it’s the QB coach, or what. It’s been OL and QB issues for several weeks now. OL finally had a good day, and QB was all over the map. Is that play design and OC? Plays a part but every play is different. At this point the dysfunction had gotten to be too much and he needed to go before you lose the locker room. But I have to imagine if Dante was out there that this would not have happened this way. At least not mid season. My unpopular opinion is that he was scapegoated. I think it needed to happen because a place like Oregon shouldn’t have gambled on that position. You need the best in the country if you’re trying to win a championship and have the $ investment that you do. You cannot gamble. That’s why he wasn’t the guy. Was the offense awful? Yeah. But don’t be shocked if it doesn’t magically get fixed next week. He was part of the problem I doubt he was THE ONLY problem. This needed to happen to not lose the locker room and the player’s faith in the staff. You can’t preach accountability without having backing behind it. Unfortunately, that’s the way the dice roll. We’ll see what comes of it, but as fans we all need to chillout and let them hire the best possible candidate this off season because this year is not going to get better, at least not in a meaningful way. Again don’t expect the offense to get a whole lot better and don’t immediately call for the interim OCs head next game. It’s very possible that it’s going to be bad until there are new faces in the building.

🤔

The moment Jesse Legree announced that he will be staying at Oregon State for the 2027-28 season:

RB Mesh Traffic from the Texans