Building the 2027 offense
Oregon relieved its offensive coordinator on Oct 25, 2026. This is the plan for 2027: the quarterback, the coordinator, the line, the receivers and the defense we keep. Facts are sourced. Opinions are labeled.
The short answer. 2027 is a rebuild of the offense. The first decision is the coordinator, the second is the quarterback, and the portal and recruiting classes decide both. Drew Mehringer was relieved on Oct 25, 2026, and Dan Lanning said in the release that "a new direction is necessary to move our offense forward" (Oregon Athletics, Oct 25, 2026). No interim play-caller was named. The longer account of what went wrong this year is in the 2026 season reckoning.
The 2027 quarterback
A championship offense starts with a quarterback who can make every throw the scheme asks for. Dylan Raiola and Dante Moore are the names on the page right now. Moore has no return date on the injury tracker, so 2027 cannot be planned around him yet.
Our opinion: Oregon should recruit or transfer for the quarterback first. Every other decision in this plan is easier once that player is on the roster.
The portal plan: where to look first
Oregon's weakest spot going into 2027 is the quarterback room, and it has been since Moore was hurt at USC on Sept 26. Dante Moore has no return date. Dylan Raiola started at Illinois and threw for 246 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Our 2026 starters are the only data we have, and the board does not show a proven third option at the position.
What the portal can and cannot do this fall. The 2026 portal window closed on Jan 16, 2026, so no player is on the open market now. The next window is the 2027 cycle. The players in the last cycle who were ranked as top passers have already committed elsewhere: Brendan Sorsby to Texas Tech, Josh Hoover to Indiana and Rocco Becht to Penn State (ESPN and SI portal tracking, Jan to Mar 2026).
Names we can and cannot back. Sam Leavitt of Arizona State has been reported as a team to watch for Oregon. That report predates Moore's return, and we have not confirmed Leavitt's status for 2027, so he is not a target on this page. No other 2027 portal name is verified here.
Our opinion: the staff should look at the 2027 portal as the place to find a starting quarterback who can play now, and at recruiting for the next one. Oregon has taken a transfer quarterback in each of the last five seasons, starting with Anthony Brown Jr. in 2021 (Oregon transfer coverage). The quarterback position is where that pattern has to change.
Sources: ESPN and SI portal trackers, Jan to Mar 2026; SI and Roundtable reports on Oregon portal activity, 2026. These are secondary reports, not Oregon releases.
The next offensive coordinator
Oregon has not named a replacement. The hire matters more than any other single 2027 decision, and the release does not say when it will happen.
Our opinion: hire the best offensive coordinator Oregon can find, from inside or outside the program. Loyalty is worth something, but this decision is about production, and the offense has not produced enough in 2026.
The offensive line
The line has to be rebuilt around the quarterback, not the other way around. We will update this section with the line's 2026 starters once the starters log is verified, rather than guess at names here.
Receiver depth
The 2027 room needs more than one good receiver. In 2026 the Illinois availability report listed Evan Stewart, Jeremiah McClellan, Jalen Lott and Messiah Hampton all out (Oregon Athletics participation list, Oct 24, 2026). Depth is the lesson, and it should drive the portal and recruiting plan.
The defense we keep
The defense is the foundation of the 2027 plan. Teitum Tuioti had 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a tackle for loss at Illinois, and Koi Perich had 6 solo tackles and a tackle for loss (Fox Sports box score, Oct 24, 2026). That is the unit to protect while the offense is rebuilt.
Culture
The culture question is what the next coordinator and the next quarterback have to be measured against. Lanning has been loyal to his staff, and that quality matters. Loyalty cannot replace a hard call on a unit that is not producing. The release shows Oregon made that call on Sunday, and the 2027 plan should be judged the same way.
What we don't know
- Who the next offensive coordinator will be, and when Oregon will name one.
- Whether Dante Moore returns, and when. The injury tracker lists him out with no return date.
- Who calls plays for Northwestern. No interim play-caller has been named.
- The 2026 offensive line starters. We have not verified them, so no line names appear in the plan.
Where it stands now
The 2026 facts behind this plan, for reference.
| Player | Line | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan Raiola | 27/41, 246 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 fumble lost | Fox Sports box score |
| Dakorien Moore | 9 catches, 70 yds, 14 targets | Fox Sports box score |
| Jamari Johnson | 7 catches, 69 yds, 8 targets | Fox Sports box score |
Julian Sayin, the Ohio State starter, is out indefinitely with a right-arm injury, per Ryan Day's comments on Oct 20 (wire reports, not an Ohio State release). Ohio State is the team Oregon plays on Nov 7.
Evan Stewart was arrested on a complaint of driving under the influence on Oct 18, 2026, according to jail and police information reported by KATU and OPB. Lanning said the incident did not meet the program's standard and is being handled internally. No discipline has been announced in our sources. An arrest is an allegation, not a conviction.
Sources
- Oregon Athletics, "Oregon Relieves Offensive Coordinator Mehringer of Duties," Oct 25, 2026. goducks.com
- Fox Sports, Oregon vs. Illinois box score, Oct 24, 2026. foxsports.com
- KATU and OPB on the Stewart arrest, Oct 19 to 21, 2026.
- Ryan Day's comments on Sayin, Oct 17 to 20, 2026 (wire reports: Field Level Media, ClickOnDetroit).
Opinion is labeled throughout. We did not embed anything we could not check.