Former Wyoming OC Takes Over Play-Calling Duties at Oregon

LARAMIE -- Jay Johnson -- yes, that one -- is the Oregon Ducks' new play-caller.

Less than 24 hours after a 10-point performance in an 11-point setback in Champaign, Dan Lanning showed offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer the door. On Monday, the third-year head coach promoted an in-house analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach Wyoming fans are all-too familiar with.

"He's going to head the efforts with the offensive staff," Lanning said Monday, referring to the 57-year-old Johnson. "But it will still be a collaborative effort with a lot of the work that we do. He's also coming in with a different perspective -- a different view -- not being with us the last few years, where he can provide a couple of things that might be different than what we've done that I think can trigger some success for us on that side of the ball."

Before landing in Eugene, Johnson spent the previous two seasons in Laramie where he led one of the least-efficient attacks in the nation.

How bad was it?

In 19 games with Johnson controlling the play sheet, the Cowboys failed to reach the 20-point mark on the scoreboard an astonishing 15 times. That lack of scoring, coupled with a shortage of creativity -- especially in the run game -- prompted Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel to take a "blowtorch" to the offense this offseason.

That all started by demoting Johnson to an analyst after a 24-21 loss at Air Force 363 days ago. An intercepted lob pass in the end zone from a back-up tight end sealed his fate.

He quietly left the program two weeks later.

"We haven't scored enough points," Sawvel said the following Monday. "That was something that I had to take a hard look at. I look at these scenarios, you know, as a head coach, there's been five games that we've lost here the last two years by four points or less -- and these aren't 38-35 games. So that was where I felt like, to some degree, our talent this year offensively was out-matching our production.

"This year, I could look at it and say that our production hasn't matched what the expectation and the talent level is. So, we made that adjustment and we'll go forward from there."

Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight took the reins of the offense over the final month of the season on an interim basis. Sawvel in December then hired Christian Taylor, a long-time offensive coach, who spent the previous two years on the staff of the Buffalo Bills.

Wyoming capped the 2025 campaign with just four wins, one more than the previous season, Sawvel's first as a head coach at any level.

This role could be a short-lived for Johnson unless he manages to turn around the Ducks' fortunes. If he does, he'll have to do it with a back-up quarterback. Dante Moore, it was announced Monday, will not return this season after suffering a concussion in a Week-4 win at USC.

The noticeable failure to develop a signal caller also doomed Johnson during his time on the high plains.

Evan Svoboda and Kaden Anderson combined to complete just 53.2% of their passes over a two-year stretch. That duo also tossed a combined 23 touchdowns to go along with 22 interceptions.

Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas, you're up.

Oregon is just 4-3 overall and dropped to 2-2 in Big Ten play after that 21-10 loss to Illinois. After a home tilt with No. 20 Northwestern this Saturday, a trip to face second-ranked Ohio State awaits.

Eliot out at North Carolina State

Dave Doeren, a day after falling 31-28 at Stanford, was fired at NC State after leading the Wolfpack for 13-plus seasons.

His defensive coordinator DJ Eliot was also dismissed.

The former Wyoming linebacker (1996-98) and graduate assistant (1999) in Laramie just signed a new contract in February that was supposed to keep him in Raleigh until at least 2028. Now the school could be on the hook for $1.215 million, according to Pack Pride.

NC State's defense is currently surrendering 380 yards an outing, which is 93rd overall in the FBS. That unit is also allowing more than 28 points per game. That has the Wolfpack sitting at No. 105.

It's been a tough stretch for Eliot and his family after the death of his 18-year-old daughter, Drue Eliot, who succumbed to Ewing sarcoma in September of 2025. You can read more about that HERE.

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