Lanning Names Michalowski Inside Linebackers Coach, Announces Further Staff Updates

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning announced the promotion of defensive analyst Brian Michalowski to the role of inside linebackers coach on Wednesday
 
Lanning also announced that co-defensive coordinator Chris Hampton – who coached the Ducks' safeties in his first season at Oregon in 2023 – will now oversee all defensive backs, and graduate assistant Rashad Wadood will take on an elevated role working with UO's cornerbacks.
 
Additionally, Lanning announced that defensive analyst Kamran Araghi will move into a graduate assistant role with Oregon's outside linebackers, former offensive lineman Ryan Walk has returned to the program as a an offensive line graduate assistant, and Zach Tinker has rejoined the staff as a special teams analyst. Former student assistant Jack Smith has also been elevated to an offensive graduate assistant role.
 
The Ducks went 12-2 in 2023 while boasting one of the most improved defenses in the country, ranking ninth nationally in scoring defense (16.5 PPG), 11th in rushing defense (102.57 YPG) and 22nd in total defense (318.4 YPG) while also leading the Pac-12 in passing defense (215.9 YPG). Oregon was one of just three teams in the nation (Michigan, Ohio State) to hold opponents to 10 points or less at least seven times.
 
Michalowski joined the Ducks in 2023 after spending the 2022 season as a defensive quality control analyst at Oregon State. He was previously the outside linebackers coach at Colorado from 2019-22, and he worked with Lanning at Georgia as a defensive quality control analyst in 2018 and at Memphis as a graduate assistant in 2016-17. He was also a graduate assistant at Arizona State alongside Lanning in 2012.
 
"We are excited to elevate Brian to a full-time coaching role on our staff," Lanning said. "I have a great relationship with Coach Michalowski having worked with him previously, and he has done a tremendous job since arriving in Eugene. He is one of the brightest defensive minds in college football and a terrific teacher of the game, and he does a phenomenal job of connecting with our student-athletes. We are thrilled to have Coach Michalowski here as we continue to elevate our program and build a championship culture."
 
A 2011 graduate from Arizona State, Michalowski got his full-time start in 2011 as a defensive quality control analyst at his alma mater. He was a defensive graduate assistant at ASU in 2012 and at Wyoming in 2013, before going overseas to serve as the defensive coordinator for the Cologne Falcons in the German Football League. Michalowski then spent 2015 as the defensive coordinator at Garden City Community College, after which he joined Lanning at Memphis as a graduate assistant.
 
"I am extremely appreciative of Coach Lanning for this opportunity," Michalowski said. "The past year in Eugene has been a tremendous experience for me and my family, and I am so excited for the future as we continue along the path that Coach Lanning has created. Oregon is one of the truly elite programs in all of college football and I can't wait to work with our student-athletes as we prepare for the upcoming season."
 
Hampton made an immediate impact at Oregon in his first season in 2023, coaching safety Evan Williams to second-team all-Pac-12 honors and a team-high 82 tackles to go along with 4.5 sacks. Tysheem Johnson was third on the team with 70 tackles while adding 4.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions, and Steve Stephens IV ranked fourth with 46 tackles and a pair of picks.
 
Hampton joined the Ducks in 2023 following two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Tulane, helping the Green Wave to a 12-2 overall record in 2022 and a win over USC in the Cotton Bowl. He engineered a remarkable defensive turnaround at Tulane – the Green Wave jumped up 82 spots to No. 32 in scoring defense (22.2 PPG) in 2022, and 55 spots up to No. 46 in total defense (360.4 YPG).
 
Wadood came to Oregon in 2022 as the director of community engagement before transitioning into a defensive graduate assistant role in 2023. A former cornerback, Wadood began his collegiate career at Arizona State in 2012 – with both Lanning and Michalowski on staff as graduate assistants – before transferring to Eastern Washington for 2014-15.
 
Wadood spent 2020 and 2021 as a defensive backs coach at Long Beach Polytechnic High School before joining Lanning's staff at Oregon.
 
Araghi joined Lanning's initial Oregon staff in 2022 as a defensive analyst, following a year as a defensive quality control analyst at the University of Buffalo. Araghi graduated from Nebraska in 2020 with a degree in business administration.
 
Walk rejoins Oregon's program following a year as an offensive analyst at Miami (Fla.). Walk was a three-year starter for the Ducks from 2020-22, and he played 1,637 total snaps throughout his Oregon career. Walk was a first-team all-Pac-12 selection in 2020 before earning honorable mention status in both 2021 and 2022.
 
Walk started 12 games as a senior in 2022 under Lanning, helping Oregon lead the nation with just five sacks allowed. He will now assist Oregon offensive line coach A'Lique Terry, who guided UO's O-line to a FBS-leading five sacks allowed for the second year in a row in 2023.
 
Tinker worked on Lanning's inaugural staff in 2022 as a special teams analyst before spending 2023 at California in the same role. Tinker was the offensive coordinator at Central Washington in 2020 and 2021 before initially coming to Oregon, a role he took after serving as the head coach at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology from 2016-19.