The University of Oregon entered college football’s coaching carousel earlier this month when Mario Cristobal left the team to take the top job at his alma mater, the University of Miami. After a search that took a little less than a week, it appears that the Ducks have their man.
According to a report by Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Friday, the team made the decision to hire Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. In the aftermath, there were conflicting reports about whether or not a deal was actually going to get done, but on Saturday afternoon, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic confirmed that Lanning will head to Eugene.
Georgia’s Dan Lanning finally gets offer he can’t refuse https://t.co/2ZksNlgj8o
— Chip Towers AJC (@ctowersajc) December 10, 2021
BREAKING: UGA DC Dan Lanning is expected to be the next head coach at Oregon, per sources. AJC’s Chip Towers first reported the move.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 11, 2021
It’s an interesting hire for Oregon, as Lanning has never been a head coach in his football career. He has, however, established himself as one of the best defensive minds in the sport, someone who has experience coaching under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. After spending a year as Georgia’s outside linebackers coach, Lanning was named the program’s defensive coordinator in 2019, and during his time at the helm, the Bulldogs have had perhaps the most ferocious defense in the sport. This season, in particular, moving the ball and scoring on Georgia’s defense was quite difficult: the team was first nationally in scoring defense, second in total defense, and third in both passing and rushing defense.
There is no word on whether Lanning will immediately join the Ducks or if he will stay with the Bulldogs as they participate in the College Football Playoff.