JUST IN: Dan Lanning To Become Oregon Head Coach
After a report surfaced from Chip Towers of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) on Friday evening that current Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning was set to takeover at Oregon as the head coach, was later shot down by others for being premature.
The report now seems to be official as Bruce Feldman of the Athletic reports:
“Now hearing that the Friday AJC report that UGA DC Dan Lanning is expected to become the next Oregon head coach was in fact accurate, per source.”
Lanning has served as defensive coordinator since 2019 under Kirby Smart. He took over after the departure of Mel Tucker to Colorado to become a head coach and turned Georgia's defense into the nation's top unit.
Their success is not sudden either, ask anyone who's followed the program closely over the last six years under Kirby Smart; the defensive side of the ball is consistently getting better from year to year, especially in the previous three years since Lanning took over as defensive coordinator following the departure of Mel Tucker.
Georgia has led the nation in total defense two out of his three seasons as the coordinator, including a staggering 6.9 points per game allowed during the regular season. Not to mention Georgia's elite rushing defense, which ranked near the top of the country by season's end, along with finishing top five in team sacks.
Putting aside the uncharacteristic struggles in the SEC Championship game where Lanning's defense gave up nearly 600 yards of total offense and 34 points to the Alabama offense, not including the pick-six, Lanning's job should not be tarnished.
Originally from North Kansas City, Missouri, Lanning worked up through the coaching rankings in the midwest, working at Park Hill South high school in Kansas City, Missouri, for two years before getting his first college graduate assistants job with Pittsburgh. He returned to the midwest to coach defensive backs at Sam Houston State before heading to Alabama in 2015 for a season, then to Memphis before getting his shot to join Kirby Smart in Athens.
Since joining Smart in Athens, the rest is history as his side of the ball is getting ready for a College Football Playoff run, with its first test against No. 2 Michigan, a team known for running the football and being physical upfront; sounds familiar? It will be a strength versus strength matchup and one that Georgia will embrace as they try and rebound from the loss versus Alabama.
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