Latest on Potential Departure of Dan Lanning to Kansas
Young and energetic. Those are two words that not only describe Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, but are two words that are on the top of the list of requirements for most athletics directors across the country that are looking to hire a new head football coach.
That is why Lanning's name has been mentioned among a list of potential candidates for the vacant Kansas football head coaching job.
According to Football Scoop, despite Kansas being a wasteland for football coaches and having little recent success within its program, somehow they are still drawing interest from both high-caliber current head coaches and coordinators such as Lanning.
Names like Army's Jeff Monken, Buffalo's Lance Leipold, Tulane's Willie Fritz and Eastern Michigan's Chris Creighton are among the list of current head coaches that are rumored to be interviewing for the position.
As for whether or not Lanning will take the job if offered, there are two things the Jayhawks have going for them: Lanning's aspiration to become a head coach and his being from the Kansas City, Mo. area.
However, Lanning just received a massive raise with the Bulldogs in order to keep him from taking the defensive coordinator position under new Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Lanning is now the seventh highest-paid assistant in college football with a salary just north of $1.75 million. Lanning will likely leave the Georgia staff to become a head coach eventually, but like current Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, we expect him to be patient and wait for the right job.
The Kansas job isn't the most coveted position in college football. The Jayhawks have had one winning season in the last 15 years, they have won nine games in six seasons, including two winless seasons.
According to sources, there doesn't seem to be any preparations being made to replace Lanning as the defensive coordinator. There was a legitimate scare with the Texas offering this spring, but things seem to be rather calm around this situation. This doesn't seem like near the scare within the program.
However, this is why head coach Kirby Smart had made preparations for something like this to happen at some point. The hiring of former South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp was likely because of the potential departure of Lanning. Additionally, linebackers coach Glenn Schumann has worked under Smart and has been an influential coach on the staff dating back to his days as an analyst in 2008 with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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