Dan Lanning Doesn't Hold Back On Kirby Smart's Impact On His Career

ATLANTA - In the build up to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, the influence of legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was clear with four of his former assistant coaches leading all four semifinal teams.

For Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning, though, he only spent one season under Saban at Alabama. A former defensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs, Lanning got to work for the most successful "Saban disciple" in Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning Kirby Smart Georgia Bulldogs college football playoff chick-fil-a peach bowl indiana hoosiers — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning meet during warm ups before the start of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff NCAA college football game between Oregon and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

What Dan Lanning Said About Kirby Smart

What did Lanning say about his relationship with Smart as Oregon prepares to face the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the CFP?

"Yeah, I couldn't put into words the lessons I learned from Coach Smart," Lanning said. "He's an unbelievable coach, unbelievable mentor, a guy I still talk to this day. We bounce ideas off of each other. I noticed whenever he sends a text message asking me aquestion, I answer a lot quicker than whenever I send him a text message. That's just Kirby a little bit, but I'm picking up on that. So I'm a little more persistent. But I learned so many lessons from Coach Smart on how to run a program, being genuinely who you are."

"I think he coaches with the same passion and energy consistently every day. He runs the entire organization really to a T. He's incredibly intelligent. So I try to take a lot of lessons from Coach Smart. And obviously he's done a lot of things right. You don't have the success he's had without doing that. And I think he's also been a guy that's always been willing to adapt. Grateful for my time with him. Certainly prepared me for moments like this. Glad I got to be a part of that here at Georgia," Lanning continued.

Lanning's first game as the head coach at Oregon was against Smart and the Bulldogs. Georgia beat Oregon 49-3 at the Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Now, four full seasons later, Lanning is returning to Atlanta with a trip to the CFP National Championship Game on the line.

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Dan Lanning on Motivation

Lanning is known for motivating his players in unique ways and using weekly themes to illustrate his points. The saying goes that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and Lanning might have learned a thing or two from Smart when it comes to motivation. The Georgia coach is known for his intensity, and some of Smart's locker room speeches have gone viral.

Some of Lanning's addresses to his team have turned heads, but the Oregon coach isn't concerned with motivation against Indiana:

"Motivation is overrated. These players gotta go play the game. I've said that consistently. On the same note, I think it's my job to make sure these guys are ready to go and give them everything I've got in that moment. But if you can't get up for an opportunity to play Indiana, especially when they had the better half of us last time, then shame on us," Lanning said.

Lanning and the Ducks will kickoff against the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers from Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 4:30 p.m. PT. The winner advances to face the Miami Hurricanes for the national title game.