Column: Oregon’s Dan Lanning may end up at Alabama, but not in 2024
Here we go again.
Oregon Duck fans over the years have gotten used to the rumors circulating about their head coach potentially having eyes for other schools and ultimately leaving the program to “go back home.”
It happened with Willie Taggart, who left for Florida State, and it happened with Mario Cristobal, who left for Miami.
Minor rumors have swirled the past two years concerning Dan Lanning, with both the Auburn and Texas A&M jobs opening. Neither gained much traction in the end. The main reasoning was the two jobs didn’t offer a step up for Lanning, who has it pretty good at Oregon, and neither offered a “return home” for the Ducks’ coach who went to William Jewell College.
In reality, there were thought to only be one or two jobs that could lure Lanning away from Eugene: Alabama and Georgia, the two previous stops in the coach’s career.
Well, one of those jobs just opened up.
On Wednesday afternoon, Nick Saban announced his retirement, leaving the Alabama coaching job open for the first time since 2007. Saban walks into the sunset as arguably the best coach in college football history, with seven national championships to show for it.
It comes as zero shock that in the minutes after the news was reported, Lanning’s name was already getting thrown out as one of the top candidates to take over in Tuscaloosa.
With no likely internal replacements at Alabama, here’s a quick projected target list. Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Dabo Swinney, James Franklin, Mike Norvell and Marcus Freeman. All come with complications and big buyouts, as it’s difficult to move entrenched coaches. https://t.co/0K2NWk8CtL
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 10, 2024
If I am Alabama, I go after Dan Lanning first.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) January 10, 2024
I’m here to tell you that I don’t think Lanning goes to Alabama. Not now, at least.
Of course, Alabama should and will reach out, if it hasn’t already. Lanning is one of the best young coaches in the nation, and what he has done in two seasons at Oregon, building the roster into a national championship contender has been impressive. The connections are there as well. Lanning served as a graduate assistant in 2015 for the Crimson Tide when they won the national championship. For anyone wondering about Lanning’s feelings about Alabama, look no further than the tattoo that he has on his rib cage.
As mentioned, though, twice before Lanning has been approached by other schools trying to poach him from the Ducks, and twice he has shut them down.
“I think I’ve been really, really clear here since Day 1. Everything I want exists right here,” Lanning said in November, shutting down the Texas A&M coaching rumors. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s zero chance that I would be coaching somewhere else. I’ve got unfinished business here.”
At some point, you have to trust a man for his word. What else does he have?
That brings us to the main reason I believe Lanning will not be leaving this offseason.
It sounds absolutely wild to say this, but are we sure that Alabama presents a better situation in 2024? Of course, Alabama is the gold standard in the world of college football, and it is routinely in a national championship or bust situation.
However, with how Lanning has constructed this roster in Eugene, the Ducks enter the 2024 season ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation according to ESPN, notably ahead of the Crimson Tide. With as talented of a roster as we’ve seen in Eugene in a long time, the Ducks are among the favorites to make it to the College Football Playoff next year, led by a perceived Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback. Their venture into the Big Ten could be incredibly beneficial over the next several years, not only for exposure but also for monetary reasons.
Alabama is a better job than Oregon, I’m not arguing that. But would you rather build your own legacy as the first coach to deliver a national championship to Phil Knight and the Oregon Ducks, or would you like to try and fill the historically big shoes of Nick Saban, the greatest coach in the history of the sport?
You don't wanna be the guy that replaces Saban at Alabama, you wanna be the guy that replaces the guy that replaced Saban at Alabama
— kwade (@KwadeSays) January 10, 2024
I don’t think we live in a world where Lanning is in Eugene for the next 20 years and retires as a Duck. Down the road, there’s a good chance he looks elsewhere or makes the leap to the NFL. In reality, Alabama could open up again in a couple of years, or Georgia could come calling when Kirby Smart chooses to hang them up.
I do think that we live in a world where he is in Eugene for the next handful of years, though. Lanning is building something with the Ducks and has shown he’s very close to achieving that ultimate goal.
Before his career comes to a close, Lanning may be introduced as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. I don’t think it will be in 2024.
