Georgia coach Kirby Smart comments on chance to face ‘longtime friend’ Dan Lanning
As the Georgia Bulldogs defense was absolutely dominating every team it faced in 2021, it was a foregone conclusion their defensive coordinator Dan Lanning was going to have many options in the offseason as to which head coaching job he wanted.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart knew his DC and buddy was out the door, but he probably didn’t figure on having to face Lanning so soon.
Lanning accepted the head coaching job at Oregon and almost immediately, everyone looked at the 2022 schedule and saw the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game get a lot more significant.
It’s one of the biggest Week 1 games in the sport, but according to Smart, he’s appreciative of Lanning’s role with the 2021 national champions, but come Sept. 3, it’s all business. He discussed this during SEC Media Days.
I get to go against a longtime friend and a guy that meant so much to our prgram in Dan Lanning, but we open against Oregon right here in Atlanta. We’re excited for that opportunity; we get to chance to represent the SEC right off the jump.
No doubt that same excitement is being felt across the country in Oregon. Lanning will get to prove to everyone “right off the jump” that the Ducks made the right decision in hiring a guy who led the best defense in all of college football.
Even if Georgia gets the better of Oregon in Atlanta, Lanning’s Ducks will make it a difficult 60 minutes for the Bulldogs and make them like they just through a very tough SEC game.
And who knows? Maybe Oregon will go down to the state capital of Georgia and shock the South with a victory.
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