Winning a national championship.
That’s always the ultimate goal when it comes to big-time college football and for the first time in quite a while, the field seems to be evening out some.
Programs and coaches other than Georgia and Alabama have a legitimate shot of winning the College Football Playoff and according to 247Sports, Dan Lanning is one of those coaches that are on the verge of reaching the ultimate goal.
Oregon has all the potential in the world considering its early recruiting success under Dan Lanning, but the young head coach has yet to prove his ability to make the most of the talent he is accumulating in Eugene. The Ducks have all the pieces they need to compete for a Pac-12 title in year two of his tenure, and given that they are not slowing down on the recruiting trail, they should be well-positioned to lead the conference for years to come. As one of the youngest coaches in college football, Lanning remains somewhat of a wild card, but the early returns are promising.
The Ducks have reached the title game twice in the past couple of decades but have yet to be able to be the last ones standing when all is said and done. Lanning was hired to be the first coach to bring a college football national championship to Eugene.
But Lanning has some company.
The site also mentioned coaches such as USC’s Lincoln Riley, Mike Norvell (Florida State), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), James Franklin (Penn State), Ryan Day (Ohio State), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Josh Heupel (Tennessee), Brian Kelly (LSU) and Josh Freeman (Notre Dame) to also have a good chance at winning their first-ever title as a head coach.
However, Lanning is in a different situation. Although those coaches are looking to win their first championship, their schools have reached the pinnacle before. The Ducks haven’t.
Lanning would be killing two birds with one stone should he hoist the title at Oregon.
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