Tag: dan lanning

Opinion: Dan Lanning recruiting former players before future ones is the right play

Dan Lanning knows he wasn’t the first pick for some former Duck players. He wants them to give him a chance to earn their trust.

It seems like forever since Mario Cristobal resigned as the head football coach at Oregon, doesn’t it?

To be exact, it took the Ducks one week to go from that resignation to the introductory press conference of Dan Lanning. In those seven days, it wasn’t exactly quiet inside the Oregon program.

Athletic director Rob Mullens received a letter from 14 prominent former football players saying they were worried that the Ducks were going away from their roots in order to chase a national championship.

According to reports, Mullens took that letter to heart and offered the job to former Oregon Duck standout and current California head coach Justin Wilcox.

One problem, however. Wilcox said no thanks. So Mullens turned to Lanning. Knowing he wasn’t “in the family,”  Lanning attempted to squash the idea of him ignoring Oregon’s past and just focusing on the future right away.

“To our former players, I am a servant to you,” Lanning said on Monday. “Whether I’ve coached you or not, we want you to know that this is a program that you can be proud of, and be part of. This is a place that your involvement is very important to us. We want you back, and one thing, even if you leave home, this place should always feel like home for you.”

Lanning is known as one of the nation’s top recruiters, but his most important recruiting job might come in that one statement. He’s going to need former players such as Joey Harrington and Akili Smith as allies.

Besides himself and whoever else he might hire to be on his staff, Lanning could use former players to sell potential recruits on the Oregon experience and why coming to Eugene would be the correct choice. Lanning can’t speak that experience, but they can.

He also attempted to erase another narrative that surrounded the idea of Lanning leaving Oregon for a bigger and better job since his most recent stop was the defensive coordinator for Georgia. Fans are worried he will use the Ducks as a stepping stone for a possible job in the SEC.

It’s a legitimate concern since the last two head coaches left Eugene to pursue their “dream jobs.” Both Willie Taggert and Mario Cristobal left as soon as those supposed dream jobs opened up.

But as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend!”

“My situation is unique. If William Jewell College comes calling, I love William Jewell College, but I’m staying at Oregon,” Lanning said. “I’ll stay at Oregon for as long as Oregon will have me. There is no other out there for me. This is one of the premier jobs in the nation. It was going to take a premier job for me to leave the situation I was in.

“I’m thrilled to be here because I know what we can do here. There doesn’t have to be a next step for me because this job can be the final step.”

Those words have to be music to everyone’s ears, including former, current, and future Duck players.

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Takeaways: 7 things of note from Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s introductory press conference

The Oregon Ducks introduced new head coach Dan Lanning for the first time on Monday afternoon in Eugene.

On Monday afternoon at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, the Oregon Ducks introduced their newest head football coach.

Dan Lanning stood in front of a group of media members and an on-looking crowd to address a fan base that is driven and determined. They’ve reached some pretty high highs over the past decade, but the ultimate goal of winning a championship has yet to be achieved.

With a chance to talk to media members and the fans for the first time as a Duck, Lanning had a prepared statement about attacking success and desribed the type of team that he wants to build at Oregon. He also answered a number of questions about his plans in Eugene, and addressed the former Ducks in the program as well.

Here are some of the most notable things he talked about:

Report: 4-star CB Jalil Tucker is ‘solid’ on commitment to Oregon

4-star CB and Oregon commit Jalil Tucker said over the weekend that he is “solid” on the Ducks, but doesn’t plan to sign this week.

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It appears that the hiring of head coach Dan Lanning is already having an effect for the Oregon Ducks.

On Sunday afternoon, it was reported by The Oregonian’s Andrew Nemec that 4-star defensive back Jalil Tucker is “solid” in his commitment to the Ducks. Despite this, he still doesn’t plan to sign in the early signing period, which takes place later this week.

Tucker is a player that many Oregon fans thought would reopen his recruitment his past week after former head coach Mario Cristobal left town for the Miami Hurricanes. Tucker was targeted heavily by the USC Trojans, as was high school teammate and fellow Oregon commit Jahlil Florence, over the past week.

As one of the top recruiters in the nation, there is a belief and hope that Lanning will be able to stabilize the recruiting class for Oregon ahead of the early signing day on Wednesday. We will see if that happens.

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Rob Mullens, Kirby Smart react to Oregon Ducks new head coach hiring

The Dan Lanning hire at Oregon certainly has some people talking, with the Ducks’ AD and Georgia’s head coach weighing in.

The Oregon Ducks ended their search for a head coach on Saturday afternoon, reaching an agreement with University of Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to be the next coach in Eugene.

Oregon fans have shown some real excitement for Lanning, who is now the youngest head coach in Oregon history at age 35, and also has an extensive resume of success after leading the Bulldogs to come of the best defensive finishes in recent memory. On top of that, Lanning is considered one of the best recruiters in the nation, and will likely continue the talent pipeline to Eugene that was started by Mario Cristobal.

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Aside from the fans, how did everyone else react to the hiring, though?

Here is what the man himself said after the announcement:

And here is what Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said:

Finally, here’s what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said, noting that Lanning plans to still coach the Bulldogs through the rest of the season, where Georgia will play in the College Football Playoff.

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Report: Oregon Ducks targeting Florida State OC Kenny Dillingham as new coordinator

The Ducks reportedly have a target for their OC job, with Bruce Feldman reporting that Florida State OC Kenny Dillingham may be the guy.

The Oregon Ducks hired a new head coach on Saturday afternoon, and now it appears that they have a new offensive coordinator in mind to go along with him.

According to a report from Bruce Feldman, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is targeting Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham to join the Ducks as the new OC.

Both Lanning and Dillingham coached together with the Memphis Grizzlies a few years back.

With the hiring of Lanning, the Ducks made it clear that they are prioritizing defense and recruiting, of which the former Georgia DC is among the best in the nation at. But they need a strong OC who can keep the offense at a championship-caliber.

Now we have a potential name that fits that billing.

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Ducks’ new coach Dan Lanning ranks No. 8 in national football recruiter rankings

Losing Mario Cristobal’s recruiting ability certainly hurt. However, Dan Lanning is among the best in the nation at getting high-end commits.

While the majority of the Oregon Ducks fanbase was not sad to see the in-game coach of Mario Cristobal leave early last week, the entirety of the program was devastated to see his recruiting ability leave Eugene.

Fortunately, the Ducks made a big hire at the head coaching spot on Saturday afternoon, bringing University of Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to Oregon, making him the youngest head coach in Ducks history at just 35 years old.

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On top of Lanning’s youth and defensive excellence, it has been made clear that he can recruit as well as the best coaches in the nation. According to 247 Sports’ 2022 Football Recruiter Rankings, Lanning ranks No. 8 in the nation when it comes to assistants with the abilities to bring talent in. In the past year, Lanning has brought in 7 commits with an average grade of 93.92.

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In comparison, the Ducks didn’t have any coaches in the top 50 of the rankings this past season.

Back before he became the head coach at Oregon and was regarded for his recruiting abilities, Cristobal was ranked No. 6 in 2017, and No. 7 in 2016 during his final season with Alabama.

While it always hurts to lose a solid recruiter like Cristobal, being able to replace him with someone like Lanning is an extreme perk. We will see over the next couple of months how well he is able to build back this recruiting class for the Ducks.

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Georgia football names co-defensive coordinators

The Oregon Ducks are hiring Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as their head coach. How and when is UGA replacing Lanning?

The Oregon Ducks are hiring Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as their head coach. Once again, Kirby Smart will has to replace a key member of his staff.

Lanning’s first career game as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks will be against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 3, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be interesting to see who Lanning takes with him to Oregon. Lanning may consider hiring UGA assistants, like defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, to be the next Oregon defensive coordinator.

How and when will Georgia have to replace Dan Lanning?

Oregon to hire Georgia DC Dan Lanning as head coach

Georgia DC Dan Lanning to become next head coach at Oregon.

The Oregon Ducks have hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as the programs’ next head coach. Chip Towers of the AJC was the first to report this news on Friday night and multiple members of the media confirmed it on Saturday.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said in a statement that Lanning will remain on the Georgia staff through the remainder of the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff run. UGA plays Michigan in the Orange Bowl for a spot in the national championship on December 31 in Miami.

Smart also notes that defensive analyst Will Muschamp and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann will takeover as co-defensive coordinators after Lanning’s departure.

“We are so happy for Dan and his family,” Smart said in a statement. “He and Sauphia have been an important part of our Bulldog family for the last four years, and we thank them for all they did for Georgia Football and the Athens community.  Opportunities like this are a testament to a successful program,” Smart said. “While he will coach with us for the upcoming College Football Playoff, we will move forward with Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp as co-defensive coordinators. Dan and I are both looking forward to preparing for the CFP.”

Lanning, 35, has been at Georgia since 2018, when he started as outside linebackers coach.

In 2019 he took over as defensive coordinator and has put together some incredible defenses, including a 2020 defense that allowed only 72 rushing yards per game and a 2019 unit that allowed only two rushing touchdown all season.

In his three seasons as Georgia defensive coordinator, Lanning’s run defenses have ranked:

2019: No. 1, allowing 74 rushing YPG

2020: No. 1, allowing 72 rushing YPG

2021: No. 3, allowing 81 rushing YPG

Lanning becomes the youngest head coach in Oregon history.

5 takeaways from the Oregon Ducks’ hiring of Dan Lanning as head coach

Defense and recruiting. That’s what Dan Lanning brings to Oregon. What else did we learn from this hiring though?

After an incredibly wild week of rumors and false speculations, the Oregon Ducks coaching search has come to an end.

On Saturday afternoon, the Ducks reportedly came to an agreement with former Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to become the new head coach at Oregon. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said that Lanning will in fact coach in the Orange Bowl, when the Bulldogs will play the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff on December 30th.

For many Duck fans, this announcement of Lanning as the head coach may come as a bit of a surprise. Over the past several days, a number of names were thrown out as potential candidates, and the 35-year-old defensive stalwart was not often mentioned. Nonetheless, it is an exciting hire for Oregon fans who hope to see the recruiting stay at a similar level as when Mario Cristobal was around, as well as a potential uptick in defensive dominance.

We have already covered who Lanning is, and what he brings to the table, but now we want to take a deeper dive at what we learned from this hire, and the Oregon coaching search in general. Here are some of our biggest takeaways from the hiring:

Who is Dan Lanning? A look at the Oregon Ducks’ new head coach

Are you excited about the Oregon Ducks’ new head coaching hire, but wanting to know more about him? We’ve got you covered.

It’s not Justin Wilcox. It’s not Chip Kelly.

Oregon went to Athens, Georgia and hired the defensive coordinator of the best defense in the country. His name is Dan Lanning.

So, who is Lanning? Let’s start with him being 35-years old, making him the youngest Oregon football coach in the program’s history.

Lanning went to Georgia in 2018 to coach linebackers and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later. Under Lanning, the Bulldogs led the nation in rushing defense in 2019 (74.6 ypg), 2020 (72.3 ypg) and were third in 2021 (81.7).

UGA led the nation in scoring defense in 2019 (12.6 ppg) and in 2021 (9.5 ppg).

After playing linebacker for William Jewell College, Lanning has quickly risen up the coaching ranks, coaching for a season on the prep level and then at Pittsburgh as a defensive graduate assistant in 2011. Lanning then moved out west to spend two seasons at Arizona State as a defensive graduate assistant in 2012 and the on-campus recruiting coordinator in 2013.

Lanning went to Sam Houston State for a season in 2014 and made a smart move to learn under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2015.

In two seasons at Memphis (2016-17), Lanning coached linebacker and was part of a staff that led the Tigers to their third 10-win season in school history and finished in the top five in the country in turnovers gained two years in a row.  On that team, Lanning coached two-time first-team All-American Athletic Conference linebacker, Genard Avery.

In his young coaching career, Lanning has been named a finalist for the Broyles Award twice, which is given to the top assistant coach in the nation. He was the DC for the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation this past year and is widely regarded as a superb recruiter, helping the Georgia Bulldogs to numerous top-10 rated classes.

Now he’s been named as the new Oregon head coach, where he will look to get the Ducks back into the College Football Playoff while hopefully bringing more Pac-12 Championships home to Eugene.