Georgia football defensive coordinator Dan Lanning got snubbed out of winning the Broyles Award given out to the top assistant coach in college football. Instead of picking Lanning, they chose Michigan’s offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
While Gattis did a tremendous job with the Wolverines offense this year, he hasn’t entirely done what Lanning has. Plus, it feels like the Alabama loss cost Lanning the award because of how the defense played.
If that’s the case, Gattis deserves to win after the game plan he came up with for Ohio State and then Iowa, but at the same time, one game should not define whether or not a coach wins this award. It should be about the entire season, not the finish.
Dan Lanning is the best coordinator in college football, yet he didn’t win the Broyles Award.
Did the Alabama loss mean that much to the people who chose the winner? Lanning has transformed this Georiga defense into a dominant powerhouse, not to mention he is one of the best recruiters in college football.
He got snubbed out of winning this award because what Lanning has done surpasses every other assistant coach that was a finalist.
The Dawgs give up nine points a game through 13 games. It was 6.9 points before the Alabama catastrophe. Lanning should have been the winner by a landslide because of how well he coached this defense and dominated opponents. Instead, they give it to an offensive coordinator.
What happened to appreciate what a defense can do? It seems like every college football award nowadays goes to an offensive player. Yes, there are defense awards, but at the same time, it also feels like if a Georgia player is involved, don’t count on them winning. Nakobe Dean is the exception.
The Alabama loss cost Lanning the Broyles, and it seemed like it cost Stetson Bennett the walk-on award. At this point, college football awards are just getting more and more ridiculous.
Georgia doesn’t need those awards to define their success this season, but they were more like icing on the cake. Instead, the Dawgs get a cake with a bit of icing, but thankfully it’s still moist enough to be delicious.
If Georgia football can win it all, or at least make it to the national championship, not winning these awards will not matter, but for now, it feels disrespectful. Lanning is the best assistant coach in college football, yet he got snubbed — wonder why because one loss should not define anything.