Well, after all the rumors on Friday surrounding Georgia football defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, it turns out they were true, and he is heading to the West Coast.
The Ducks wised up and picked one of the best up-and-coming coaches to take over an Oregon program that could be a force.
Initially reported by Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Dawg reporter Chip Towers, so many disputed the rumors. Still, it turns out sometimes trusting your gut and reporting it pays out, and with Tower’s experience, it did just that.
Oregon nailed their coaching hire by poaching Georgia football defensive coordinator Dan Lanning.
Lanning will get a chance to prove himself, and after being around head coach Kirby Smart for the past three years, he had a good mentor.
While it’s understandable why Georgia and Lanning initially denied the rumors, they likely wanted to tell the players and recruits before it broke all over the interwebs. Instead of having a Notre Dame situation that could cause some damage, you know.
Oregon AD Rob Mullens’ letter to Oregon parents regarding the hiring of Georgia DC Dan Lanning as the Ducks new head football coach. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/IcUSrRbg6k
— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) December 11, 2021
Lanning will make a great head coach as long as he gets an excellent supporting cast around him. It’ll be interesting to see who he picks for his staff.
He has turned Georgia into one of the most elite defenses throughout his three years as the defensive coordinator. This season, he helped coach a team that gave up just 124 points and 9.54 points on average.
In a statement, head coach Kirby Smart said that Lanning would continue to coach the Dawgs throughout the College Football Playoff, but Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp would be co-defensive coordinators.
The Dawgs will benefit from having all three running collaborating moving forward. Maybe Schumann and Muschamp will bring something new to the table to give Georiga an edge.
It’s great to see Lanning sticking around for the rest of the playoffs, as that shows what kind of character he has as a person and coach.