With Nick Saban retiring, Dan Lanning had become an instant favorite to be the next head coach of the Crimson Tide. Many reports have stated that Lanning took a private jet to Tuscaloosa, where he will “be the successor” of the legendary Saban.
According to Andrew Nemec and Oregon Players, those reports are not true. Nemec is not the only local reporter out of Oregon to report that news either. Matt Prehm did too.
So where does that put us with the Alabama coaching search? The football program wants to get a deal done quick. There’s been an estimated time frame of 72 hours. However, we also know that Lanning is not the only candidate to be rumored to the job in Tuscaloosa. Steve Sarkisian who was the Offensive Coordinator from 2019-2020 has been rumored as has Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
Some other names include Marcus Freeman, Mike Norvell and James Franklin. While, Lanning is undoubtedly one of the best young coaches in college football the price to get him will be high. The Oregon Athletic Department would be prepared to go into a bidding war with any program. Lanning has reaffirmed that he wants to stay in Oregon on numerous occasions.
Sure, those may be famous words from every coach that winds up leaving. However, Lanning just recently doubled down on that before the bowl game against Liberty. If Lanning fields the call from Alabama, he’ll likely listen to the offer but there’s no guarantee that he takes it. He believes he has everything he could want as a coach at Oregon. He’s well taken care of by Nike. Oregon has great facilities, great resources and great players. The list of things that he has in Eugen could go on.
Maybe this becomes an opportunity that Lanning can’t pass up. Maybe he stays at Oregon. Nothing is confirmed until is. The good news for Ducks fans is that Lanning is not in Tuscaloosa.
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