Dan Lanning’s name was floated for the Alabama job two years ago, when Nick Saban abruptly retired. Lanning made plenty of sense for the Crimson Tide—a former graduate assistant under Saban, Lanning made his name under Kirby Smart at Georgia, the biggest branch off of Saban’s coaching tree.
By all accounts, Lanning didn’t seriously entertain the job, which went to his then-rival at Washington, Kalen DeBoer. Lanning was 22–5 through his first two years as head coach at Oregon, and in that time decided he was in the right place in Eugene, Ore. Two years later, with some massive jobs open, he says he still feels that way.
