Conflicting Reports Emerge Regarding Oregon's Coaching Search, Dan Lanning

Friday evening brought serious conflicting reports over the state of the Ducks job.

For a moment, it appeared that Oregon football had its new coach. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the program will hire Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, though a number of other reports suggest that Lanning may be a candidate for the job, but it is not a done deal.

“Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will be named the new head coach at Oregon on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation,” Chip Towers  of the AJC reported. The report has not been amended, and Towers has not responded to any of the reports to the contrary.

There are many different reports, though, coming from individuals close to the Oregon program as well as those who cover the sport nationally.

247Sports Oregon writer Matt Prehm called the report of the hire "inaccurate," as did AL.com's John Talty.

“Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, one of the top young assistants in the country, is a candidate to be the next head coach of the Oregon Ducks,” James Crepea of The Oregonian says. “But his reported hiring is premature, at best, according to a UO source with knowledge of the matter.”

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg backed up Crepea's report, and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman also says no hire has been made.

Am told by a source that the report that UGA DC Dan Lanning has been hired as the next head coach at Oregon is not true.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 10, 2021

Lanning's name is a relatively new one to the Oregon coaching search. Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly's name has reportedly been out there, as has Cal's Justin Wilcox's. 

The Ducks job opened earlier this week, as Mario Cristobal left the program to take over at his alma mater Miami. 

Lanning, 35, has been at Georgia since 2018, ascending to the defensive coordinator role a year later. He would be a first-time head coach.

Should he wind up landing the job at Oregon, his first game would come against the Bulldogs on Sept. 3 in Atlanta.

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For more news on the Oregon Ducks, head over to Ducks Digest.