Cal Sports Report

Conflicting Reports on Whether Georgia's Dan Lanning Will Be Named Oregon Head Coach

Atlanta Journal-Constitution said an agreement has been reached with Oregon, but Oregonian columnist says that's inaccurate

Jake Curtis

Conflicting Reports on Whether Georgia's Dan Lanning Will Be Named Oregon Head Coach
Conflicting Reports on Whether Georgia's Dan Lanning Will Be Named Oregon Head Coach /

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday that Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will be named the head coach at Oregon as soon as Monday. However, Oregonian columnist John Canzano says that report is inaccurate.

Here's the latest on Saturday morning from Canzano.

The (Eugene) Register-Guard reported that Lanning has not been offered the job but is a candidate. Other respected voices also are saying Lanning has not been hired yet.

The Journal-Constitution cited a source familiar with the situation saying that Oregon has reached an agreement with Lanning, but no contract has been signed. Lanning is still negotiating with Georgia about whether he will remain the Bulldogs defensive coordinator through the College Football Playoff. Georgia will face Michigan in a semifinal Dec. 31, and the winner of that game would face the Alabama-Cincinnati winner in the national championship game.

Georgia and Oregon open next season against each other, on Sept. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

This reporting conflict adds intrigue for Cal fans, who are wondering whether Golden Bears head coach Justin Wilcox is still a candidate for the Ducks head coaching job.  He reportedly interviewed for the spot this week.

Several reports indicate that the Ducks are making a "hard push" for UCLA head coach Chip Kelly. The Register-Guard reported that Kelly and BYU coach Kalani Sitake have been interviewed for the Oregon job, although Sitake reportedly signed a lucrative contract extension with BYU on Friday that runs through the 2027 season, taking Sitake out of the Oregon picture..

Lanning's name had not been mentioned in any of the speculation stories regarding possible candidates to fill the vacancy left when Mario Cristobal departed to become head coach at Miami (Fla.). The 35-year-old Lanning has no direct connection with Oregon and his only connection with the Pac-12 was in 2012 and 2013 when he was at Arizona State, first as a graduate assistant and later as recruiting coordinator.

This all comes at an awkward time in recruiting, with the first day of the early signing period being next Wednesday.

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Cover photo of Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning by Jushua L. Jones, UTA TODAY Network

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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