Former College Football Coach Regrets Letting Dan Lanning Take New Job

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning is arguably the biggest up-and-coming superstar head coach in the country. Since getting his first head coaching job at Oregon two years ago, Lanning has delivered back-to-back 10+ win seasons and knocked recruiting out of the park. The Ducks are expected to be national championship contenders this season and are ranked No. 3 in the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll. A former college head coach who once had Lanning on his staff did not see this type of meteoric rise on the horizon.

Jul 25, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach ??Dan Lanning speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning is widely considered a rising-star coach in college football. Coach Lanning worked his way up from being a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator at multiple stops to becoming a head coach at the University of Oregon. One of those stops was at Arizona State under coach Todd Graham. 

While at Arizona State as a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator, coach Lanning was offered a defensive back coaching job opportunity at Sam Houston State. Coach Graham didn't offer coach Lanning this position at Arizona State and coach Lanning left. Coach Graham now realizes that he made a huge mistake.

Todd Graham Regrets Not Keeping Lanning

Nov 25, 2017; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham celebrates after defeating the Arizona Wildcats during the Territorial Cup at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former Arizona State football coach, Todd Graham, admitted earlier this week that he regretted not keeping Lanning. Lanning was a graduate assistant in 2012 and a recruiting coordinator in 2013 under Graham at Arizona State. The following season, Lanning was hired at Sam Houston State as a defensive backs coach. This ended his time at ASU under Graham. 

Even after crediting Lanning for the improvement of the Sun Devil defense, Graham let him walk.

"Dumbest thing I ever did was let him do that (leave)," Graham told ESPN. "I should have fired someone and hired him.”

Graham, who was let go by Arizona State in 2017, suggested that if he had kept Lanning on his coaching staff that he wouldn’t have ended up being fired. 

The Rise of Dan Lanning

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, center, waits to take the field with his team for their game against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Between his time at Arizona State and Oregon, Lanning had stops at Sam Houston State, Alabama, Memphis, and Georgia. After going from a graduate assistant to defensive backs coach to linebackers coach, Lanning got his first defensive coordinator job at Georgia in 2019. He turned into a household name when he led Georgia’s defense to one of the most dominant seasons ever in the 2021-2022 season. This season that was capped off by slaying Alabama to win the national championship.  

Lanning now has the keys at Oregon and he’s been making the most of it. In both years at the helm, he has had Oregon in the thick of the playoff race at the end of the season, with a 22-5 record and two bowl game victories.

The future is looking even brighter. Oregon is expected to be battling Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State at the top of the Big Ten in their first year in the conference. Expectations are high for the 2024-25 Ducks.

“Lanning is a great coach and cares about his players,” Oregon senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher told Oregon SI’s Bri Amaranthus. “He has this like, I don't want to say psychotic, but it's almost like psychotic edge to him that makes him so fun to be around.” 

”When he coaches you, he always has this look in his eyes that he's ready to go for anything,”Boettcher said. 

Another feather in the cap for Lanning was staying at Oregon even after the Alabama head coaching job was open after coach Nick Saban's departure. He has made it very clear that he is in it for the long run at Oregon, which is refreshing for Duck fans. Oregon has had head coaches poached left and right over the last 10-15 years. Now they know they got their guy. It has been a very successful offseason for the Ducks. Now it’s time to make it happen on the field starting week 1 on August 31st vs. the Idaho Vandals in Autzen Stadium.

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