Dan Lanning Explains Why He Chose to Stay at Oregon

It looks like not even Alabama is enough to lure Lanning away from Eugene.

Oregon fans around the country are celebrating after head coach Dan Lanning announced that he won't be leaving Eugene. Alabama will have to take their search for a head coach elsewhere.

While fans were in a brief state of limbo, many were weighing the pros and cons of each situation, but only one person knew what the head coach was thinking; and it was Dan Lanning himself.

Oregon's head coach joined "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday and opened up on why Oregon is a place that he can't get pulled away from.

"When I think of Oregon I think of innovation and we all know that college football is changing like crazy right now, and we're ahead of the curve. We've got a plan. We've got great support. If there's something I need, I can go ask for it. A lot of things that coaches are driven by, that's not really my motivation. It's one thing: can we win? Can we win at a high level? Can we compete for championships? That ability exists here. I think we have a program that can be the best in the nation as long as I keep this thing on track."

Lanning has everything he needs to bring Oregon their first national championship and ensure that they're competitive in the Big Ten for years to come. His decision to stay also shows that he realizes how good of a situation he has in Eugene and that he wants to hang on to that for as long as he can.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and players walk out of the tunnel before facing the Stanford Cardinal :: Pierre Whitsey/Ducks Digest

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning calls a timeout against the California Golden Bears :: Darby Winter/Ducks Digest

While the college football world was on their seats for about 24 hours, there wasn't much of a decision to make, according to Lanning.

"This decision's been made for me since before I took this job," the Oregon head coach said. "I love what we have here. I love the support, the administration I have. We've got the things built to where we could be that team. We just gotta continue to take steps in that direction to get where we want to be."

What's next for Lanning and the Ducks? Well, they're ramping up their recruiting efforts.

After bringing in some of the best players in the transfer portal, specifically quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore, Lanning says the secret is competition.

"We want to go get great players. And one thing we tell our players when they come, the minute you get here we're gonna try to bring better [players] and continue to bring better and that's how you get the best out of yourself." 

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