Oregon head coach Dan Lanning dispels coaching rumors, announces he’ll remain with Ducks

Dan Lanning Oregon head coach

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning dispelled rumors on Thursday that he will depart the Ducks program for another head coaching job.

Notably, Alabama will have an opening at head coach in wake of Nick Saban’s retirement plans announced on Wednesday.

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Lanning, who is a former assistant coach at Alabama, posted a video on social media stating “I’m not leaving.”

“I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me,” Lanning said. “This place has everything I could possibly ever want. There’s a little bit of a problem in society today with people looking for what’s next and where there’s an opportunity, and the reality is, the grass is not always greener. In fact, the grass is d— green in Eugene.”

Lanning comes from a long line within the coaching tree under Saban and Alabama.

He spent the 2015 season with the Crimson Tide, a season in which they won the national championship.

Lanning then spent the 2016-17 seasons with Memphis before taking a position as outside linebackers coach under Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2018.

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With the Bulldogs, Lanning served as the defensive coordinator from 2019-21. He took the head coaching position at Oregon on Dec. 11, 2021, and led the Ducks to a 10-win season in his first year.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Lanning is a candidate to replace Saban as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. Lanning appears to put those rumors aside in his social media video.