Greg McElroy claims Dan Lanning 'wasn't even an option' for Alabama

Just hours after Nick Saban announced his retirement, rumors began to swirl with Dan Lanning. Everyone thought he was in Tuscaloosa, working toward becoming the next head coach at Alabama. Rumors are rumors and they turned out to be false, with Lanning actually being at his home in Eugene, watching a movie with his family.

He took his name out of the running the following morning.

ESPN’s Greg McElroy is led to believe Lanning was never going to be an option for Alabama, though. Not because of how he has performed as a coach, but due to a complicated buyout situation. Lanning signed an extension with Oregon in the summer and Greg Byrne would have had to pay a pretty penny to even talk to Lanning.

“That was never going to happen,” McElroy said. “I’m telling you, with some knowledge of how it was going down. Dan Lanning wasn’t even an option. Because not only is there a $20 million buyout but there is a different contract built into his contract that would’ve exceeded 2025 to $30 million for him to get to the table to negotiate. So, Dan Lanning was not going to happen.”

Lanning is fresh off a 12-win season with Oregon, capping the year off with a win against Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl. In his two seasons as a head coach, the Ducks have won double-digit games and been in the thick of the College Football Playoff discussion.

The future looks even brighter moving into the Big Ten and Oregon could be one of the favorites to win the conference in 2024. Lanning has used the NCAA transfer portal well and is recruiting at an elite level. It’s part of the reason why he is not interested in leaving the Pacific Northwest.

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

It’s easy to understand why Alabama would be interested in bringing Lanning to Tuscaloosa. But his stance was clear on not leaving Oregon, while McElroy believes the Crimson Tide would have never been able to pull the move off.