Dan Lanning doesn't need Texas A&M job, Joel Klatt says

Dan Lanning is perfectly fine staying at Oregon for now or for the long haul, according to Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt. Simply put, the Ducks aren’t going anywhere, even by going to the Big Ten next season.

Lanning denied any interest in Texas A&M and kept his focus on the season at hand. Based on what Lanning’s done in his near-two years with the Ducks, why would he leave at this point?

Money of course is a powerful persuader, but Klatt believes Lanning is in Eugene for the long term.

“Dan Lanning is amongst the young coaches in college football,” Klatt said on The Herd. “He and Ryan Day are the two best, I mean Lincoln is still young so you include him. But Dan Lanning is an excellent coach and he is building something there that has real staying power and sustainability.”

Plus, Klatt feels Lanning has Oregon in the best position among the top tier Pac-12 teams.

“And by the way, it’s not a team and this is not a knock on Kalen DeBoer and Washington, it’s not, but next year you don’t have Michael Penix Jr.,” Klatt said. “Washington is the 102nd ranked scoring defense in America. You’re gonna lose those receivers and not a one pillar program. But man, you’re leaning heavily on one pillar, which is the quarterback. And even though Bo Nix is very experienced, and he’s playing at a really high level, it’s not a one pillar program. You look at their two-deep … 

“It’s littered with young players that are going to be there for two more years. Five-star guys that can rush the passer size and strength at the line of scrimmage. Dan Lanning doesn’t have to go anywhere.  He could wait until Kirby (Smart) leaves, Nick (Saban) leaves like if he really wanted one of two jobs, one of three jobs maybe, but he can wait there and win.” 

Lanning is similar to Matt Campbell, according to Klatt. He’s desired now, but what about the future? The Fox Sports analyst is confident in his staying power while things cooled down on the Iowa State head coach in recent years.

“Matt Campbell, the head coach at Iowa State, Matt Campbell two years ago could have gotten any job in America,” Klatt said. “He didn’t and he stayed. By the way he’s slow played USC which is why they went to Lincoln Riley in the first place. So there’s a lot of that going on. Well guess what? 

“Iowa State is a harder place to sustain the success and now all these jobs are opening up. Guess what name you don’t hear? Matt Campbell. That’s not the case at Oregon now. He’ll be able to win year over year over year. Remember, this is a program that even with their last coach was able to go to Ohio State and win in the Shoe. Oregon’s not going anywhere.”