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Dan Lanning on coaching in the NFL: 'It used to be a goal of mine'

IMG_6598by:Nick Koskoabout 19 hours

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Dan Lanning on coaching in the NFL: 'It used to be a goal of mine'
Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Dan Lanning is quite satisfied with coaching Oregon and staying in college football, rather than jumping to the NFL.

As it stands now, Oregon is No. 1 in the College Football Playoff, 13-0, and the favorite to win the national championship. Is the NFL completely out of his future?

Never say never, but it looks like Lanning isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

“You know, it used to be a goal of mine, it certainly did,” Lanning told Zach Gelb. “But I think at this point, everybody can realize that I’m not going anywhere. So I love what we have here. I’ve got three young boys that love Eugene. We have a lot of unfinished business that we hope to handle, and I’m enjoying the ride. So this will be the place that I’m coaching at for a long. long time as long as I continue to do my job.”

Lanning is 35-5 in nearly three years at Oregon. He’s in the middle of his best work as Oregon awaits Ohio State or Tennessee in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Despite generating NFL buzz as recently as November, Lanning loves representing the Ducks.

“I still wake up and pitch myself that I get to be the head coach here, and I’ll never take for granted that they gave me that opportunity,” Lanning said. “I probably wasn’t the most popular pick whenever that came out, and it’s certainly been a blessing for me and my family, and we’re just really grateful for that opportunity to get to coach here in a place that’s so special. It’s certainly exceeded my expectations. So, thrilled that we get that chance.”

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As for why Lanning’s name came up as a potential NFL coach down the line, an executive spoke with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and compared him to Dan Campbell. The Detroit Lions head coach has improved the franchise every season and is known for building a strong culture, and Lanning’s job at Oregon is being viewed as an impressive foundation.

“He’s got some Dan Campbell in him,” the executive told Fowler.

Lanning started his coaching career at the high school level in 2008 as an assistant at Riverside (Mo.) Park Hill South – a role he held until 2010. From there, he became a graduate assistant at Pitt in 2011 and took the same role at Arizona State in 2012. After a year as ASU’s recruiting coordinator in 2013, Lanning became the defensive backs coach at Sam Houston State in 2014 before joining Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama as a graduate assistant in 2015.

Lanning then spent two years at Memphis and ended up working under Kirby Smart at Georgia, starting out as outside linebackers coach in 2018 and moving up to defensive coordinator from 2019-21. Oregon then hired him as head coach in 2022 to replace Mario Cristobal, and the Ducks have won at least 10 games each season since.

Oregon has also churned out some notable NFL talent over the last two years. Bo Nix became a top draft pick and is developing well with the Denver Broncos this season. Bucky Irving is also finding success in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield, and Christian Gonzalez continues to cement himself as a key piece of the New England Patriots defense.