Dan Lanning shares hilarious story of previous head coaching experience

Dan Lanning is 35 years old and just landed his first college head coach job. But technically, that doesn’t mean he’s never been a head coach before.

During his introductory press conference on Monday, Lanning was asked about being a first-time head coach. He made sure to remind the room that he has, in fact, led a team before.

“When I was in high school, I coached a third-grade basketball team,” Lanning told reporters on Monday. “And we were damn good. We were good.”

Hey, you have to respect the sense of humor, right?

Lanning got his start in coaching at the high school level in Missouri before becoming a graduate assistant at Pitt in 2011. He then went to Arizona State as a GA in 2012 before moving up to recruiting coordinator in 2013. After a stop at Sam Houston State, Lanning headed to Alabama as a GA under Nick Saban on the star-studded 2015 coaching staff.

That’s where he met Kirby Smart — who hired Lanning away from Memphis in 2018 to become Georgia’s outside linebackers coach. He moved up to defensive coordinator the following season.

Dan Lanning on his experience as an assistant coach

Lanning has worked under some pretty big names in his coaching career. That’s why he said he’s prepared to take the reins for the first time.

“I like to speak to quality of experience,” Lanning said. “I don’t think there’s very many coaches that can sit up here and speak to the quality of experience of working for guys like Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Mike Norvell. Like I said, I’m a lifelong learner. Both my parents were teachers. My approach in coaching is, ‘If you’re not learning, you’re not getting better.’ I pour into that every single day. I believe if I’m not getting better, I’m getting worse.

“I’ve continued to learn whatever seat I’ve sat in, I’ve been detailed in my approach and what I’ve watched and how they’ve done it. I’ve always said to myself, ‘How would I do it if I was in that seat?’ I think, again, the quality of that experience for me is what has made it special.”

Lanning has been introduced as Oregon’s next head coach, but he’ll still coach Georgia in the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff semifinal game against Michigan on New Year’s Eve. The Bulldogs and Wolverines square off in the Orange Bowl for a chance to play in the national championship.