Coaching Carousel Rumblings: Dan Lanning denies any interest in Auburn opening, plus what to make of USF's vacancy and next coach fired?

Dan Lanning said, “No, thanks.”

Whether there was ever legitimate interest from Auburn in the Oregon head coach is immaterial now, but the first-year Ducks’ leader aggressively shot down rumors earlier this week he was interested in taking the Tigers’ vacant position. 

“The grass is not always greener,” Dan Lanning said regarding Auburn’s opening. 

“The grass is damn green in Eugene. I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.”

The 35-year-old head coach has Oregon 8-1, with eight straight wins after its blowout loss to top-ranked Georgia to open the season. Lanning’s hand-picked offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham has turned former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix into a Heisman Trophy candidate, with the Ducks scoring 43.1 points per game. 

In a vacuum, Lanning to Auburn would make plenty of sense. The former Georgia defensive coordinator has strong ties to the South (coaching at Georgia, Memphis and Alabama) and he’s viewed as a great recruiter. He’s a branch off both the Kirby Smart and Nick Saban trees. 

However, Oregon is tired of seeing successful coaches (Willie Taggert and Mario Cristobal) bolt its program, so Dan Lanning has $14 million reasons to stay in Eugene. He’s already beloved there, too, and top booster Phil Knight doesn’t want to see Lanning leave. 

“This place has everything I could possibly ever want; that my family could ever want. I have an 11-year-old that has lived in eight different states,” Lanning said Monday. 

“The last thing I ever want to do is leave. I want to enjoy this opportunity here. It’s been a phenomenal place for us, and when you talk about things that align, things that match your vision for what you’re looking for as a head coach, Oregon checks every box for me.”

So with Dan Lanning off any alleged lists, Auburn’s search remains centered around the likes of Lane Kiffin (still the proverbial clubhouse leader, albeit it very early in the process), Matt Rhule, Jeff Grimes, Mark Stoops (who would be a very interesting candidate for the Tigers should he truly want to leave Kentucky) and Hugh Freeze. 

Freeze’s candidacy remains in the eye-of-the-beholder category for now. His resume checks plenty of boxes for Auburn, but the Tigers hiring former Mississippi State AD John Cohen complicates the Liberty head coach’s chances at the job. Similarly, Deion Sanders appears to be a longshot candidate for now. 

Cohen said Tuesday that he has a 58-point checklist for what he wants in Auburn’s next head coach. One of those items needs to be making sure interim HC Carnell “Cadillac” Williams is retained by the new staff.

WHAT TO MAKE OF USF’S OPENING?

South Florida fired Jeff Scott on Sunday, ending a very disappointing four-year run with just a single win over an FBS program. 

The former Clemson offensive coordinator was 4-26 with the Bulls, 1-19 in AAC play. 

USF is a very new program within the landscape of college football history — its inaugural season was 1997 — but it should never be this bad. It was ranked No. 2 in the polls in 2007, but has hit rock bottom under Charlie Strong and Jeff Scott. 

A lack of investment and poor recruiting sent the program into a steady backslide, and now USF is among the worst teams in a floundering AAC. 

While fellow AAC-member UCF built an on-campus stadium and got invited to the Big 12, USF just debuted its first indoor practice facility this fall. 

The Bulls, who play in the same stadium as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hope to have their own on-campus by 2026. 

Still, it’s a job in Florida, with an attractive recruiting base and no state income taxes. The Bulls will pay, too, as Scott was making $2.4 annually, which was one of the better contracts in the AAC. 

Early candidates mentioned include former UCF and Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, Kent State head coach Sean Lewis and Toledo head coach Jason Candle. 

Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons, 31-12 with the Rattlers, is expected to at least get a real look. 

Plenty of current hot-shot offensive coordinators make sense for USF — guys like Florida State’s Alex Atkins, Oklahoma’s Jeff Lebby, Tennessee’s Alex Golesh and Oregon’s Kenny Dillingham. 

Same for Georgia assistant head coach/running backs coach Del McGee and Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.

The question is whether or not AD Michael Kelly would go hire another first-time head coach after Scott’s failed tenure. McGee and Seider at least have experience as high school head coaches. 

NEXT COACH FIRED?

With Scott out at USF, there are now eight FBS openings — Auburn, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Colorado and Charlotte. 

UAB, which saw longtime coach Bill Clark step down just before the season, is essentially an open job, too. 

So what could come open next?

I take no pleasure in such predictions, but keep an eye on Texas State. 

Jake Spavital has lost three straight games, moving the Bobcats to 3-6 in his fourth season. He’s just 12-33 in San Marcos, and the stumbling Sun Belt program is ripe for change.

Unless Spavital somehow runs the table (South Alabama, Arkansas State and Louisiana) and makes a bowl game, TSU is on track for a new head coach in 2023.