Report: Dan Lanning, agent deny interest in leaving Oregon for Auburn job

Following a report from Sports Illustrated’s Lance Dawe at Auburn Daily of “mutual interest” between Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and the University of Auburn, Oregon reporter John Canzano spoke to Lanning and his agent, both of whom reportedly refuted the initial report.

The Auburn Daily’s story went so far as to suggest there has been contact between Lanning and the Tigers since Bryan Harsin’s firing a week ago.

“I can tell you whoever reported ‘mutual’ interest didn’t bother to check with Lanning or his agent,” Canzano wrote on Sunday night. “I did. Lanning has zero interest.”

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Also in his report, Canzano urged Ducks fans to listen to Lanning’s response to the inevitable questions about the Auburn opening during his press conference on Monday.

“He’s put down roots,” Canzano says. “It feels like he’s just getting started. But don’t take my word. Take his. He’ll be asked on Monday.”

Lanning refuting interest in another job as he coaches his Ducks to an 8-1 record through Week 10 of the season is no major surprise from the former Georgia coordinator. Oregon has the fifth-best odds to win the CFP national title and keeping his players focused on that goal, not on vaguely sourced reports, is priority No. 1.

ESPN insider explains what Auburn could be looking for

ESPN’s Chris Low joined “The Paul Finebaum Show” this week to talk about the Tigers’ coaching search. He thinks new athletic director John Cohen could go a few different directions, but there are some qualities he thinks stand out more than others.

“I think if you’re Auburn, you want someone who’s coached in the SEC, who’s recruited in the SEC, who’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe and not afraid to be a bite-back kind of coach when you’ve got Kirby Smart on one side and Nick Saban on the other,” Low said. “… But you’d better bring somebody in there who understands Auburn, who gets Auburn, who’s not afraid to sort of reach out to some of those people, but not let them come in and run the show. Sometimes, that’s a very delicate balance.”

That’s when Low listed the sure-fire candidates who are coming up in rumors — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and Liberty coach Hugh Freeze. He also brought up Jackson State coach Deion Sanders as a potential “out of the box” hire. He also begrudgingly discussed the possibility of Lanning ditching Oregon for Auburn.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.