Dan Lanning reveals timing of decision to accept job under Kirby Smart instead of Nick Saban

After the 2017 season — his second as an assistant at Memphis — Dan Lanning got a call about joining Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia as outside linebackers coach. Little did he know that his former boss, Nick Saban, was also looking to bring him back to Alabama around the same time.

It wasn’t until after he took the position at Georgia that Lanning found out about Saban’s interest.

The timing of the decision came during the College Football Playoff. Georgia and Alabama were both in the CFP, vying for a spot in the national championship, when Lanning took the position with the Bulldogs. He ended up seeing Saban later on, but by then, Smart had swooped in to hire him.

Saban told the story on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. But Lanning told his side during an appearance with Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3.

“I had accepted the job and was actually driving to Georgia while Georgia was playing Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl,” Lanning said. “And we ended up seeing Coach Saban there because I got there for the Rose Bowl, I saw him in the national championship game. But it was after I’d already accepted the job at Georgia, and certainly couldn’t go back on my commitment there.”

Lanning worked for Saban in 2015 as a graduate assistant after working his way up the coaching ladder. He left to become Memphis’ inside linebackers coach from 2016-17 before heading to Georgia and, eventually, taking over as the head coach at Oregon in 2022.

But in that year at Alabama, Lanning said Saban taught him many valuable lessons before he went to work for a member of his coaching tree in Smart.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Saban,” Lanning said. “I probably learned more in football than any other year in my career than that year working for Coach. And obviously, I was fortunate to get to go and work for Kirby and learned a ton from him.”

Why Dan Lanning has always been quick to make big decisions

Lanning has told the story before about his coaching journey. He drove 13 hours to Pittsburgh after spending three years at the high school level to try and convince Todd Graham to give him a job as a graduate assistant. It worked out, and he spent a year with the Panthers before heading to Arizona State as a graduate assistant.

He’s quick to make those big decisions — even though it might not go over well with his wife. However, he made it clear he’s always looking out for the best interest of him and his family. Of course, they’re not always easy calls, but that’s where he relies on his faith.

“I think so,” Lanning said when asked if he always makes big decisions so fast. “My wife probably doesn’t like it, you know? Yeah, I’ve always made every decision for me and our family based on, ‘Okay, am I gonna live with regret if I don’t make this decision? If I don’t make this choice?’ I certainly had hard times deciding what to do at times throughout my career, but prayer usually helps that out.”