Paul Finebaum addresses the chances Texas A&M targets Dan Lanning
From the moment Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher, the rumor mill has been turning. With no shortage of potential replacements, Oregon’s Dan Lanning has become a popular name in the hiring pool. Nonetheless, Lanning won’t be an easy addition.
Texas A&M will have to pay out a record $75 million buyout to Fisher. To acquire Lanning, the school would have to pay his $20 million buyout with Oregon. To pile on, the program would have to offer a lucrative salary to Lanning.
After a few mandatory steps, the expenses are nauseating. On Monday, Paul Finebaum weighed in on Texas A&M’s chances of landing the highly-desired coach.
“They can raise [the money] if they were 100% convinced he’s the right guy,” Finebaum said. “What I love about Lanning is the narrative that he’s waiting for Alabama, like somebody at Alabama has offered this guy the job.
“Narratives out there are usually false. They’re created by people,” Finebaum said. “Oregon’s a school that has just gotten burned to a crisp on a couple of coaches. He may be in Neverland. And, by the way, why would he leave? I think he has to be pretty happy with what’s going on.”
Would Dan Lanning be moving backward?
A move to College Station would certainly be a step back in success for Lanning. In just Lanning’s second season in the driver’s seat, Oregon is 9-1 and on the edge of a College Football Playoff berth.
Lanning’s first campaign was nothing to scoff at, either. In 2022, Lanning led Oregon to a 10-3 record and a win over North Carolina in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl, becoming just the third Oregon head coach to win 10 games in his first season.
Finebaum believes Texas A&M must hurry to find its next leader, even if it’s not Lanning.
“They need to have a pretty good idea who the coach is either two weeks from today, assuming that coach is in a cheap conference championship game, or three weeks from today,” Finebaum said. “Otherwise, they’re going to get wiped out here in the portal and certainly take major hits in recruiting, which they really can’t afford.”
Luckily for A&M, Lanning isn’t the only name being tossed around. Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Duke’s Mike Elko, Kansas‘ Lance Leipold and even Colorado’s Deion Sanders have been mentioned as potential suitors for the coveted job. Finebaum hasn’t lost faith in the program.
“I think we were talking about A&M, what kind of school it is, I still believe it can be elite, but it has to have the right coach,” Finebaum said on Sunday.