Why Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is the perfect candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama

Nick Saban sent shockwaves through the college football universe Wednesday, abruptly retiring as the greatest coach of all time after winning seven national championships, including six at Alabama. 

In 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Saban returned Alabama to prominence and reasserted the Tide’s throne at the top of the sport. He built some of the greatest teams and staffs the sport has ever seen. In perhaps one of his best coaching jobs of his career, he won his ninth SEC Championship this fall.

Saban finished his career with an astounding 16-straight Top 10 finishes. Under his watch, Alabama had a whopping 44 1st Round NFL Draft picks (so far) and his coaching tree has more branches than a giant willow. Nick Saban will go down as one of the best innovators and adaptors we’ve ever seen. 

But while there will be plenty of time to lionize the legendary icon, all eyes are now on who veteran AD Greg Byrne will hire to replace Nick Saban. 

Who wants to be the guy to follow the guy?

Alabama has top-flight infrastructure and support. The Tide have a loaded roster and a strong NIL Collective. 

It’s a top-tier opening, but it comes with supreme pressure. It takes a special personality, drive, confidence and conviction to be willing to follow in the footsteps of Nick Saban.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning seems like just the guy to embrace all that. 

Dan Lanning should be Alabama’s top target

In short order, Lanning, a former graduate assistant with the Tide in 2015, has established himself as potential heir-apparent to Saban at Alabama — only no one expected it to happen now. The former Georgia defensive coordinator spent four seasons in the SEC, helping Kirby Smart recruit and develop a roster that won two national titles. Lanning was the DC for one of the greatest college defenses of all time with the Bulldogs’ 2021 championship team. 

In two seasons as the Ducks’ head coach, Lanning is 22-5 with a pair of Top 10 recruiting classes. For a young head coach, he’s shown a shrewd ability to build quality staffs, including hiring multiple OCs. He’s as competitive as any head coach in America, but he’s not some old-school DC meathead. 

Lanning embraces modern offenses. The 37-year-old isn’t afraid of analytics or coaching aggressively, and he’s quickly navigated the changes and challenges within the sport. Few coaches in the country are more doggedly committed to recruiting. And at Oregon, Lanning has benefited from seeing the fruits of how to best utilize NIL. 

Now, we don’t know if Dan Lanning would leave Oregon for Alabama. He has a $20 million buyout and has quickly built a team capable of winning the Big Ten and a national championship in 2024. Lanning has also been very open about his loyalty to the Ducks and their commitment to him as a young head coach. 

Still, he should be Greg Byrne’s first call.

Dan Lanning is a coach Alabama fans would unite around. He’s a coach Nick Saban would rubber-stamp. He’s a coach that has what it takes to be the guy to follow the guy. 

It’s going to be impossible to live up to the expectations that Nick Saban set at Alabama — for whoever takes over in 2024. 

But Lanning isn’t going to shy away from the pressure. 

So while the Crimson Tide will have no shortage of quality candidates, with all courtesy to the likes of Mike Norvell, Dabo Swinney, Lane Kiffin and others, Lanning, albeit inexperienced, simply offers the greatest upside, package and potential for Alabama to continue its winning ways without the GOAT in charge.