College football has become a league of former Nick Saban assistant coaches.
In a journey to completely topple Saban, people want to know which former assistant could force him into early retirement.
RELATED: Kirby Smart gives insight into has Georgia surpassed Alabama
Most feel Kirby Smart is the one, especially with him winning back-to-back College Football Playoff National Championships for the University of Georgia. His first national championship as a head coach came in 2021 with the help of another former Saban assistant. Dan Lanning, 37, was on Saban’s staff at Alabama as a graduate assistant on the 2015 CFP National Championship roster. He joined Smart’s staff at Georgia in 2018 as an outside linebackers coach. Lanning worked his way to defensive coordinator and pushed the Bulldogs’ defense to allow 18 points in a 33-18 victory over the Crimson Tide in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game (2021 season) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. He is currently in his second season as Oregon’s head coach, but Lanning took time at a coaches clinic to explain how he was able to beat Nick Saban and Alabama.
Oregon HC Dan Lanning explaining how they attacked Alabama’s condensed formation “Railroad” (Mesh variation) concept & protection scheme with a 3 deep simulated pressure.
Simulated Pressure Bundle = 61% Off pic.twitter.com/iQ0y5wzBXi
— James Light (@JamesALight) June 22, 2023
“It starts with film study,” Lanning said.
“Alabama had shown several times on third down and multiple downs when they would get into a restricted formation on a passing down, the running back would get a free release, and from the side of the running back, they would run an over the ball (OTB) route. You can come up with a defense for a lot of different calls and formations so going into the Alabama game, we thought if we see something like this — five guys in the closet look with a free release back — we wanted to take away the wheel and the OTB. We also wanted to have a pressure that could attack their pressure because if they are getting five guys out, then it’s five-man protection. It showed up in multiple games. You fast-forward to the national championship game, we got the five guys in the closet look, we are about to get a free release back, so we know the OTB is going to come from this side. We coached our players for that exact pressure. We had a plan. We show population to the left, so we are telling the offense line, ‘You better slide over here.’ We are doing it with no rushers. We have one defensive end at the top of the screen, so the first thing we are doing is dictating their protection. We took away the wheel route and the OTB because we recognized the formation.”
RELATED: Paul Finebaum would choose Kirby Smart over Nick Saban due to “better operation”
Lanning’s defense at Georgia studied one of Alabama’s primary formations under Bill O’Brien in 2021 and was ready for it.
The Bulldogs made Bryce Young uncomfortable, took away his options, and took control of the matchup. Lanning learned under Saban for a year, teamed up with Smart, and helped Georgia get its first national title in 40+ years.
Saban knows he has to be better in the fall, and he’s looking for a seventh national championship with the Tide.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
