Alabama’s search to find Nick Saban’s replacement may have just shrunk that much more.
According to a report from 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, the presumed top target of the Crimson Tide, will be remaining with the Ducks.
Dan Lanning, who has been a popular name regarding the Alabama head coaching opening, is staying at Oregon, sources tell @247sports.
Reports last night that he was in Tuscaloosa were inaccurate.https://t.co/hpJcG23c66 pic.twitter.com/QbBBXDYWcb
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 11, 2024
Rumors swirled Wednesday night, just hours after Saban announced his retirement that Lanning had made the trip to Tuscaloosa to interview for the job.
Those reports were not true.
Even if there was interest from Lanning there was still the massive contract buyout to work around to get the deal done. There were also previous reports of Lanning’s buyout from Oregon being at $20 million but The Athletics’ Bruce Feldman shared that the number is even larger than that.
Lanning began his career working under Saban at Alabama in 2015 as a graduate assistant. He would later make the move to Georgia with Kirby Smart where he would be promoted to defensive coordinator before ultimately becoming the head coach of Oregon.
As Oregon prepares to join the Big Ten this season, the Ducks are poised to be national title contenders.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
