College Football: 5 best coordinators who will be head coaches by 2021

It may not be in 2021, but it’s going to happen eventually. Kirby Smart is already building quite the coaching tree in the college game in four years at Georgia. His former offensive line coach Sam Pittman is now the big hog at the University of Arkansas. Two years ago, his trusted defensive coordinator Mel Tucker took the Colorado gig. Now he’s at Michigan State, ready to get to work.

Giving that Smart specializes in coaching up defensive backs like his mentor Nick Saban, look for one of his protegés to become a head coach very soon. Yes, it’s time we start to talk up Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning into being a college football head coach. Lanning may only be 34-years-old, but has quite the resume and stems from an impressive coaching tree.

He has served on Smart, Saban, Todd Graham and Mike Norvell in the last decade. If Georgia plans to contend for a College Football Playoff spot again in 2020, it will be in large part to Lanning’s defense. Though the Dawgs’ offense sputtered under James Coley a season ago, it was Lanning who undoubtedly rose to the occasion.

Lanning may be a tad young, but we’ve seen crazier things happen. What we have to remember is Lanning had to replace an unbelievable coordinator in Tucker and did a marvelous job. Tucker coordinated three NFL teams before arriving in Athens on Smart’s staff. Lanning isn’t ripe just yet, but some Group of 5 team will be interested in him if Georgia makes it back to the playoff.