Georgia football: Dan Lanning rejects Texas to run it back with Dawgs

Dan Lanning returning to the Georgia football program is a huge deal for the Dawgs.

Georgia football fans were very nervous on Friday afternoon, as defensive coordinator Dan Lanning was rumored to be the favorite to become the Texas Longhorns’ next defensive coordinator.

Lanning swiftly put that rumor to bed on Friday evening by tweeting out: #LetsRunItBack. Run it back and Unfinished Business have become the mantras of 2020 Georgia Bulldogs returning to the Classic City for 2021. With potentially a loaded offense that returns every starter and key contributor from the Peach Bowl, it will be up to Lanning to revamp a depleted Georgia defense.

Will it be the defense that ends up holding Georgia back in 2021?

For much of the Kirby Smart era in Athens, Georgia has had a dominant defense and a questionable offense. If the Dawgs were better at rifling the pigskin, they probably would have one a national title by now. Instead, Georgia has to settle for four straight New Year’s Six bowl games, going 3-1 in those games, including the 2018 Rose Bowl win in the College Football Playoff.

What makes 2021 different is that it will have a trio of stars on offense in quarterback JT Daniels, running back Zamir White and wide receiver George Pickens. Daniels did things at the quarterback position in four starts Dawg Nation had not seen since the Aaron Murray days under center. With it being the second year in Todd Monken’s the sky is the limit for this Dawgs team offensively.

As for the defense, it lose a ton of star players in the secondary, including Tyson Campbell, Richard LeCounte and Eric Stokes to the 2021 NFL Draft. Fortunately, this is Kirby Smart’s position group and Lanning is entering his third year as defensive coordinator. Georgia continues to recruit at a very high level, so it may very well be plug-and-play for the Dawgs on that side of the ball.

While Texas may have wanted to hire Lanning, he told us all that he is not going anywhere in 2021.

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