Oregon football hires Dan Lanning after back-and-forth reports

While rumors earlier in the week were conflicting, reporting now points to Oregon football hiring Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as head coach.

The Dan Lanning to Oregon story was reported and debunked earlier this week. Then it turned out to be true.

The Georgia defensive coordinator is set to be hired by Oregon to take over for Mario Cristobal, according to multiple reports from the likes of Bruce Feldman and others.

John Canzano of The Oregonian went as far as reporting that Ducks players have been informed of the hire already.

New Oregon football head coach: Who is Dan Lanning?

Lanning has been Georgia’s defensive coordinator since 2019 when he was promoted from his role as outside linebackers coach. He joined the Bulldogs as a position coach from Memphis, where he was the inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2016 to 2017.

While his experience is limited, Lanning is viewed as an up-and-coming coach with strong recruiting ability. He also has experience in the Pac-12 since he spent 2012 and 2013 working as a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator for ASU.

Since Georgia is in the College Football Playoff, Lanning won’t head straight for Eugene. He is set to stay with the Bulldogs to coach through the postseason. Then he’ll join the Ducks in January with a major recruiting task ahead of him after missing the Early Signing Period.

He also won’t have a lot of time to bed-in at Oregon before he faces a major test. The Ducks’ season opener for 2022 will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Georgia.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.