Kirby Smart coaching tree: Ranking every coach to come from Smart’s management

Dan Lanning has the potential to turn Oregon into a national West Coast power

While it remains to be seen what becomes of other notable Smart assistants, namely Glenn Schumann, Dan Lanning stands as potentially the strongest branch to be sprouted to date. Lanning was Smart’s former outside linebackers coach beginning in 2018. He replaced Tucker as defensive coordinator in 2019, leaving for the Oregon Ducks after winning it all two years ago.

In his first season leading Oregon, the Ducks went 10-3 in a deep Pac-12. Keep in mind that one of their losses was to Georgia in Week 1 in that absolute lamb slaughtering in Atlanta. Even though the Ducks didn’t get to Las Vegas, we saw things out of the Oregon program that leads us to believe Lanning will pick up where Mario Cristobal left off and take this thing to greater heights.

Lanning will take the Smart blueprint and transform Oregon from a team with pretty fly uniforms into a team built on defenses tougher than a $2 steak. With USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten after next season, you would think Oregon would be in the mix to dominate whatever becomes of the Pac-12 with the likes of Utah, Washington and quite possibly, Colorado. Lanning is a rock star.

I mean, would it shock you if Lanning’s Ducks won the Pac-12 next season and made the playoff?