The Year of the Defensive Coordinator is continuing again with another prime head coaching position.
Multiple sources confirm to FootballScoop that University of Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is set to become the Oregon Ducks’ new head coach.
“Wow, Lanning is happening,” a source told FootballScoop.
Said another coach, “Lanning is getting that Oregon job. Happening today.”
The AJC first reported Friday that Lanning would get the job, but sources on both sides indicated no deal was yet in place. UCLA coach Chip Kelly, who rose to acclaim by guiding Oregon to national prominence, had also been a contender for the Oregon job, as had Cal head coach Justin Wilcox – a former Oregon player.
But Lanning continued the defensive trend that rapidly unfolded the past week, when both Oklahoma and Notre Dame introduced first-time head coaches and former renowned defensive coordinators in Brent Venables and Marcus Freeman, respectively.
By Friday, Duke had tabbed Mike Elko – most recently Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator, with stints also at Wake Forest and Duke, as its next head coach.
Just 35 years old, Lanning has been the architect of a Georgia defense that carried the Bulldogs to an undefeated regular season, weeks-long No. 1 national ranking in the College Football Playoff and, ultimately, the No. 3 seed in the CFP after the Bulldogs fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Kirby Smart shared in a statement that Lanning would stay with the team through the College Football Playoff, and that inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann and analyst Will Muschamp will serve as co-defensive coordinators moving forward.
Lanning has previous experience on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff, as well as Memphis and Arizona State.
He’s a North Kansas City, Missouri, native.
Oregon needed a replacement for Mario Cristobal, who left after four seasons atop the Ducks' program earlier this week to take over at his alma mat