dan lanning georgia football college football playoff

Dan Lanning sounded a lot like Kirby Smart in his first press conference as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks. He used common buzz words like standard, process and explosive plays. He emphasized the importance of recruiting while stressing the importance of practice.

Smart almost to a t knows what Lanning is going through. He was hired as the head coach at Georgia in December of 2015. It was his first college football head coaching job after serving as the defensive coordinator for one of the elite teams in the sport.

At the time though, Smart’s work at Alabama wasn’t done. He would be sticking on with the Crimson Tide through the College Football Playoff. Lanning will be doing the same, while also juggling new staff hires, recruiting and all the other difficulties of being a head coach of a program on the other side of the country.

Even with all those challenges, Lanning made it clear why he will be staying with Georgia for the remainder of its season.

“There’s tremendous support here and I’m fortunate that there’s a tremendous amount of support at Georgia for this approach. I feel like I owe it to our players there,” Lanning said. “Excited to be a part of that process there. The College Football Playoff is certainly unique.”

This is the first time Lanning will be coaching in a College Football Playoff game, as the Bulldogs take on the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 31. The game will be played in Miami. Should Georgia win that, the Bulldogs take on the winner of Alabama-Cincinnati on Jan. 10.

Lanning referenced and thanked Smart multiple times in his press conference on Monday. He knows he would not be the new head coach in Eugene, Ore., were it not for his work with Smart. While at Georgia, Lanning was twice a Broyles Award finalist, which is given out to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Given his success at Georgia, Lanning could afford to be picky with his next job. Much was the same for Smart during his time at Alabama. But Lanning understands Oregon is one of the premier jobs in the country and leapt at the chance to replace Mario Cristobal.

Lanning himself will be replaced by two men, as Georgia announced it would have Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp serves as co-defensive coordinators moving forward. Lanning’s departure does leave an opening for an on-field assistant, with the Bulldogs needing someone to coach the outside linebacker position.

The Ducks went 10-2 this year and won the PAC-12 in the two previous seasons. Expectations will be high for Lanning. National championship level high eventually, much like they are for Smart and the Georgia football program.

While Lanning possibly has two more games at Georgia, he also will see them again the first time he steps on the field in an Oregon polo. The Ducks open the 2022 season against Georgia in Atlanta in what should be one of the marquee non-conference games to start the 2022 season.

Smart’s first career game was also a neutral site game in Atlanta, though it was against the North Carolina Tar Heels. That game is still a long way away and there is much work to be done by Lanning between now and that Sept. 3 date.

For both Oregon and Georgia.

“I think Kirby has a lot on his mind right now, I promise you I’ve got a lot on my mind,” Lanning said. “Neither one of us is probably thinking about that game. There’s a lot of steps between now and that process once we get there. I promise you we’ll be ready once we do.”

Dan Lanning press conference as head coach of Oregon

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