ATHENS — It could be an interesting day for former Georgia football assistants Dan Lanning and Sam Pittman, who are at opposite extremes.
The phone might be ringing in the homes of current Kirby Smart assistants for that matter, with the sport’s annual “Silly Season” of changes officially underway.
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Close to home
Smart is as focused on the Bulldogs’ drive for a historic three-peat as possible after beating Ole Miss 52-17 on Saturday night.
But Smart is aware several other things are going on in every program with assistants weighing job opportunities and players on the verge of coming or going through the transfer portal.
Smart, himself, was targeted to be hired out of a championship program at Alabama. The Bulldogs’ eighth-year head coach turned down several job opportunities, including the head coaching position at South Carolina, before cashing in for the prime opportunity to lead Georgia.
UGA has built one of the most elite coaching staffs in college football with former veteran head coaches -- and Georgia players -- Mike Bobo and Will Muschamp in coordinator positions.
Athletic director Josh Brooks has made it a point to compensate the UGA assistants competitively, notably raising the salary of co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann -- a rising star in the coaching ranks -- to $1.9 million last offseason after NFL and college teams expressed interest.
Schumann is just one of many assistants on the Georgia staff likely to be pursued by other schools for higher and better-paying positions.
News of Jimbo Fisher’s imminent firing at Texas A&M was at the top of the news cycle Sunday morning and served as the reminder that offseason changes are always a part of the sport.
Lanning, it seems, could return to the SEC ranks with the Aggies if not another league program.
Lanning back in the SEC?
Lanning, who coached under Smart at UGA from 2018-21, has Oregon in the College Football Playoff hunt.
The 9-1 Ducks are ranked No. 6 in the CFP standings on the heels of a 36-27 win over USC and are closing in on a rematch with unbeaten Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Oregon would be owed a $20 million buyout, per On3, if Lanning were to leave Eugene behind for the riches — and pressure — of coaching in College Station or elsewhere.
Florida administrators have publicly supported second-year coach Billy Napier even as the Gators have struggled through coaching gaffes, while others have cited Napier’s $31.8 million buyout as evidence the program can’t afford to move on after this season.
But Florida might not be able to afford the collateral damage that could come with keeping Napier if the Gators drop their final two games -- at Missouri and vs. Florida State -- and a Top 5 recruiting class splinters as the program falls short of a bowl game.
Money and talent is not an issue at Texas A&M, which has a rich crop of in-state recruits and boosters. The athletic department brought in a reported $193.1 million (7th nationally) in 2022 -- not including NIL funding.
Indeed, Fisher is owed more than $75 million after the Aggies’ brass gave him a fully guaranteed $95 million contract extension in 2021.
A departure from Oregon might not be as unlikely as it might seem for Lanning.
The Ducks on the verge of losing star quarterback Bo Nix after the season, and the school’s decision to join the Big Ten next season promises arduous travel and recruiting challenges, even with the school’s Nike funding.
Lanning’s ability to quickly erect a championship culture in Eugene has put him at the top of many schools’ wishlist, giving Texas A&M an option beyond oft-discussed Duke head coach Mike Elko.
Elko was the ACC Coach of the Year in 2022, his first season in Durham after working alongside Fisher as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator from 2018-21.
Duke is a private school so Elko’s buyout is not of public record, but it is not believed to be as much as Lanning’s.
Elko’s familiarity with Texas A&M has made him the early favorite to succeed Fisher.
Sam Pittman’s plight
Pittman, in his fourth season in Arkansas, is on the other end of the spectrum.
The Razorbacks suffered an embarrassing 48-10 home loss to Auburn, dropping Arkansas to 3-7 overall and just 1-6 in SEC play.
Pittman had resurrected hope for his future just one week before the Razorbacks scored a 39-36 overtime win over Florida in their first game back after firing former offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
The home loss to first-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, however, has many grumbling that the likable Pittman might not have what it takes to get Arkansas over the top.
Pittman, to be fair, took over a struggling program in 2020 and was immediately handicapped by COVID recruiting restrictions and a thankless schedule.
Still, Arkansas snapped a 20-game SEC losing streak Pittman’s first season with a 21-14 upset road win over then-No. 16-ranked Mississippi State
“The mood in the locker room was probably everything you might expect,” Pittman said at the time. “The kids have gone for a long time without having an opportunity to win.”
Pittman carried that momentum into a 2021 season that saw the Razorbacks climb as high as No. 8 in the polls — the program’s highest ranking since 2012.
It was a short stay, as eventual-national champion Georgia beat Pittman’s Hogs 37-0, leading Arkansas to a respectable 9-4 overall and 4-4 league mark that season.
Arkansas slipped to 7-6 and 3-5 last season, but hopes were high for 2023 with star quarterback KJJefferson returning for his senior season and 1,000-yard All-SEC back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders giving Pittman an explosive backfield.
The Razorbacks lost five games by a TD or less this season, apparently breaking team spirit, and leading to the blowout home loss to the Tigers.
Sunday’s news and speculation is only the beginning of what promises to be one of the most combustible offseasons of college football change in recent memory.
