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Ever since the news of legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s retirement broke Wednesday evening around 5PM ET, the coaching carousel has been operating at maximum speed with rumors flying around.
The biggest rumor going around is that Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning is the top candidate for the Alabama job. Not only is the rumor he is the top candidate, but it’s also that he’s already in Tuscaloosa as of Wednesday night to interview and accept the job.
That rumor gained some serious legs when a local television station in Oregon reported that Lanning was indeed in T-Town.
KVAL (Eugene) news anchor Brandon Kamerman says Oregon HC Dan Lanning is currently in Tuscaloosa, just hours after Nick Saban retired.
"I previously worked in Alabama, in Tuscaloosa… I do have some sources there, who did confirm that Lanning is in Tuscaloosa…" 🏈📺 pic.twitter.com/3HU4SSpKQn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2024
Lanning being the top choice would make sense. He’s worked for both Saban and Georgia’s Kirby Smart, winning a national title as Georgia’s defensive coordinator before taking the Oregon job prior to the 2022 season. Since, he’s gone an impressive 22-5, narrowly missing the College Football Playoff this year. The 37-year-old Lanning is recruiting at a high level, too, as Oregon’s recruiting class for the Class of 2024 was ranked an impressive 5th in the country by 247Sports.
But, it would be a pretty quick turnaround if he was already in Tuscaloosa. Alabama could’ve let him know ahead of the Saban announcement, but rumors are Alabama brass didn’t know until this afternoon, as well.
And, according to Duck Territory, the Oregon 247Sports affiliate, Dan Lanning was not in Tuscaloosa and was instead with his family in Eugene.
The mass hysteria coaching rumors create on this app are hilariously yet painfully incredible. Dan Lanning is not in Tuscaloosa tonight. Come on, people.
— Matt Prehm (@MattPrehm) January 11, 2024
That message has been seconded by Noah Dzik of Touchdown Alabama Magazine.
https://twitter.com/NoahDzik_/status/1745313168665002459
With people on both sides saying different things, who knows where the truth lies. But, one thing is for sure. This is setting up to be an all-time entertaining coaching search.