"You sit back and you reflect on how each journey was different," Dan Lanning told ESPN College Football in a documentary feature last season. "I used to ride a bike to work when I was at ASU."
"And one day I left the garage door open and my bike got stolen. So that's why Sauphia had to start driving me into work. We had one vehicle that was working and she'd load all the boys and we'd drive at five in the morning to the office. "
"I was really, really selfish early in my career and I think Sauphia knew my dreams and aspirations but they were probably strictly my dreams and aspirations and she was so on board for me to chase them."
The Lannings' family journey spanned four time zones and seven zip codes. Before landing his current job as Oregon head coach at 35, Lanning served a 14-year apprenticeship as a high school coach, graduate assistant, unpaid intern and linebackers coach, not landing his first job at decent money until 2015 when Mike Norvell made him the inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Memphis.
"I always say I'm the head coach at the school but Sauphia is the head coach at home."
The two married in 2009, with Lanning getting his first job as a grad assistant in 2011. By 2013, they had three boys. Grad assistants typically receive a stipend in the range of $30,000-$50,000, probably less 12 years ago.
Sauphia said, "The early years were really difficult, because Daniel was always out at the office. He was really having to prove himself. I would be really exhausted taking care of babies at the time and he would say, 'You know, Sauphia, we're going to make it.'"
"Sauphia never complained," Lanning said, "Was never frustrated about what somebody else had that we didn't have and that made it work."
Mike Norvell hired him as inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Memphis in December of 2015.
"Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Memphis was the first time we were making real money but we also finally have insurance for our family."
"In May of 2016, I started to feel a little bit of discomfort in my knee," Sauphia said, "It just progressively got worse to the point it was unbearable."
Doctors found a tumor in Sauphia's right knee. Osteosarcoma. Bone cancer.
"I was at a coaching retreat and Sauphia calls me and tells me she has cancer. Nothing really prepares you for that."
"I just kept trying to envision what my life and our kids' life looked like without Sauphia and just knew that wasn't an option for us. Made you grow in your faith, you're on your knees every night praying."
Sauphia endured three months of chemotherapy, then surgery.
"She was a fighter from Day One. There were days that were not great, days that were really hard. I felt like it was my job to put a smile on her face."
He used to push her around the hospital in a wheel chair and sing to her. He brought the boys in and they did magic tricks.
After six months, she rang the bell.
As Oregon coach Lanning talks a lot about teaching his players to be great husbands and great fathers. He urges them to define their goals and understand their why. He encourages them to tell their stories and be real with each other.
It turns out that the coach and his family are truly rooted in substance. The adversity that shaped them taught them tremendous resilience and gratitude. An enormous success in the coaching profession, he knows what that is worth, and what is worth far more.
Also, HUGE congratulations to Sauphia Lanning, who just celebrated EIGHT years cancer free.
— Bri Amaranthus (@BriAmaranthus) May 7, 2025
Sauphia is as kind and strong as they come.#GoDucks https://t.co/SzWVcyafV7 pic.twitter.com/SI7J2r3L2j