The 12 hours following Nick Saban’s retirement announcement have been filled with rumors. Many of those rumors have been about Dan Lanning possibly leaving the Ducks to take the head coaching position at Alabama.
Despite having shut down talks of him possibly taking the Texas A&M job earlier this year, Lanning was once again in the crosshairs of the job opening conversation.
However, around 9 a.m. PST on Thursday, the rumors were squashed when a source told 247sports that Lanning would be staying in Eugene.
Dan Lanning, who has been a popular name regarding the Alabama head coaching opening, is staying at Oregon, sources tell @247sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 11, 2024
Reports last night that he was in Tuscaloosa were inaccurate.https://t.co/hpJcG23c66 pic.twitter.com/QbBBXDYWcb
Conversations of Lanning heading to Tuscaloosa were intensified when reports showed that he was traveling to Alabama on Wednesday. Once that thread fizzled out, it was hard to push the narrative that Lanning wanted the job.
This still leaves a vacancy for the Tide head coaching position. Following up Saban will be no easy task and most of the top candidates have big buyouts looming overhead.
Buyouts for potential Alabama head coach candidates
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 10, 2024
Dan Lanning -- $20 million
Kalen DeBoer -- $12 million
Dabo Swinney -- $7.5 million
James Franklin -- $6 million
Mike Norvell -- $4 million
Many sports junkies have set their sights on Kalen DeBoer, Washington's head coach, as the next candidate to throw into the rumor mill.
Only time will tell just who has the guts to fill Saban’s spot. Luckily for the Ducks, their beloved Lanning is here to stay.