College Football

Oregon reportedly hires Georgia DC Dan Lanning as head coach

Updated Dec. 11, 2021 6:32 p.m. ET

The college football coaching carousel has taken another stop, and Oregon has its man.

The Ducks, who were jilted earlier this week when Mario Cristobal jumped ship to take the reins at the University of Miami, have reportedly found their replacement in Dan Lanning, formerly the defensive coordinator at Georgia. This will be Lanning's first job as head coach.

The hire of Lanning is just the latest high-profile move in what has been a busy time across the sport. Already several big-name coaches have switched jobs, including Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for USC, Brian Kelly departing Notre Dame for LSU, and of course Cristobal's decision to head to Miami.

The resulting vacancies were filled by Brent Venables (Clemson DC) at Oklahoma, Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, and now Lanning at Oregon.

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In Lanning, 35, the Ducks are getting the architect of what was the most dominant defense in the nation this season. Heading into the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, the Bulldogs led the nation in scoring defense (6.9 PPG), had allowed only seven touchdowns and had kept opponents out of the end zone in six games.

The Bulldogs lost that contest 41-24, yet still led the nation in scoring defense at 9.5 PPG.

And Lanning's stock remained high — rightfully so.

Lanning got his coaching start on the high school level in 2008 before bouncing around as a graduate assistant at several places, including Alabama from 2016-17.

Georgia hired him as linebackers coach in 2018, and he was named the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator the following year.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart released a statement praising his colleague, while also stating that Lanning would stay on as defensive coordinator for Georgia's College Football Playoff matchup against Michigan on Dec. 31.

Coincidentally, Oregon and Georgia play each other in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta on Sept. 3, 2022.

And there was plenty of reaction around the college football world to the latest big-time hire. Here is a sampling: