The Oregon football team is once again at the top of the updated College Football Playoff rankings. Oregon is undefeated and is en route to a Big Ten title game appearance if they can finish the season with victories. Dillon Gabriel has been terrific after transferring from Oklahoma, and Dan Lanning has quickly become a top head coach after previously being an assistant at Georgia.
Since Lanning became the head coach at Oregon, the Ducks have gone 32-5 and this year they are firmly in the national title conversation.
In a bit of a surprise, one executive mentioned Lanning's name as a potential NFL head coaching option and even compared him to Dan Campbell, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote.
‘The once-popular trend of plucking college head coaches for NFL jobs has slowed in recent years. All but one of the 32 sitting head coaches (Chargers' Jim Harbaugh) came directly from an NFL job. Recent NFL failures of Urban Meyer and Matt Rhule haven't helped the collegiate pipeline. But a league exec I trust brought up an interesting name to me this week: Oregon's Dan Lanning.'
“He's got some Dan Campbell to him,” the exec said.
That would be quite a move for Lanning if it ends up happening. Moreover, the Dan Campbell comparisons are interesting as well. The Detroit Lions coach has quickly turned around that franchise since coming to town.
“While Campbell is in his own class right now, Lanning knows how to command a room,” Fowler wrote about the coaches.
Lanning's time in Eugene has been a home run success, so his name circulating some in NFL conversations down the road wouldn't be a shock.
Would Dan Lanning consider leaving Oregon for the NFL?
The bigger question is whether or not Lanning would want to leave Oregon for an NFL job. Lanning signed an extension with Oregon in the summer of 2023 and earned a raise, bumping his pay to $7 million per year.
Moreover, Oregon is a top team in the country with some of the best facilities and recruiting prowess. Lanning would essentially be giving up a top college job to go to a rebuilding or underperforming NFL team in most scenarios.
And, as Fowler mentioned, the college-NFL pipeline has not worked well with Rhule and Meyer as recent failures, although Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has gotten off to a strong start.
As of right now, Lanning is at Oregon, and the Ducks are aiming for a national title. However, it could be a name to monitor.
Follow Us
Subscribe
