Dan Lanning staying at Oregon
January 11th, 2024 at 2:08 PM ^
I mean every head coach going to Alabama is obligated to say this beforehand.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:09 PM ^
Yup. Two weeks before announcing that he would be the Alabama coach, Saban said, "I guess I have to say it. I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."
January 11th, 2024 at 2:26 PM ^
This is a little more bombastic than responding to a question in a presser though. Seems more likely to be legit.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:02 PM ^
Seems totally likely to be legit. It’s a sad state of affairs that we assume people to be deceiving us in some way (often because they are), but we benefit when we recognize and appreciate sincerity when it’s in front of us.
January 11th, 2024 at 9:33 PM ^
That guy is going to be a formidable opponent in the Big Ten.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:19 PM ^
This version is for the TikTok Age.
(As a fellow elder Millennial, I'm sure he's earnest in this pledge and now feels slightly horrified at the accidental parallel.)
January 11th, 2024 at 3:30 PM ^
That suckered a (foolishly) desperate MSU into offering him a much bigger contract.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:47 PM ^
that he only received a fraction of due to masturbating on call with a rape victim.
January 11th, 2024 at 5:23 PM ^
That was his 2nd contract. He benefitted handsomely by staying at Colorado, even if for a few extra days.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:45 PM ^
The cigar at the end? Straight out of the tuggers book
January 11th, 2024 at 2:09 PM ^
Good for him. Smart move, too. No reason Oregon can't thrive.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Well, aside from that they're going to be playing a bunch of road games 2,000 miles away and will be getting reduced TV payments for the next seven years.
They may be able to overcome these things in the end, but these certainly are issues that could give a coach pause.
January 11th, 2024 at 5:00 PM ^
Phil Knight says “dont worry about money”
January 11th, 2024 at 5:03 PM ^
And we have Stephen Ross (among others). Every big program has big donors.
It remains a disadvantage for them to start out with a half-share, to the point that UO had serious misgivings about joining.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:10 PM ^
Surprised he didn't pull an early Alabama Saban and use the Bama opening for a nice 7 figure raise.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:17 PM ^
And how do you know this isn't happening as we speak???
January 11th, 2024 at 2:10 PM ^
I don't blame him. Oregon is arguably a more attractive place than post-Saban Alabama - especially as long as Knight is funneling money into their program.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:12 PM ^
I mean, it would have been better for Michigan if he'd left. But whatever. Gotta beat the best.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:16 PM ^
Meh, don't think it really matters. Every Oregon coach seems to run the same offense and get the same results (with the occasional inexplicable down season here and there).
January 11th, 2024 at 2:21 PM ^
It is kind of remarkable how resilient Oregon has been over the last 20 years. Numerous coaches go elsewhere and don't really replicate. But Oregon, I think it's fair to say, has been the premier Pac program since Pete Carroll left SC. And I'm not really sure what it is about them institutionally that gets them there.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:27 PM ^
The Nike connection is a big selling point, apparently.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:36 PM ^
yea you're right - I guess it's tough for me to really understand that when most of the other powers are either in recruiting hotbeds (Bama, UGA, Clemson) or dominate populous areas (OSU, Texas, SC) - basically a couple versions of having easy access to HS talent. Oregon really has found a very different way - not quite AS successful but certainly not very far from OSU, Texas and SC in the last 15 years (if not actually ahead of a couple of those schools).
Michigan's 3 year run has been great and is also a very different way and I'm hopeful it will continue, but the other schools mentioned all stayed near the top for a bit longer over the last 25 years.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:47 PM ^
Top-tier facilities, and Eugene has non-stop flights to all the West Coast population centers.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:55 PM ^
Dunno. I imagine all the top 15-20 schools have great facilities, and most are not too far from big airports.
But the Nike thing matters to kids. That's the one thing they've got that makes them stand out.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
Here's an actual ranking from 247 (Oregon's #1). For airports, the ability of California players' families to fly two hours, stay in the same time zone, and even skip a rental car is a tangible advantage that Eugene has over many Midwestern and Southern schools.
January 11th, 2024 at 4:17 PM ^
It's true that crossing time zones is hurt, even in an era of flying being so cheap. So it can keep WC kids west...but what differentiates Oregon from other non-USC pac12 schools? UCLA, ASU, Cal and Washington all have that, and all have had some success in the last 20 years - but only Washington got as high as Oregon and none were as consistent.
I think Nike is the differentiator. It's a really unique thing, and credit to them.
January 11th, 2024 at 6:49 PM ^
This is very circular. How does it differentiate? Facilities. UW is the only one of those four with comparable ones, and it's also the only one with comparable success. Yet it's an Adidas school.
January 11th, 2024 at 4:30 PM ^
It's not just that it matters to kids. The flow of money from Nike and Uncle Phil into that program is virtually unlimited. That puts their facilities and resources up there with the likes of 'Bama and Georgia, even if they're just outside that group in terms of overall pedigree.
They're kind of like a kid who is reasonably smart and has the grades for a Northwestern or a Cornell, but who gets into Harvard because his uncle sits on Harvard's board.
January 11th, 2024 at 5:40 PM ^
I hear what you're saying but the difference is they aren't old money like a kid who gets into Harvard based on connections. They remain sorta offensive to USC - they come out with swag that makes Hollywood blush. They're attitude is the opposite of that kid. They're more like the kid who was smart and got a sweet scholarship from Nike but didn't have the connections for Harvard so they went to a respectable state school and then got themselves into a Rhodes scholarship without the connections but their style isn't old money enough for the rest of their class.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:00 PM ^
Don't think Texas and SC have done much more that UM over the last 25 years.
January 11th, 2024 at 4:27 PM ^
I think you're right but I'm not sure. Their golden age was at the beginning of my arbitrary window, and the BCS made it harder to maintain the run that, say Clemson had. SC had a 3 year run better than our 3 year run and then stayed a top5 team for another 3 years. Texas only won the 'ship once over about the same time period and would probably have been a "playoff" team 3 times in that era - I'll give you Texas hasn't done more, but I think SC of that era compares to Clemson.
Clemson was great for 6 years, perennial playoff team, with 2 wins - it's a different era but that's similar to USC's stretch and better than Texas'. I think
(Texas did get into the playoff this year but either end of the era feels kinda like cheating this thought experiment to say they were better, so I concede we were Texas level. But push back on USC).
January 11th, 2024 at 7:38 PM ^
Texas yes, but USC won two national championships and came within a hair of winning a third (and churned out four Heisman Trophy winners in the process). We're the better program right now, but USC dominated the '00's.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:15 PM ^
'Bama is a textbook case of being a victim of its own success. After Bear Bryant retired, they wandered in the woods and cycled through coaches for almost 25 years before they hired Saban (though they did win one national championship under Gene Stallings).
Let's hope it takes them at least another 25 years to find the next Nick Saban.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:19 PM ^
Stallings went 70-16-1 at Bama and won a bunch of SEC West titles. His main problem was running into Steve Spurrier in the SEC CG.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:11 PM ^
Good for him. Oregon is one of the best jobs in the country in terms of quality of life. You've got all the Nike amenities without the SEC or OSU type pressure to win.
Besides, he'd be a fool to take the Tide job now. You always want to be the guy after the guy who replaced a legend.
January 11th, 2024 at 3:03 PM ^
Yep..and that is also going to be true for the guy who eventually replaces Jim Harbaugh (hopefully a few years down the line)...he's set an almost impossibly high bar.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:12 PM ^
0:56 - Did Mel Tucker work as a creative advisor?
January 11th, 2024 at 2:13 PM ^
I don't know. Couldn't see where his other hand was.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:15 PM ^
Baller. Can't help but love this new look B1G, even if it came from a really bad reality.
Are Oregon fans going to be alright? The shock of a head coach staying put might be too much for them to handle.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:31 PM ^
Its weird how all Oregon fans I’ve ever known just so happen to be fans of the Warriors, Heat, Chiefs, Astros etc.
Surely a coincidence.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:49 PM ^
They've got a pretty legit fanbase. Much more rabid than a typical West Coast school. Autzen Stadium sells out consistently and is very loud.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:19 PM ^
smart move, no one wants to be the guy to follow Saban.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:19 PM ^
Dan Lanning is clearly up for a new challenge of joining the B1G.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:21 PM ^
His introductory hype-video will end saying
"If you're scared your coach is leaving...come play for 'bama...I just got here!"
January 11th, 2024 at 2:22 PM ^
Love the subtle troll of Alabama with the cigar smoking at the end
January 11th, 2024 at 4:35 PM ^
He should have put an Alabama hat and an Oregon hat on a table, faked putting on the Alabama hat, then put on the Oregon hat.
His players would certainly be able to relate.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:22 PM ^
Post Saban Alabama could be quite interesting. Certainly the period between Bryant and Saban wasn't exactly smooth sailing.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:29 PM ^
I thought it unlikely he or Sark would go to Bama. They are in good positions without having to follow up Saban.
Lane Kiffin is my guess.
January 11th, 2024 at 2:38 PM ^
People seem to think DeBoer for some reason now... feels just like slinging shit at the wall... again why would he leave?