Georgia HC Kirby Smart teams up with Oregon’s Dan Lanning to beat Alabama in Week 5

The Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in what should be an exciting week 5 matchup, and Kirby Smart got some preparation help. Smart has led Georgia since 2016.

On the other hand, Alabama has a new head coach this season in Kalen DeBoer, and Smart has little to no experience playing against him. Although Smart can devise a game plan for an unknown coach, he prefers to be as prepared as possible. While he has little experience with DeBoer, he does have a former assistant coach who does: Dan Lanning.

Lanning was the defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2019 to 2021 before he became the head coach of the Oregon Ducks in 2022. Since joining Oregon, Lanning has had the opportunity to play against DeBoer a few times. When asked about getting advice from Lanning, Kirby Smart said:

"I didn't really know who he was until probably when Lanning went to Oregon, and I followed Dan a lot, and they had a big rivalry with them. I think that was maybe the year that we had played Dan, and they went on to play Washington, I think once that year and twice the following year, and that's when it started popping up on my radar." [via DawgNation].

Kalen DeBoer was the head coach of Washington before this season.

"Washington historically was known for great defense way back when, and he changed that, not that they weren't good on defense, they were good on defense, but he made them good on offense," Smart said.

Kirby Smart knows he can't only rely on insight from Dan Lanning

While Kirby Smart is glad to have insight from a former assistant coach, he knows he can't rely on it too much.

"We do that with everybody that plays against him," Smart said. "We do it with Dan too, but I mean, he didn't have the most success either. So I mean, he's had some tough games and some tough decisions against him and has a lot of respect for him, just like we do."

Lanning has a 0-3 record against DeBoer, including two losses last season.

Smart told reporters he respects DeBoer. He noted that DeBoer had a lot of success with Washington, and now that he has a more talented roster in Alabama, he is dangerous. The No. 2 ranked Georgia and No. 4 ranked Alabama will play on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.