"He can see something once and memorize it forever": When Dan Lanning got real on Kirby Smart's impact on Oregon HC

Oregon coach Dan Lanning led the Oregon Ducks to an incredibly impressive 2024 season. The team won 13 games in a row before falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the college football playoff.

Along the way, they won the Big Ten Championship and even picked up an early season win over the future national champion, Ohio State Buckeyes.

Lanning is in his first head coaching job and has been at the helm since 2022. The team has steadily improved during his tenure. He attributes some of his success to the coaches he got to learn under earlier in his career.

Notably, Dan Lanning got to learn as an assistant coach under Kirby Smart at Alabama and Georgia. In the midst of his second season with the Oregon Ducks, Lanning sat down with Adam Breneman to talk about the influence Kirby Smart and other coaches have had on him (starts at 1:15).

"When you talk about passion, Kirby's as high as anybody there. He is one of the most intelligent people I've ever been around. He can see something once and memorize it forever. I remember being a GA at Alabama and he's saying pull up lead zone in 2012 vs LSU, we fit that the way I want to fit. He's got that memory and intelligence.

"He's a real person, right. He's a great dad. He's a great husband. He just ... There just isn't a lot that guy doesn't do right. I'm just really grateful I got to be around him. I think he learned a ton from Coach Saban and was able to build off that. I think he took that footprint and was like 'Ok, we can do this different and enhance it.' I think that shows up every day in his program."

Dan Lanning is now in the mix to join Kirby Smart as a National Championship-winning head coach

While it was less than two years ago that Dan Lanning was praising Kirby Smart for everything he learned from him, Lanning is now viewed as Smart's equal by most analysts. Lanning has developed an impressive Oregon program over his three seasons as head coach.

After a stellar 2024 season, the Ducks are poised to have another great season in 2025. Heading into the 2025 season, Oregon is tied for second in odds to win the championship with Texas at +650. The only team ahead of the Ducks is Ohio State with +600 odds.