Alabama expected to target Oregon's Dan Lanning as its next head coach

After 17 seasons of keeping Alabama at the top of college football, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is set to retire. Alabama must now turn its attention toward finding the person who will replace one of the greatest coaches in college football history.

According to a report from the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, Oregon coach Dan Lanning is the leading candidate to replace Saban in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama would need to pay $20 million to buy Lanning out of his current deal at Oregon. He signed an extension over the summer, which would keep him with the Ducks until 2028.

Since taking over in December 2021, Lanning has spent the last two seasons keeping Oregon at the top of the PAC-12. This season, Lanning led the Ducks to a 12-2 record and a win in the Fiesta Bowl, and orchestrated an offense that averaged 531.4 yards per game, which ranked second in the nation.

Lanning previously served as a graduate assistant under Saban in 2015. Alabama defeated Clemson in the 2015 National Championship game that season.

Lanning later joined Georgia as its outside linebackers coach in 2018 and was promoted to Georgia's defensive coordinator in 2019. He helped engineer an elite Georgia defense that allowed just 10.2 points per game in 2021 and took down Alabama in the 2022 National Championship Game.