Who would’ve thought the head coach of the No. 1 team in CFB is getting circled by the proverbial vultures from the big league? The Oregon Ducks’ (10-0) rampant success has reverberated over to the pro game. Now, Dan Lanning is poised to receive the opportunity to steer an NFL franchise. However, one football savant believes he is not about to jump ship from Eugene.

Lanning’s tenure in Oregon has been a resounding success. After his first two seasons into his first-ever HC gig, he sat with a gaudy 22-5 record. This invited speculation about him being the heir to Nick Saban’s throne in Alabama. However, that didn’t materialize, and he now leads a Ducks juggernaut he’s seemingly perfected in year 3. Former CFB player turned podcaster Joe DeLeone believes it is that episode with Bama which will dictate Lanning’s NFL decision.

In an excerpt from The Ruffino & Joe Show, the namesake hosts spoke about Dan Lanning’s impending offers from the big league. DeLeone said, “One, I don’t think that he does leave, and two, I don’t think that he should leave. Especially a head coach who has only been leading his program for a very short period of time. Lanning should stay, it’s better off for his career in the long term. But most importantly, I don’t think he’s going to leave. I think that his actions [and] the way that he handled the Alabama situation [are] an indicator that he is not going to jump ship. He is here to try and build this thing [and] win a National Championship”.

Before the Crimson Tide eventually landed Kalen DeBoer, Lanning was a part of the discourse surrounding the job. He had previously served on the Bama staff as a graduate assistant under Saban in 2015. As it turned out, Lanning opted to stay in Oregon. He claimed, “I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.”

While the murmurs of an NFL stint are still in their infancy, Ducks fans are worried. Lanning’s predecessor, Mario Cristobal, also left the program when an apparent better opportunity presented itself. While Lanning has allegedly turned down advances from Alabama, the NFL is a different playing field. Will history repeat itself? 

Dan Lanning may yet move on from the Ducks

The more success that Oregon have this year, the stronger the dialogue surrounding Dan Lanning will become. Blake Ruffino spoke about this circumstance during the aforementioned podcast. He doesn’t believe Lanning’s future in Eugene is as cut as dry as one may think, and for good reason.

Ruffino laid down the rationale, saying, “With the playoffs the way that they are and the way the NFL season works, NFL teams don’t have to make a decision on who their head coach is until January/February. So [Dan Lanning] could literally go through an entire playoff run and win a national title, and then they start coming after him pretty heavily. I would be shocked if he didn’t take a phone call and hear people out. You always hear people out. Let’s not be naive”.

Whether or not he decides to move, Lanning and his team will be laser focused on taking care of the business at hand. The team is +420 to win it all, only behind Ohio State. The Ducks travel east looking to continue their invincible season against Wisconsin on Saturday.