It may prove that Dan Lanning becomes the next football coach at the University of Oregon, but I’m being told by sources close to the hiring process to pump the brakes on that front.
“He’s not currently the guy,” said one source with direct knowledge of the search.
“Inaccurate,” offered a second.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on Friday that a deal had been reached with the Georgia defensive coordinator and that he could be announced as early as Monday. But neither Lanning nor his agent will confirm that and I am being told by a multitude of reliable sources that this search is still ongoing.
What else...
-- Oregon asked permission to talk with UCLA coach Chip Kelly last week. I think Kelly probably ends up staying at UCLA, where he won eight games last season. Still, I understand why Oregon would want to talk with him. He went 46-7 and won four conference championships in four seasons at Oregon. Kelly also comes with a $9 million buyout before Jan. 15. It drops to $0 on the 16th. Oregon would either have to pay up or wait another month to get done. It feels to me like Kelly’s camp is more interested in fostering some leverage for an extension than moving him from Southern California to Eugene.
-- Justin Wilcox, the sitting head coach at Cal, interviewed for the job and did well, I’m told. I think Wilcox is still very much in play for this job. I wonder if the Ducks would ask him to take on a mercenary offensive coordinator to spice up the hire. Keep an eye on this. You’d have to announce those things simultaneously if that’s the strategy.
-- Dan Lanning has indeed talked with Oregon, a source confirmed. (Former Oregon QB Akili Smith had that detail first on Twitter.) Again, Lanning could end up being the guy but I’m not at all convinced this is done or that anything has been agreed upon. Not semantics here. Just not done and I’m skeptical right now. Lanning is 35, has a good reputation as a rising star coordinator but he has never been a head coach. If you’re Oregon... are you really countering the Lincoln Riley hire to USC with someone who has never done the job? It feels like this narrative might be driven by Jimmy Sexton, who serves as agent to Lanning, a line of other SEC coaches ... and Willie Taggart. Would Oregon AD Rob Mullens sign on for more Sexton in his life?
-- I spoke with Chip Towers at the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Friday night. He’s been at this a long time and is a very good reporter. Coaching searches are tricky animals. You’ve got competing agendas with universities, agents, coaches, recruits, etc. You spend a lot of time running down bad leads and doubling back with sources. Towers may end up being right about Lanning to Oregon. He may end up flat wrong. You can only report what you know to be true. He’s standing by his report but others involved in this search believe it to be inaccurate.
-- Oregon still has a mystery NFL candidate it has been speaking with. I will update when I know more later today. The timing here is interesting because anyone in the NFL is knee-deep in the season. I’ve believed all along that the Ducks would wrap this up by the end of the weekend but I’m beginning to think they are looking in some new places. I found it interesting that none of the national reporters with deep connections to agents backed the Lanning report from Atlanta.
I believe there’s still some ball left to play in this search.
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Canzano: No deal in place -- Oregon Ducks football coaching search is ongoing, per source - oregonlive.com
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