Dan Lanning cracks top tier of head coach rankings

The hierarchy of head coaches in the college football world has seen a bit of a shift over the past couple of years, both both Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh leaving. While Georgia Bulldogs’ coach Kirby Smart is undoubtedly at the top of the rankings with a pair of national championships in the lat five years, the spots around him in the rankings are up for grabs.

Going into last year, it was unclear who would be able to step up and claim the No. 2 spot behind Smart, but Ohio State’s Ryan Day did a good job of solidifying his spot. But who rounds out the rest of the rankings?

This past week, USA TODAY put out its official list of the top coaches in the sport, and Oregon Duck fans should be happy about where Dan Lanning stands. While he may not be quite up there with the Smarts and Days of the world because of his lack of postseason success through his first three years at Oregon, few coaches in the landscape are better at recruiting and teambuilding than Lanning thus far.

Here’s where he stands in the USAT rankings:

Kirby Smart — Georgia BulldogsRyan Day — Ohio State BuckeyesDabo Swiney — Clemson TigersSteve Sarkisian — Texas LonghornsJames Franklin — Penn State Nittany LionsDan Lanning — Oregon DucksMarcus Freeman — Notre Dame Fighting IrishKalen DeBoer — Alabama Crimson TideLane Kiffin — Ole Miss RebelsBrian Kelly — LSU Tigers

While Oregon fans would likely take Lanning over several of the names in front of him, it’s hard to argue against his place at No. 6 based on his postseason track record. The Ducks are 2-1 in bowl games under Lanning but 0-1 in the College Football Playoff, with a blowout loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl last year as the No. 1 seed in the nation.

Oregon is strongly believed to be on the horizon for postseason success, though. The Ducks are ranked in the top 10 for the 2025 season and are projected to return to the CFP again. If Lanning and his team can keep stringing together impressive seasons and continue to compete for Big Ten and national championships, he should move up this list in no time.

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