Oregon HC Dan Lanning calls Nick Saban a robot, in a good way

Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning was only around Nick Saban for a year, but his time spent with the legendary coach clearly paid off.

Lanning was a graduate assistant for Saban at Alabama in 2015, where he gained championship experience. He then moved his way up as an assistant for Memphis, then Georgia, where he ultimately became the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator. 

He won another championship with Georgia — ironically, beating Alabama in the national championship game — and then in December of 2021, he became Oregon’s 35th head coach.

Since then, Lanning has gone 22-5 in two seasons and he has Oregon once again knocking off the door of the national championship scene.

He’s the real deal now, but recently talking to Colin Cowherd, he explained that the lessons learned under Saban have still stuck with him.

“Getting there and being around coach for a year, you realize this guy’s a robot. The definition of consistency,” Lanning explained (h/t On3).

“You know the sun’s coming up in Tuscaloosa tomorrow and he’s gonna have a staff meeting at 7:30 a.m., and just the consistent approach that he’s going to eat the same thing for lunch, he’s going to do the same thing for breakfast.”

Consistency is one thing — and it’s a big thing for elite coaches and athletes — but Lanning also revealed that Saban was always looking to learn and grow as a football coach. Kirby Smart at Georgia is apparently the same way.