Legendary Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban had a big impact on the sport before announcing his retirement from coaching earlier this year, and one of those impacted by Saban was Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning.
During an appearance on the Ryen Russillo podcast, Dan Lanning had some high praise for Nick Saban as he opened up about what he learned from the legendary head coach during his time working with him as a GA in 2015. Specifically, Lanning had one word that highlighted Saban: consistency.
“I’ve never been more impressed with the consistency of a coach than Coach Saban,” Lanning said on the podcast according to On3. “Just watching him every day, it was almost robotic how well he was able to move — but robotic and adaptable. There are a lot of people that have come from [Nick Saban’s coaching] tree. Some have had a lot of success and some have not. I feel like the ones that maybe haven’t had as much success, they tried to be Nick. You know, Nick was Nick. You know, Nick, Coach Saban was himself every day.
“And that’s something I appreciate and learned from him that whenever you get your opportunity, you’ve got to be you. But you’ve got to be the definition of consistency if you want to last in this profession.”
Lanning was one of the top candidates to potentially replace Saban at Alabama, but he ultimately opted to stay with the Oregon Ducks. Still, it’s clear his time with Saban at Alabama meant a lot to him.
