The Ohio State Buckeyes have little to do with the open Florida Gators head coaching job, but they could end up watching how it plays out carefully. While Lane Kiffin and Marcus Freeman seem to be bandied-about names for the opening, the Buckeyes would benefit more if a wildcard contender takes the role.

Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports Florida put together a list of the best candidates for the Gators to ask about, and Ryan Day’s head had to turn when he saw Dan Lanning mentioned. The Oregon head coach has quickly become a thorn in Day’s side, beating the Buckeyes last year and emerging as a top recruiting threat.

Here’s what Forness said about Lanning’s candidacy.

Ohio State would love for Dan Lanning to leave Oregon for Florida

“He would be atop most lists, but he won’t leave Eugene. Even so, you still have to call on Lanning. The work he’s done in the short time at Oregon has been nothing short of impressive, including an undefeated Big Ten Championship season last year and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. With a win-loss record of nearly 6:1, that is exactly what the Gators could use in Gainesville.

You have to call and make him say no, but he’s not going to leave the Ducks.”

It doesn’t seem likely that Lanning would leave a national championship contender for a team buried in the SEC, but it is worth the call. Ohio State would certainly celebrate, though. The Ducks have been recruiting more like an SEC team since Lanning arrived, and it’s unlikely they’d find a better ceiling raiser than him.

Dan Lanning’s coaching career history and record

Lanning’s coaching career began in earnest after his playing days as a linebacker at William Jewell College, where he transitioned into coaching roles. He started as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 2011, followed by stints at Arizona State and Sam Houston State. Lanning’s big break came in 2015 when he joined Alabama as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban, contributing to their national championship that year.

He then moved to Memphis as inside linebackers coach before landing at Georgia in 2018 as outside linebackers coach, quickly rising to defensive coordinator in 2019. Under his leadership, Georgia’s defense became one of the nation’s elite, culminating in a 2021 national title where they allowed just 10.2 points per game.

In December 2021, Lanning was hired as head coach of the Oregon Ducks, marking his first head coaching position at age 35. He inherited a talented roster and immediately made an impact, leading Oregon to a 10-3 record in 2022, including a Holiday Bowl victory. The following year, 2023, saw the Ducks go 12-2 with a Fiesta Bowl win, showcasing Lanning’s aggressive defensive schemes and innovative play-calling.

In 2024, Oregon transitioned to the Big Ten Conference and dominated with a 13-0 regular season, winning the conference title before falling in the College Football Playoff semifinals, finishing 13-1 overall. As of October 21, 2025, midway through his fourth season, Lanning’s Ducks hold a 6-1 record, bringing his overall mark at Oregon to 41-7.

Lanning’s success has been rewarded with a lucrative contract extension signed in 2023, running through the 2030 season. For the 2025 campaign, his base salary is $10.4 million, with potential bonuses tied to performance milestones like conference titles and playoff appearances.

His contract includes one of the highest buyouts in college football, currently standing at approximately $56.73 million if terminated without cause as of 2025, reflecting Oregon’s commitment to retaining him amid interest from other programs. This buyout ranks seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten, underscoring Lanning’s value as a rising star in coaching.

An uphill sales pitch for Florida head coaching candidates

The Florida Gators football program has a storied history, but its periods of sustained excellence have been largely confined to the tenures of two legendary coaches: Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. Prior to Spurrier’s arrival in 1990, the Gators had never won an SEC title in over 50 years of conference membership, with sporadic bowl appearances and no national championships.

Coaches like Ray Graves and Doug Dickey achieved moderate success in the 1960s and 1970s, but the program often hovered around mediocrity, plagued by probation scandals and inconsistent recruiting. Florida’s reputation as a “sleeping giant” persisted until Spurrier, a former Heisman-winning quarterback for the Gators, revolutionized the offense with his Fun ‘n’ Gun system, leading to six SEC titles and the program’s first national championship in 1996.

Meyer took the reins in 2005 and elevated the program further, blending elite recruiting with a spread-option attack that produced two national titles in 2006 and 2008, along with an undefeated regular season in 2009. Meyer’s 65-15 record at Florida cemented his status as one of the game’s greats, but his abrupt departure in 2010 due to health issues marked the end of another golden era.

Outside these two coaches, the Gators have struggled to maintain perennial contender status, defined as consistent top-10 finishes, conference dominance, and playoff contention. Post-Meyer coaches like Will Muschamp (2011-2014) focused on defense but went 28-21 with only one SEC East title, while Jim McElwain (2015-2017) won two division crowns but faltered in big games, finishing 22-12 before his firing amid off-field issues.

In recent years, Dan Mullen (2018-2021) showed promise with a 34-15 record and three New Year’s Six bowls, but inconsistent performances led to his ouster. Former coach Billy Napier, fired in his fourth season this past week, never posted a winning SEC record, had the program mired in rebuilding mode amid recruiting challenges and fan impatience.

This pattern highlights Florida’s boom-and-bust cycles: explosive success under innovative offensive minds like Spurrier and Meyer, but regression to middling results otherwise, lacking the institutional consistency of programs like Alabama or Georgia. The Gators’ all-time winning percentage hovers around .600, respectable but not elite, underscoring that without those two coaching outliers, Florida has rarely been a perennial powerhouse in the SEC landscape.