All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Ranking all 28 offseason coaching changes by impact on Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue
Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
23 of 28
Next
New Oregon football coach Dan Lanning takes questions from media after being formally introduced as the head coach for the Ducks Monday Dec. 13, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon.Eug 121321 Lanning 05
New Oregon football coach Dan Lanning takes questions from media after being formally introduced as the head coach for the Ducks Monday Dec. 13, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon.Eug 121321 Lanning 05 /

Dan Lanning. 6. player. Scouting Report. Oregon Ducks. Mario Cristobal. 820. Pick Analysis

Previous role: Defensive coordinator, Georgia Bulldogs

With Mario Cristobal leaving the Oregon Ducks, there was a major opening. Another Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator was hired as a result of that opening. Dan Lanning has been in this role with UGA since 2019, after Mel Tucker left to take over the Colorado Buffaloes. Tucker’s recent success with the Michigan State Spartans likely built up Lanning’s profile.

Obviously, that all hurts Tennessee football fans, as they were down to Tucker and Jeremy Pruitt in 2017, and Phillip Fulmer chose Pruitt. Anyway, Lanning was the guy who coached the historically great UGA defense this past year and helped them get over the hump to finally win that first national championship since 1980.

With him gone, the Dawgs could potentially take a step back. We don’t know for sure, but Lanning leaving has a huge impact on them. The reason his departure is higher than Jon Sumrall is the official roles they had. Lanning was the defensive coordinator by himself, and Sumrall was the co-defensive coordinator of Kentucky.

Still, in both cases, the head coaches are considered just as crucial to the defense, as Mark Stoops and Kirby Smart are defensive-minded guys. Either way, both left SEC East foes due to being hired elsewhere, meaning those hires had a huge impact on the Vols.

Home/Vols Football