Texas A&M coaching search: Paul Finebaum names 'best choice' for Aggies after Jimbo Fisher
Texas A&M’s coaching search is going to be one of the biggest storylines in college football, especially in the SEC. Paul Finebaum thinks one candidate stands out for the Aggies.
“I think Lanning is probably the best choice, but he has a tremendous buyout at Oregon, too,” Finebaum said during Get Up. “You’re going to hear every name in the book, including Deion Sanders, so we’ll come back to that one later.”
As Finebaum acknowledged, Lanning’s buyout is steep. Following a successful first season, Lanning signed a new deal of $45 million over 6 years, with incentives to extend his deal up to 9 seasons. The new contract set Lanning’s buyout at a fixed $20 million if he leaves for another school.
From North Kansas City, Missouri, Lanning is 37. He’s best known to SEC fans as a Georgia assistant from 2018-to-2021, with 3 seasons as defensive coordinator. Lanning was also an Alabama graduate assistant in 2015. He’s 19-4 as Oregon’s head coach, with the Ducks ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff top 25.
In what some may dismiss as typical coach speak, Lanning said there’s nowhere else he wants to be after signing his new deal with Oregon.
“It is not fair in college football, in my opinion, when a university makes a commitment to a coach but a coach doesn’t make a commitment to that university. I want to be here. Believe or not believe whatever you want. There’s no secret. This is what I want.
“I’ve said before the grass isn’t always greener. Like, I have everything I want here. There’s a vision for this to continue to grow. We’re able to get elite players, I think that’s no secret. As long as we can continue to recruit at a high level, develop, and continue to have world-class facilities, continue to push the bar in everything that we do, everything’s here that’s necessary for us to be successful.
“It’s something I want to sign up for, not something I shy away from.”
It will be interesting to see if Lanning is pursued by Texas A&M.