Bama's First Swing and Miss: Dan Lanning Announces He's Staying at Oregon

In a matter of 12 hours, we went from reports that Dan Lanning was already in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night presumably to accept the Alabama job to Lanning announcing he's staying at Oregon on Thursday morning. And with that, the Alabama coaching search is off and running.

Lanning made all the sense in the world. He spent a year at Alabama as a graduate assistant and then cut his teeth under the Kirby Smart branch of the Nick Saban coaching tree before proving himself as a great head coach and recruiter at Oregon. He would have brought a similar intensity as Saban but with a youthfulness Alabama hasn't had in a long time.

In the end, though, Lanning chose to stay at a school with all the resources you need to win a national championship and where he doesn't have to follow the greatest coach in college football history and the expectations that come with that. He's building a powerhouse great program in Eugene and that's probably a much better life than taking over for Saban at a place where you'll get run out of town quickly if you're not winning 11 or 12 games every year.

I need a couple more public denials of this job before Alabama finally relents and turns to Dabo Swinney. That is the hire we all deserve for what would be the most meme-worthy program of all-time. Let's make it happen.