WHEN DAN LANNING walks out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where his Oregon Ducks will face Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, it'll be hard to forget from where he came: a $1,200-a-month job under Nick Saban just seven years ago.
Lanning remembers the eyebrows that were raised when he gave up a titled coaching role at then-FCS Sam Houston State for that graduate assistant job at Alabama in 2015. But the opportunity to sit next to Saban was too great to pass up, breaking down defensive pressures, helping coach outside linebackers, running the scout team and breaking down game film as part of one of the most legendary coaching staffs of all time.