Oregon HC Dan Lanning reveals "the one thing" he learnt from legendary college coach Nick Saban 

Before establishing himself as one of the best coaches in the college football world, Dan Lanning was an assistant under Nick Saban. The Oregon Ducks coach was a graduate assistant at Alabama during the 2015 season, when the Crimson Tide won the national championship.

Although his tenure lasted one season, Lanning took away a lot from his time with the legendary Saban. In his one-on-one interview with Greg McElroy on “Always College Football,” the coach disclosed one thing he learned from the seven-time national title winner.

“I just felt that he’s always got a rubric of every situation and how you handle this, how you develop this,” Lanning said. “The one thing I always learn from Coach is how consistent he was in everything he did. On Tuesday, I’m going to meet with this position group at this time.

“I would say that’s not necessarily me. We’re similar in the sense that we want to do things consistently. But it’s always good to take a backseat, pick his brain a bit in how is it developing leadership in young guys and walk me through that.”

Dan Lanning is one of the young coaches touted to fill in the shoes of Nick Saban in the college football realm in the next couple of years. The coach has done a fantastic job since arriving in Eugene, boasting a 35-6 record in three seasons and a Big Ten championship last season.

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Dan Lanning discusses his favorite advice from Nick Saban

Dan Lanning spoke more about his relationship with Nick Saban. In an interview with Oregon Ducks reporter Bri Amaranthus, released on Tuesday, Lanning was questioned on his favorite advice from Saban, and he mentioned something about “Non-negotiables.”

“More than anything, I think he has an unbelievable ability to look at things from a backseat approach, big-picture view, see how it affects the program, and then stand his ground on certain things that he thinks are non-negotiables,” Lanning said.

“I think he’s done a good job, for me, at least, detailing, ‘Hey, what are your non-negotiables? If Oregon football looks like this, what’s it look like?’ And me figuring out, like, ‘Okay, I have to be Dan. I can’t be Nick. I can’t be Kirby (Smart) or Mike Norvell. But be you and figure out what your non-negotiables are.'”

Dan Lanning was one of the candidates considered by Alabama to replace Nick Saban following his retirement. However, after giving the job consideration, he decided to continue at Oregon. Nonetheless, Saban’s impact continues to fuel his coaching career.