Urban Meyer says this top CFB coach "ain't going away" and it's not Kirby Smart

Urban Meyer is one of the best college football coaches of all time. He led Florida to National Championships in 2006 and 2008, and later won a third National Title as the head coach at Ohio State in 2015. Meyer's career winning percentage of 85.4% ranks third all-time, behind only Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy.

He's one of the best to ever do it, so his opinion carries a lot of weight.

When he speaks highly of a coach, people are going to pay attention.

Earlier this week, on an episode of the Triple Option podcast, Meyer was complimentary of a coach, calling him one of the best in the business. It wasn't Kirby Smart, or his successor at Ohio State, Ryan Day, who just led the Buckeyes to the National Championship. No, instead, it was the head coach of one of the top rivals for Ohio State for Big Ten supremacy.

Meyer is a big believer in Oregon head coach Dan Lanning after spending some time in the spring observing practice and Eugene, and seeing the inner workings of the program that Lanning has built.

“The big gold trophy, that’s it," said Meyer. "I went to visit him last year, went to spring practice, talked to the team, talked to the staff. Watched him behind the scenes. I think he’s certainly one of the Top 2-3 coaches in the country right now. I love his enthusiasm. And here’s what’s really neat: he loves Oregon. He loves that place. His family loves it. He’s got a niche out there, he’s got Nike, it’s a beautiful school, he’s got great facilities. This one ain’t going away.”

It's a matter of when - not if - Dan Lanning delivers Oregon their first National Championship

Lanning is just 39 years old and has built a program that certainly isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. Oregon has everything he needs to win it all. They've got the booster buy-in, fan engagement, and the ability to attract high-end talent.

In just three years in Eugene, Lanning has led Oregon to a 35-6 record, including a 13-1 mark last season that included a Big Ten Title and a No. 1 overall ranking heading into the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, they ran into a Buckeye buzzsaw at the Rose Bowl, but it was further proof that Lanning has the goods to lead Oregon to the promised land.

Lanning has had a meteoric rise in coaching. Just a decade ago, Lanning was a GA at Alabama. He cut his teeth as Kirby Smart's DC at Georgia, and the Ducks took a gamble on him as a 36-year-old in 2022, hoping he could be the guy who finally got Oregon to the mountaintop.

It hasn't happened yet, but it's starting to look like a matter of when, not if, the Ducks grab the crystal football.