Two days after Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said that Oregon coach Dan Lanning has “$50-plus million” to build a football, Lanning responded with a dig.
Lanning 1, Whittingham 0.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the sideline as the Oregon Ducks face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 7, 2026, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The coaches will face each other on Saturday, Nov. 14, when Michigan plays at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium. Michigan is 5-4, 2-4 Big Ten, while Oregon is 6-3, 4-2.
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“Outstanding football coach, defensive-minded coach,” Whittingham said Monday, Nov. 9, on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show, referring to Lanning. “Tireless recruiter. He really does a great job recruiting. It doesn’t hurt that you have $50-plus million at your disposal to, in essence, outbid everybody. Not everybody, but a lot of people. That’s not his fault. That’s a credit. I mean, that’s a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have.
“NIL is really the name of the game in recruiting these days. It’s shifted so much. It used to be the facilities you had, the tradition, all these other things. And now it’s, ‘Well, this is all great. But these guys have got 100 grand more for me.’ So, that’s a little bit of a factor to say the least. Not to take anything away from Dan because he is an outstanding recruiter.”
Michigan reportedly has a budget of $40 million for its roster.
Lanning, at his news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11, was asked about Whittingham’s comments regarding Oregon’s budget.
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“Man, I’ve got nothing to say to Coach Whitt other than I think he’s an unbelievable coach,” Lanning told reporters. “And I get it — they’re spending more money on the coaches they’re letting go, so maybe it makes it hard to sign players, but I know they’ve signed a couple guys that we weren’t able to compete with what they decided to do and maybe a lot of that money is tied up for them in another player, I don’t know. But Coach Whittingham is an unbelievable coach. He’s a Hall of Fame coach. I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”
Lanning’s not-so-subtle reference was to Whittingham’s firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck last Sunday, Nov. 8 after nine games. Michigan owes Beck nearly $10 million after being fired in the first-year of a three-year contract.
Michigan at Oregon
▶Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14, Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Ore.
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▶TV/radio: FS1/94.7 FM
▶Records: Michigan is 5-4, 2-4 Big Ten; Oregon is 6-3, 4-2.
▶Line: Oregon by 10.5
▶Series: The series is tied, 3-3. Last meeting: Oregon won, 38-17, on Nov. 2, 2024 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan last played at Oregon in 2003 and lost, 31-27.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Oregon’s Lanning delivers KO response to Michigan’s Whittingham
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
