Dan Lanning has had a roller coaster journey in both his personal and professional life. As, he worked to get on top in the coaching career ladder, his wife, Sauphia, with whom he shares three kids, went through a massive turmoil.
The couple took the vows to stay with each other in sickness and in health in 2009, and have been keeping their word ever since.
After giving birth to the triplets in 2013, the Lanning family was struck with devastating news of Sauphia being diagnosed with bone cancer in May 2016.
Lanning has spoken about how tough that period of life was for him and the family, which not only changed him as a person but also as a coach.
His rival head coach, Ryan Day, also looks at his situation as something that helped Dan change his perspective, as he discussed during the Big Ten Media Days appearance.
“You know, I think Dan is a great coach. I think he’s got a great perspective when you really get a chance to know him, which I have when we got a chance to go on the Nike trip together, and then also play golf the other spring, when you hear the story about him and his wife and everything. His wife has been through, he’s got unbelievable perspective on the game, and you know what motivates him? And so you don’t always see that in coaches.
“So I have a lot of respect for him, and not only the work that he does, but also the perspective that he has. He cares about people, and he’s got a good balance in his life. I believe he’s very intelligent and was good at competing against them.”
I asked Ohio State’s Ryan Day about Dan Lanning:
“When you hear the story about (Lanning) & his wife & everything his wife has been through, he’s got an unbelievable perspective on the game & what motivates him. You don’t always see that in coaches.”https://t.co/msYvKHFDZO pic.twitter.com/u50eJQxpaz
— Bri Amaranthus (@BriAmaranthus) July 22, 2025
Dan Lanning Opens Up About the Moment He Found Out About Sauphia’s Cancer
Hearing that your wife and the mother of your kids is diagnosed with cancer is not easy to hear for any man, as was the case for the Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.
During Week 7 of ESPN College GameDay’s segment about cancer awareness, Lanning shared that he was in a coaching retreat when he got the call from his wife stating that she has cancer, and expressed his gratitude towards Mike Norvell, who he worked for at the time, for his support.
“I was in a coaching retreat, and Sophia called me and said she has cancer and nothing prepares you for that. We came home really grateful for Coach Norvell. In that situation, I felt like I wanted to be at work, maybe pull my mind away, and he wouldn’t let me.”
“Trying to envision what my life and our kids life looked like without Sophia, and just knew that wasn’t an option for us. Made you grow in your faith. You’re on your knees every night praying,” he added.
Sauphia has now recovered from her illness and currently works as a Marketing Coordinator at H&R Block.
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