Oregon's Dan Lanning Calls Skip Bayless Comments 'Classless,' Praises What Deion Sanders Is Doing For College Football

The talk around college football this past weekend was partially centered around the pregame speech Dan Lanning gave his Oregon Ducks before they took the field against Colorado. But many are still talking about the game itself, including Skip Bayless, who directed an interesting take towards Lanning and others, while discussing Deion Sanders.

As you've seen by now, Dan Lanning rallied his players before they took the field on Saturday by throwing shade at Colorado, and the way in which they garner attention. At the end of the day, this made for good television, but it was harmless to anybody outside of that Oregon locker room, including Sanders.

But what we heard on Monday morning was a guy like Skip Bayless, who is paid for some of his outrageous takes, going after Dan Lanning for Saturday's game. While appearing on his show 'Undisputed,' Bayless decided to call-out coaches for their approach to playing Deion Sanders. Also, Bayless wanted to point-out the Colorado players stomping on the 'O' before the game.

“I’ve tried to tell you guys for two weeks there is a deep-rooted, venomous vengeance that is starting to manifest itself against Deion among white coaches. And I'm not gonna say they're all white because we saw what Jay Norvell did just two weeks ago. It's deep-rooted and seeded because Deion (Sanders) didn't pay any dues that they all had to pay," Skip Bayless said Monday morning.

Skip Bayless attends IAVA 7th Annual Heroes Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 12, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for IAVA)

Dan Lanning Responds To Skip Bayless Comments

Well, on Monday night, Dan Lanning fought back against the notion of some type of 'venomous vengeance' against Sanders, noting that we all saw just a brief glimpse of what goes down inside the football building.

Also, Lanning made it clear that he's the one that knows how his players felt going into the game, while calling the comments from Skip Bayless 'classless'.

"I mean, I don't know Skip at all. I've never had a conversation with him. I've watched him enough to know how often he gets it wrong. So I mean, that sounds about right. But I mean, ultimately, here's what I'll say: we're playing to win the game. And you saw a 15-second clip from a window view outside the house of what happens in the locker room.

"I know our locker room. I'm in the house 100% of the time. I know how our players felt going into that game. I know what it takes to motivate our players. That's my job to motivate our players. He has a job, I have a job to get out there and to perform on the field....So you know that, to me, is classless what you know what he's (Bayless) saying there, but I'm not really worried about it."

Lanning Is Grateful For What Deion Sanders' Doing For Sport

Wrapped up in all the mind-numbing takes from this past weekend's game between Oregon and Colorado was a sense of gratitude from Dan Lanning. Sure, he used Deion Sanders and Colorado's social media tactics as a rallying cry to have his team ready to dominate, but that doesn't take away what Sanders has done for the game, in a short period of time.

Speaking with the media on Monday night, the Oregon head coach acknowledged that a lot of the attention their game received this past weekend was because of Deion Sanders, noting that he's brought a different type of excitement to the sport this season.

"I'm also grateful and can clearly acknowledge that the attention that we got this Saturday, in large part, was due to Deion (Sanders) and what he's doing to college football, and if anybody can't see what he's done for college football and how he's bringing excitement to college football, you're crazy," Dan Lanning noted. "I said that last week as well. He's done a lot for the game.

"He's building something over there. I think that's really, really clear. There's no secret there, but it wouldn't matter if I was playing my 10-year-old son on the other sideline. I'm gonna do everything I can to win. If I'm playing Bill Belichick. I'm gonna do everything I can to win."

It's clear that there is a mutual respect between both coaches coming out of the weekend. Sure, one coach might not like what another team is doing in the spotlight at times, but that doesn't take away from the greater good.

Both Dan Lanning and Deion Sanders are forging their own paths as head coaches in college football, doing it in different ways.