Lane Kiffin Watch: Latest in Gators’ Search for New Head Coach
Four vacant SEC coaching jobs, one Lane Kiffin.
The most sought after man in college football has still not decided what his final decision is, will it be Florida?
As the season progresses, more contenders for the Kiffin Sweepstakes keep arising.
Since the firing of Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, the buzz surrounding Kiffin has kept increasing. Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Florida all have their eyes on the Ole Miss head coach, who has the Rebels ranked seventh in the country.
Other contenders like Penn State and UCLA are also interested in signing Kiffin, but as things stand, the SEC looks like the more appealing job.
Florida’s path to Kiffin seemed simple at first. The only competition the Gators faced was Arkansas and Penn State, but LSU and Auburn fired their head coaches in the last few weeks , giving Kiffin a good bunch to pick from.
However, Florida still remains the favorite. Kalshi – a regulated exchange and prediction market where you can trade on the outcome of real-world events – reports that Kiffin has a 45% chance to be the next Florida head coach, with Missouri’s head coach Eli Drinkwitz coming in second with a 22% chance.
Here’s the latest in the world of Kiffin and the chatter surrounding his coaching destination next season:
Money talks
In this race, program prestige is a factor, but the biggest factor is money. In this world money talks. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said the Gators are as financially committed to the football program as they have ever been.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been as invested as we are right now … as many financial resources and as much commitment has gone into making Gator football as good as it can be,” Stricklin said.
This comes after the Gators fired coach Billy Napier, after the Gators had their worst start since 1986, having to pay him $21 million. Florida knows acquiring Kiffin won’t come at a low price. His current contract at Ole Miss pays him $9 million annually, with an additional $2.6 million available in bonuses.
Kiffin’s ties to Gators
All roads lead to Kiffin having multiple ties to the Gators. The biggest tie being his son Knox, a class of 2028 quarterback, who has Florida in his top three teams.
Kiffin is no stranger to the state of Florida, as he spent three seasons with the Florida Atlantic Owls, where he went 26-13 and won two Conference USA titles. He is very familiar with Florida and the Gators know that.
Kiffin has also always been a huge fan of legendary Gator player and head coach Steve Spurrier. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Kiffin said “I wanted to be Steve Spurrier.”
Why Ole Miss And Not Florida?
As another week has gone by, there is still no announcement of an extension for Kiffin, allowing the rumors to continue rising in the Ole Miss locker room and between Ole Miss commits.
Since arriving at Ole Miss in 2020, Kiffin has helped make the program one of the elites. He boasts a 52-19 overall record, and has led the rebels to three straight seasons with ten or more wins.
All of this attracts Kiffin to stay at Ole Miss, and with all of these programs clawing at him, this can be used to negotiate a big contract extension to secure his future in Mississippi.
The Ole Miss commits have disregarded the rumors and put their faith into the program. “The staff has told me that he’s staying and we’re still locked in for the long haul,” three-star safety commit Nascar McCoy told Rivals.. “They’re building something special and don’t want that to be broken.”
What’s Next?
As the landscape of college football continues to change, the expectations continue to rise for coaches. A record-setting 11 head coaches have been fired this season, with six of those coming from Power Four conferences.
As money continues to be a deciding factor in the era of NIL, who will be more interested in the Florida job?
The question at Florida remains, who will be Napier’s successor?
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football
