When Billy Napier was still coaching the Florida Gators, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s name was frequently linked to the Gainesville job. Now that Napier has been dismissed and athletic director Scott Stricklin is searching for Florida’s next head coach, Kiffin’s candidacy for the role continues to grow.
The Gators hold a 3-4 overall record and are 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Despite having several talented players, their performance has fallen short of expectations. A coach like Kiffin might be what UF needs to turn things around, but whether he is interested in a coaching change remains uncertain.
Lane Kiffin Speaks About the Potential Florida Coaching Role
On Friday afternoon, during ESPN’s SportsCenter, insider Molly McGrath disclosed that Kiffin plans to address the Florida coaching rumors.
“Lane Kiffin told me he usually doesn’t address those kinds of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s so much more football to play, and there’s so many bigger things to focus on,” McGrath said. “But he’s actually going to do things differently today in their team meeting – he is going to address those (Florida) rumors with his players.
“He’s going to talk to them about it and say: ‘Hey, this is what happens when you win. This is a compliment to our players, our staff and our entire program.’ He wants to talk to his players about it because there’s so many new guys on their team this year that haven’t dealt with it before.”
NEW: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin plans to address the Florida job with his players, per @MollyAMcGrath:
“Lane Kiffin told me he usually doesn’t address those kind of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s so much more football to play, and there’s so many bigger things… pic.twitter.com/GD2Q3JT4Tb
— On3 (@On3sports) October 24, 2025
Kiffin has spoken highly of legendary Florida coach Steve Spurrier multiple times, saying he aspires to follow in Spurrier’s footsteps. Spurrier also showed support for Kiffin last week, calling him “a very good coach.”
With a 50-19 record with Ole Miss and a 112-53 overall record as a head coach, Kiffin will bring a mighty coaching profile to Gainesville. Meanwhile, Kiffin can win financially as well with the Florida move, as Gator Bait’s Buddy Martin said that UF’s job offer to the Rebels coach is reportedly worth $81 million over six years.
At $13.5 million per year, Kiffin would become the highest-paid coach in college. However, the Ole Miss coach made it clear that money isn’t his main motivation.
“When I pressed him about the leverage that these job openings create for him, he said: ‘I’m never going to make decisions based on money, I’m going to make decisions based on everyday happiness’” McGrath said. “And you can tell he’s really trying to prioritize his family and his kids in this one.
“Right now they’re just focusing on Ole Miss and the Rebels, and their players telling me they wouldn’t be able to tell (if Kiffin was distracted), so it seems as if Kiffin is in Oxford to stay as far as his communication with them.”
Kiffin’s squad is now preparing for this weekend’s game against No. 13 Oklahoma, which has been given an impact score of 77.6 on PFSN’s College Football Impact Metrics.
