GAINESVILLE, Fla.– There’s no question that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is the general popular pick to replace Billy Napier as the Florida Gators‘ head football coach.
A reported candidate as far back as last year, Kiffin has long been tied to the job, even before Napier’s firing last week. As a result, the Rebels’ head coach is addressing the rumors that he could take the job, according to ESPN’s Holly McGrath.
“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 to focus on. 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,” McGrath said Friday afternoon in an appearance on SportsCenter. “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.
“And when I pressed him about the leverage that these job opening 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.’ And you can tell he’s really trying to prioritize his family and his kids in this one,
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin was a popular pick to replace Billy Napier at Florida even last year. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Kiffin’s new comments echo his previous statements on focusing on coaching rather than contracts during the season when asked about Ole Miss working on a extension akin to Indiana’s extension with head coach Curt Cignetti, who signed an eight-year extension worth approximately $93 million.
“I don’t comment on these other jobs or these ongoing things in-season. That’s awesome that Keith said those things and I don’t take that for granted,” Kiffin said last week. “I’m extremely appreciative of how everyone has been here. The chancellor (Glenn Boyce), everybody. I’m flattered that that would even be discussed halfway through the season, but I don’t deal with that.”
One can’t help but notice the personal ties between Kiffin and UF. McGrath noted as much in her SportsCenter segment. Kiffin’s ex-wife and mother of his children, Layla, is a UF grad and daughter of former Gators quarterback John Reaves.
His son, Knox, is also a noted UF fan.
There’s also his personal feelings towards legendary UF head coach Steve Spurrier.
“Kiffin really idolizes legendary former Gators coach Steve Spurrier,” McGrath said. “And when I covered Ole Miss’ game at Florida last year, Kiffin pulled me aside and said this is a really special place for me and my family. It’s where he had his first date with his children’s mother, so (Gainesville) is a nostalgic place for the Kiffin family. Perhaps that will play a role into it.”
Former Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier is one of Lane Kiffin’s idols. / Alan Youngblood /Ocala Star-Banner / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Whether Kiffin becomes Florida’s next head coach remains to be seen as Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin heads up his third football coaching search in his tenure. After announcing Napier was fired, Stricklin detailed the upcoming coaching search, saying that time is an asset and they plan on being thorough in the search.
“My sense is we will have a wide variety of candidates. We want people who can win championships at the University of Florida. That’s going to be our goal,” he said on Monday. “We want somebody who can come in here, be a strong leader and win championships. And, like I said, there’s probably people from a lot of different backgrounds that could have the potential to do that.”