Since the beginning of the 2025 college football season, Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier has been on the hot seat. As the season has moved forward, his seat has grown even warmer.
Finally, on Sunday, the Gators made the decision to move on from Napier.
Even though Florida did pull off a win over Mississippi State, it was clear that the decision needed to be made. The program has been unable to improve and live up to the standards that it has in place under Napier.
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Now, the question becomes, who will the Gators bring in to replace Napier?
Quite a few options have been suggested for Florida. From names like Urban Meyer to names like James Franklin, there are a plethora of choices that the Gators could make.
With that being said, notable college football analyst Paul Finebaum has weighed in with his choice for the new lead man. He also believes that his choice would go on to win a national championship at Florida.
“I think Lane Kiffin, not at Penn State, but Lane Kiffin at Florida, is going to win — would win a national championship,” Finebaum said.
Would Lane Kiffin really have interest in leaving Ole Miss to coach the Gators? He has a good thing going with the Rebels, but Florida is one of the elite programs across the nation. Perhaps the right offer could entice him to leave.
During his current tenure at Ole Miss, Kiffin has compiled a 50-19 overall record and has gone 28-17 in SEC play. He’s considered one of the elite head coaches in college football.
If there was anyone who could turn the Florida football program around, it would be a coach like Kiffin.
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Regardless of who the Gators decide to bring in, they simply cannot miss with their next hire. Moving on from Napier was an expensive decision after a lot of wasted time. They need to find someone who can lead them back to contention.
Kiffin would make a lot of sense to be the program’s next head coach. Whether or not Florida pursues him or Kiffin would have interest in leaving his current job remains to be seen.
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