The college football coaching rumor carousel continues to turn as the Florida Gators attempt to find their next head coach after firing Billy Napier in the middle of the 2025 season.
Florida’s No. 1 target is Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, who has his Rebels in the thick of the College Football Playoff race. Coincidentally, the Rebels face off against the Gators this weekend in a contest that could either cement Ole Miss’ status as a playoff contender or ruin its chances at a national title.
Just a day before the game takes center stage the latest on the Florida coaching search is taking shape with a notable update from college football insiders Bruce Feldman and Ralph Russo of The Athletic.
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“Kiffin is considered to be the No. 1 choice for Florida and is likely to be targeted by LSU, too. An industry source told The Athletic those schools won’t necessarily be driving up the price for Kiffin. Ole Miss has been willing to say yes to just about anything Kiffin asks for in Oxford. It’s ultimately more about where he wants to be,” Feldman and Russo wrote.
If the school doesn’t land Kiffin, though, Florida already has three “strong” backup options in mind.
“Florida also feels as though it has other strong options in Washington coach Jedd Fisch, a Gators alumnus, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and perhaps Louisville’s Jeff Brohm,” the college football insiders reported Friday, Nov. 14.
Kiffin remains one of the hottest names in the college coaching space, but he’s also been linked to openings for the New York Giants, where his former quarterback Jaxson Dart is a star rookie, and the Tennessee Titans.
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