How Lane Kiffin Plans To Address Persistent Florida Rumors With Ole Miss Players

It is still October and this year’s college football's coaching carousel already looks primed to beryllium 1 of nan craziest we've seen successful nan sport. Lane Kiffin is successful a bully business astatine Mississippi, pinch nan Rebels (6–1) firmly successful nan operation to scope nan College Football Playoff for nan first time. And yet, Kiffin's sanction has been bandied astir for immoderate of nan top-tier jobs that are unfastened connected nan market—namely, the caller opening astatine Florida.

The Gators fired embattled coach Billy Napier aft UF's 3–4 commencement to nan season. While Ole Miss has been nan superior programme for years—in ample portion owed to Kiffin's activity successful Oxford, Miss.—Florida has a nationalist title pedigree, fertile recruiting grounds and nan imaginable resources to caput backmost to nan apical of nan sport, if they tin only nail a coaching prosecute for nan first clip since Urban Meyer came to Gainesville from Utah up of nan 2005 season.

Kiffin flirted pinch leaving Ole Miss for Auburn successful 2023, ultimately opting to enactment pinch nan Rebels (with a lucrative statement hold to boot). Now, pinch Florida rumors abound, he tells ESPN's Molly McGrath that he will reside them head-on pinch his team, alternatively than fto them linger successful nan inheritance arsenic a distraction pinch a CFP travel connected nan line.

From a Friday day SportsCenter hit:

“Lane Kiffin told maine he usually doesn’t reside those benignant of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s truthful overmuch much shot to play, and there’s truthful galore bigger things to attraction on. But he’s really going to do things otherwise coming successful their squad meeting. He is going to reside those rumors pinch his players,” McGrath said. “He’s going to talk to them astir it and say, ‘Hey, this is what happens erstwhile you win. This is simply a compliment to our players, our unit and our full program.’ He wants to talk to his players astir it because there’s truthful galore caller guys connected their squad this twelvemonth that haven’t dealt pinch it before.”

Of course, McGrath's study doesn't see a denial that Kiffin will yet talk nan Florida job, and nan ESPN newsman explained nan relationship that Kiffin has to nan Gators programme and nan metropolis of Gainesville.

“When I pressed him astir nan leverage that these occupation openings benignant of create for him, he said, ‘I’m ne'er going to make decisions based connected money, I’m going to make decisions based connected mundane happiness.’ And you tin show he’s really trying to prioritize his family and his kids successful this one,” McGrath continued. “But I will opportunity though, Kiffin really idolizes legendary Gators' erstwhile legendary coach Steve Spurrier. And erstwhile I covered Ole Miss’s crippled astatine Florida past year, Kiffin pulled maine speech and said 'This is simply a really typical spot for maine and my family.' It’s wherever he had his first day pinch his children’s mother, truthful [Gainesville] is simply a nostalgic spot for nan Kiffin family. So possibly that will play a domiciled into it."

Much has been made astir Kiffin's comfortableness successful Oxford, where his eldest girl Landry is simply a student. Layla Kiffin, nan coach's ex-wife pinch whom he's reconciled, is simply a erstwhile Gainesville resident and Florida alumna, perchance adding to nan job's draw.

If nan Rebels person meaningful shot to play good into December, however, we whitethorn not cognize whether he's consenting to make that jump for a fewer months.

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