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National college football host makes strong statement about Lane Kiffin and the Florida Gators job

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated Sep 12, 2024 10:46 AM ET

Would Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin leave Oxford for the Florida Gators head coaching job if Billy Napier is fired later this year?

Late Kick host Josh Pate doesn't even think it's a debate.

Pate told Crain and Company this week that he thinks Kiffin would "walk" to Gainesville if Florida came calling.

"In a heartbeat," said Pate when asked if Kiffin would take the Florida job. "Lane Kiffin would walk to Florida if they would give him the job. This is not a debate. I've got Ole Miss people in my very close social circle and they fight me on this. They're like 'What can you do at Florida that you can't do at Ole Miss?'"

"Win a national championship, that's what you can do there," continued Pate. "And you can consistently be a player there. Contrary to what people believe about Ole Miss, that is still a build multiple years to a peak kind of program. A window program as I call them. They're not sustained year in and year out. They're just not that kind of program. Florida can be."

The big question is whether or not Florida would actually offer Kiffin the job if the Gators move on from Napier (which seems likely given Florida's ridiculously tough schedule in 2024).

At this point, I'm not sure why they wouldn't. Kiffin is obviously an elite head coach. And he's winning at Ole Miss with fewer resources than he would have at Florida (most notably the incredible in-state high school talent that he would have access to at UF).

If Kiffin were to land the Florida job, he would have the Gators in the College Football Playoff conversation by at least his second season. He proved he can get Ole Miss in that conversation, there's no reason to think he wouldn't quickly do the same at Florida.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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