Lane Kiffin listed as top candidate to fix historic college football program

Recently, The Gainesville Sun's Blake Toppmeyer shared seven possible candidates to replace Florida head coach Billy Napier if the school fires him at the end of this season, and at the top of the list is current Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin.

Toppmeyer explained why Kiffin should be the Gators' top target if they fire Napier.

"Kiffin would be the closest thing to the second coming of Steve Spurrier," Toppmeyer wrote. "He's a wonder for Ole Miss. His high-scoring offenses and "Portal King" ways would be a 180-degree pivot from Napier. Trouble is, he's been too good. The Rebels probably are bound for the playoff. Also, Kiffin is well-compensated by Ole Miss, and he's got a well-oiled NIL machine. Good luck stealing him away."

Replacing Napier with Kiffin is certainly something that would generate a ton of excitement for Florida, but is it realistic?

Kiffin has been the head coach at Mississippi since 2020, and during his tenure, the school has won 71.2 percent of its games. Last season, the Rebels finished with an 11-2 record and a No. 9 ranking in the final AP Top 25 poll.

This year, Kiffin already has Mississippi ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll with a 3-0 record heading into Week 4. The Rebels are off to a hot start, and they have a good chance of earning a spot in this season's 12-team College Football Playoff, but they still have some tough matchups against LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia on their schedule.

So, what would it take to convince Kiffin to leave what he's built at Mississippi for another historic SEC program that hasn't had a winning record since 2020?

Well, if we're being completely honest, it would likely come down to money.

This season, Kiffin is being paid $8.85 million by Mississippi, and starting in 2025, his annual salary will increase to $9 million per season until his contract expires in 2030.

Napier is currently making $7.3 million with the Gators this year, so Florida coming up with the money it would probably require to lure Kiffin over likely wouldn't be a problem.

The school would just have to decide if it wants to pay two big salaries at once since Napier would still be due $26.7 million leftover from his contract if Florida fires him after this season.

Another factor in all of this is that the University of Florida is currently without a president. Ben Sasse resigned as the school's president in July, and a replacement still has not been named.

One would assume Florida would like to find a new president for the school first before figuring out what to do with the head coach of its football program. But once that is sorted out, determining the future of Napier will likely be among the top tasks for the school's new president to take on.