Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Florida reportedly going after Lane Kiffin with reckless abandon

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Nov 17, 2025 4:54 PM ET

The Florida Gators apparently have no room for anybody else on their mind besides Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin.

According to Zach Goodall of Swamp247, the Gators don't even really have a "Plan B" when it comes to replacing fired head coach Billy Napier. Kiffin is the Gators' top choice to be the next head coach and athletic director Scott Stricklin, as well as top boosters, are united on that front, per Goodall.

"No clear Plan B has emerged in Florida's coaching search, according to the individuals Swamp247 spoke with," Goodall wrote. "Potential candidates such as former Penn State head coach James Franklin and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz have been floated as exactly that, potential candidates, but nothing more."

Interestingly enough, Kiffin and the Rebels just squared off with the Gators in a 34-24 come-from-behind win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. As the game ended, Ole Miss fans serenaded Kiffin with a chant of "We want Lane!"

He addressed what had to have felt like an awkward love triangle afterwards.

"I love what we're doing here," Kiffin said, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN. "Today was awesome. To even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. We've got a lot of things going here. Doing really well, and I love it here."

Are Florida Gators going all in for Lane Kiffin?

Notably, Kiffin didn't deny any of the rumors connecting him to Florida, and he hasn't. He's reportedly being openly wooed by the Gators as well as the LSU Tigers, so it's not like this is Florida's coaching search to lose.

LSU arranged for a private plane to pick up several of Lane Kiffin’s family members to fly to Baton Rouge and tour the city on Monday pic.twitter.com/q7Rt5I0Gau
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 17, 2025

Even just on the Ole Miss front, Florida is absolutely playing a dangerous game. The Rebels are 10-1 and headed for a spot, and perhaps a long run, in the College Football Playoff.

Florida could have to wait until perhaps January to make an official run at Kiffin, and in the meantime, other good options may fall off the board. For example, Franklin is reportedly slated to become Virginia Tech's new head coach.

Sources: Virginia Tech and James Franklin are finalizing an agreement for him to become the school’s next coach. Franklin has won 128 games over 15 seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt and Penn State. He led Penn State to the CFP semi-finals last year. pic.twitter.com/Pr4TyLBB9N
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 17, 2025

It doesn't seem as if Stricklin and the powers that be at Florida care much, though. They're taking a chance in waiting on Kiffin, and that's not even considering the scenario where Kiffin turns them down. At the very least, he's talking publicly like that's a possibility, and it's apparent LSU wants to get into the sweepstakes as well.

It's a risk, but is it a risk well worth it for Florida, and the Gators are all in.

"Call it bold, call it risky, call it whatever term you prefer, Florida's coaching search can be summarized succinctly as 'Lane Kiffin or bust,'" Goodall wrote.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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