Florida's Coaching Search Heats Up as Gators Meet with Lane Kiffin's Representatives

Lane Kiffin's representatives met with Florida days after members of his family visited Gainesville.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has long been considered the top target for the Florida Gators. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators' search for a head coach, unsurprisingly, has zeroed in on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

Representatives of Kiffin, the target of rumors regarding Florida's head coaching position for over a year, met with members of UF's athletic administration, including athletic director Scott Stricklin, sources told Florida Gators on SI.

The meeting, which happened in an undisclosed location, comes after LSU hosted Kiffin's family for a tour of Baton Rouge on Monday. 247 Sports' Graham Hall first reported the meeting.

It also comes after members of Kiffin's family, including his ex-wife, Layla, and son, Knox, visited Gainesville without him on Sunday, Florida Gators on SI can confirm, but the overall purpose of the visit is unconfirmed. However, Florida Gators on SI can confirm Knox visited local high schools.

Knox is currently a sophomore quarterback at Oxford High School.

The purpose of Thursday's meeting between Kiffin's representatives with Florida is also unclear, but the Gators are likely hoping to lock up Kiffin as the program's next head coach after a sudden push from LSU and after a long-standing push from Ole Miss to sign an extension as the Rebels contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Ole Miss is currently deciding on whether or not to allow Kiffin to coach in the CFP should he decide to leave for another job, according to On3's Brett McMurphy. The Rebels have a bye this week before playing Mississippi State to close out the regular season.

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel reported on Monday that Ole Miss gave Kiffin a deadline of Nov. 28, the day of the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, to decide if he is staying or leaving for another program.

On3's Pete Nakos later reported that Kiffin and athletic director Keith Carter are set to meet on Friday.

Kiffin recently led Ole Miss to a 34-24 win over Florida, after which he said it was "disrespectful" to his current players to discuss his future.

“I love what we’re doing here,” Kiffin said. “Today was awesome. And I don’t talk about that stuff and really to even talk about it right now would be so disrespectful to our players and how well they played today. So, you know, we’ve got a lot of things going here, doing really well. And I love it here.”

Florida Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales, left, shakes hands with Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin following a Rebels' victory. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Kiffin has long been considered Florida's top target for the job and even a rumored candidate in 2021, when the Gators hired Billy Napier, and in 2024, when Florida chose to keep Napier for another season after a 4-5 start.

Napier finished the season 8-5, clinching another season, but was fired after a 3-4 start to 2025.

In a press conference after Napier's firing, Stricklin said he believed Florida would have a wide pool of candidates for the job.

"We want people who can win championships at the University of Florida," Stricklin said on Oct. 20. "That's going to be our goal. We want somebody who can come in here, be a strong leader and win championships. And, like I said, there's probably people from a lot of different backgrounds that could have the potential to do that."

Florida, ineligible for a bowl, hosts Tennessee on Saturday before concluding the season next week against Florida State.