$9 million head coach named 'right fit' for Florida after Billy Napier fired

As the Gators scramble to find the right man for the job after the failure of the Billy Napier tenure, one college football analyst thinks the answer could be staring Florida in the face.

Florida is sending out a search party for Billy Napier's replacement, and the answer could already be in the SEC. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The race is on for Florida to not just find a successor to Billy Napier as head football coach, but to locate the right man for the job to avoid having to correct another mistake.

The college football rumor mill is working overtime, and national analyst Andy Staples believes there’s one name that stands above the rest.

“I think the list starts with Lane Kiffin, which is the same list the fans would have,” Staples said to Rivals.

“The fan base gets it. The administration now gets it. He’s the right fit. He’s the kind of spiritual successor to Steve Spurrier, which is something that they’re looking for. 

“But it’s interesting, ‘cause when I talk to fans, they’re like, ‘It’s Lane or bust.’ It’s not Lane or bust. There are people who can succeed at Florida.”

"Lane Kiffin - the fanbase gets it, I think the administration now gets it - he's the right fit."

I ask @Andy_Staples who he think is the BEST fit for the Florida Gators 👀🐊

MORE: https://t.co/GvkYyTqsE6 pic.twitter.com/p4nCShgvmZ

— Josh Newberg (@josh_newberg) October 23, 2025

Lane Kiffin’s success

Kiffin is credited with transforming the Ole Miss program from an also-ran in the SEC to a team that has gone 50-19 in his five-plus years at the helm and in the conversation to make the College Football Playoff again this season.

He’s made consistent success look nearly effortless at a school where winning 9 or 10 games in a season was considered an unusual achievement, but Kiffin has won double-digit games in three seasons and is favored to do so again in 2025.

Kiffin has also proven a consistent recruiter, with the Rebels placing fourth in the country in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings last offseason, signing 10 four-star prospects and 20 three-star players. Florida was last in the SEC in that poll a year ago.

Trinidad Chambliss symbolizes Kiffin’s success in the portal. A former no-star recruit who had no FBS offers, the quarterback has 1,549 yards passing and 323 yards rushing with 13 total touchdowns thus far.

Ole Miss has ranked either first or second in each of the previous three years in the 247Sports transfer rankings, a run of success that Florida wants to imitate.

How much would it cost?

Kiffin is making $9 million in base salary this season, according to the USA Today college football coaching database.

That ranks as the 10th most among all coaches in the country, and nearly $2 million more than Napier was supposed to make this year.

If Kiffin would risk a move from an Ole Miss program he’s turned into a playoff hopeful, he would likely demand a raise of some kind, although not as high as the $13 million that Kirby Smart is making at Georgia.

When could Kiffin make a decision?

Kiffin’s decision-making process will depend on how Ole Miss fares in the College Football Playoff race in the weeks to come.

“We’re gonna see schools waiting a little longer if it’s for the right person if that person is competing for a playoff berth or is in the playoff,” Staples said.

“If they don’t make the playoff, for example if Ole Miss goes 9-3, then you’re gonna get a Lane Kiffin decision, probably Thanksgiving weekend, yay or nay, on that.”

Spurrier’s endorsement

Former Gators quarterback and national champion head coach Steve Spurrier also listed Kiffin as a possible successor to Napier in recent comments.

“I firmly think he is a very good coach,” Spurrier told USA Today about Kiffin. “There’s no question about that. I like him.”

Do the Gators? That’s something we’ll see develop in the weeks to come.