Historic college program 'does not expect' to land Lane Kiffin despite growing rumors

Tomorrow, the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes will apparently grind to a close. With several major schools at least kicking the tires, and Florida and LSU each reportedly willing to pay up to $13 million to secure the head coaching services of the Ole Miss boss, the rumor mill has kicked into overdrive in recent days. But ahead of Friday's Egg Bowl matchup, one school is reportedly prepared to emerge without Kiffin.

Florida Reported Out

On3.com writer Zach Abolverdi is reporting that Florida "does not expect" to land Kiffin and will instead be closing on on other targets. Abolverdi notes that UF sources "said Kiffin's erratic communication and behavior has led UF to think he may be more interested in his other options."

Prediction and betting markets seem to have zeroed in on LSU as Kiffin's most likely destination and a recent college football-wide poll from On3's Brett McMurphy also rendered the Tigers as a heavy favorite to land Kiffin. Ole Miss was second in that poll and the Rebels have indicated a willingness to stay competitive with any financial terms offered to Kiffin ahead of his planned Saturday decision.

Kiffin's Resume

Kiffin is 54-19 at Ole Miss and it's the job where he's stayed the longest in his coaching career. In six seasons, he has now led the Rebels to four 10-win seasons. Before Kiffin's hiring in late 2019, to find four 10-win seasons for the Rebels would have required counting back to 1962. Ole Miss, regardless of the outcome is all but certain to have earned the school's first-ever College Football Playoff berth.

Florida's Struggles

Florida, meanwhile, has stumbled through a fourth losing season in five years. The Gators last won a national title in 2008 under Urban Meyer and had a 12-0 regular season in 2009 before a SEC title game loss knocked them out of the national championship game.

Other Florida Options

If the information about Kiffin is correct, potential Florida candidates after Kiffin likely include Washington head coach Jedd Fisch. Fisch is a Florida alum and coached for the school briefly under Steve Spurrier. He rose to prominence at Arizona and moved to Washington when Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer took the Alabama job after the 2023 season.

Among the other possibilities are Georgia Tech's Brent Key and Tulane's Jon Sumrall. Sumrall is a defensively-trained head coach while Key came up through the ranks on the offensive side of the ball. Both are young, well-regarded coaches who are being mentioned for a bevy of top jobs.