The University of Florida Athletic Department fired football head coach Billy Napier on Sunday, Oct. 19, after a 3-4 start to the season and an overall record of 22-23 in four seasons at the helm. With a coaching position such as this one opening up, a lot of attention shifted to one man to potentially fill the vacancy: Ole Miss head coach Land Kiffin.
Kiffin has been connected and is thought of as a top candidate for the job. This is not the first time Kiffin has been rumored to leave Ole Miss. In 2022, Auburn fired head coach Bryan Harsin, and there was speculation that Kiffin would step into that position. Back in 2010, Kiffin left the University of Tennessee to take the head coaching job at the University of Southern California after only one year with the Volunteers.
In E60’s documentary “The Many Lives of Lane Kiffin,” however, it is revealed that amidst the Auburn vacancy, Kiffin’s daughter Landry presented a slideshow to him regarding why he should remain at Ole Miss. This impacted his decision-making process, Kiffin said in the documentary, and he ultimately chose to remain with the Rebels.
Indeed, Kiffin and his children have taken root in Oxford. Kiffin’s daughter Landry is a student at the University of Mississippi, and his son, Knox, is a quarterback on the Oxford High School varsity football team.
In 2022, the year that Kiffin was a top candidate for the Auburn head coaching vacancy, Ole Miss finished 8-5 (4-4 SEC). They started the season 7-0, then lost four of the next five games, as well as the TaxAct Texas Bowl against Texas Tech.
A season later, the Rebels boomed for 11 wins, which included a victory over No. 10 Penn State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Last season, the Rebels reached double-digit wins once again with a 10-3 finish, but they missed the College Football Playoffs. Now, Kiffin and the Rebels are off to a 6-1 start and are in the driver’s seat for a potential playoff berth if they take care of business down the stretch.
While Ole Miss has taken a big step in the name, image and likeness arena and transfer portal era, a big draw to Florida and its coaching job is the university and athletic department’s vast resources.
The University of Florida has over 50,000 current students and over 500,000 living alumni. Having more alumni can make it easier to raise money, and money is vital for NIL and the transfer portal. Additionally, in 2023, Ole Miss operated with $142.2 million, third-to-last in the SEC. Florida’s operating revenue was $189.1 million.
Still, Kiffin seems to be doing just fine in Oxford. Per his contract, he will make $9 million for the 2025 season, No. 6 in the SEC, plus $2.6 million in potential bonuses.
He is also not struggling to bring in top talent. According to 247Sports, Ole Miss Football recruited the No. 4 transfer portal class in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC this year. Florida was No. 70 in the nation and last in the SEC.
Kiffin’s contract with Ole Miss runs through December of 2030. Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter and Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, are reportedly in contract negotiations, according to Carter.
“Of course, I’ve been talking with (Sexton), and I’m going to be proactive with working out a deal with (Kiffin and Sexton,)” Carter said in an interview with Ole Miss Spirit. “I’d love to get something done like Indiana did with (head football coach) Curt Cignetti before the silly season starts. We’ll see. I believe (Kiffin’s) happy here, but you never know what can happen with coaches. That’s why I’m being proactive in this process.”
Kiffin avoided addressing the rumors on an Oct. 19 Zoom press conference call.
“I don’t comment on these other jobs or these ongoing things in-season,” Kiffin said. “That’s awesome that (Carter) said those things, and I don’t take them for granted.”
