How potential Florida coaching change, Lane Kiffin impact AD Scott Stricklin's job security
Billy Napier is not the only person in Gainesville on the hot seat at the moment. Florida fans are not too thrilled with athletic director Scott Stricklin either, calling for him to be fired. The Gators do not have a full-time president either after Ben Sasse announced his resignation.
Stricklin might be facing criticism but there might be one way for him to save his job — fire Napier and find a way to hire Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.
“That’s who a lot of the money people like,” On3’s Andy Staples said of Kiffin on Wednesday’s episode of The Paul Finebaum Show.
“I talked to somebody recently, asked them about the athletic director, Scott Stricklin — who’s future is also somewhat in the air. I said ‘What can he do?’ The person said ‘Well, if he can hire Lane Kiffin, he can keep his job.'”
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Kiffin has a long history as a coach in the SEC at multiple different levels. You can go back to his one season at Tennessee or even being Alabama‘s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban. After a short stint at FAU, Ole Miss gave Kiffin another chance at being a head coach.
The move has paid off big-time for the Rebels as Kiffin has been as good as anyone dealing with the modern era of college football. Ole Miss has its best-ever roster and is ranked No. 5 in the country, a height the program has only seen four times this century. Nobody is more popular with their fan base than Kiffin is at the moment.
“I have no idea if Lane Kiffin would want the (Florida) job,” Staples said. “I don’t know if he would consider it to be better than what he’s got right now at Ole Miss right now. Because he’s got a pretty good situation, he’s basically the king of Oxford.”
Alignment at Ole Miss is top-notch — something you cannot say about Florida.
“Florida’s situation is a little more tenuous right now,” Staples said. “They don’t have a president, they’re working with an interim president. Nobody knows what’s going to happen with the AD. So, it’s a little more confusing there.
“But they want someone that has proven they can succeed in this era of college football. Where they can flip rosters, they can work with NIL. Lane Kiffin is an obvious name, Eli Drinkwitz is an obvious name. There will be others that pop up but those two seem to have burbled to the surface immediately.”
Napier has yet to even be fired but replacements are being discussed. Florida travels to Starkville on Saturday, facing Mississippi State in a game both teams desperately need to win. The Gators lose there and Stricklin may have no option other than beginning the search for a new head coach immediately.