Report: Lane Kiffin plans to address Florida job rumors with Ole Miss players

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin once again finds himself in the thick of a red-hot coaching carousel, especially after Florida formally fired now-former head coach Billy Napier on Sunday. By most accounts, Kiffin is the overwhelming favorite among Gators power brokers and fans to replace Napier.

Of course, the sixth-year Rebels coach remains gainfully employed in Oxford as Kiffin prepares to lead No. 8 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1 SEC) into a Top 15 SEC showdown at No. 13 Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1 SEC) at 12 pm ET Saturday in Norman. Kiffin addressed rampant speculation about his future with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath earlier Friday and said he will do the same with his team later today.

“Lane Kiffin told me he usually doesn’t address those kind of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s so much more football to play, and there’s so many bigger things to focus on. But he’s actually going to do things differently today in their team meeting – he is going to address those (Florida) rumors with his players,” McGrath said Friday afternoon during a 2 pm ET hit on ESPN‘s SportsCenter. “He’s going to talk to them about it and say: ‘Hey, this is what happens when you win. This is a compliment to our players, our staff and our entire program.’ He wants to talk to his players about it because there’s so many new guys on their team this year that haven’t dealt with it before.”

Of course, that’s hardly a definitive rebuke of the rampant speculation about his future in Oxford. That said, Kiffin made it clear to McGrath that any decision would involve his entire family.

“When I pressed him about the leverage that these job openings create for him, he said: ‘I’m never going to make decisions based on money, I’m going to make decisions based on everyday happiness.’ And you can tell he’s really trying to prioritize his family and his kids in this one,” McGrath continued. “But I will say, Kiffin really idolizes legendary former Gators coach Steve Spurrier. And when I covered Ole Miss’ game at Florida last year, Kiffin pulled me aside and said this is a really special place for me and my family. It’s where he had his first date with his children’s mother, so (Gainesville) is a nostalgic place for the Kiffin family.

“Perhaps that will play a role into it. But right now they’re just focusing on Ole Miss and the Rebels, and their players telling me they wouldn’t be able to tell (if Kiffin was distracted), so it seems as if Kiffin is in Oxford to stay as far as his communication with them.”