Pete Thamel explains why it could be tough for Florida to land its top targets in eventual coaching search
Florida looks as though they’re headed for an eventual coaching search with how things are currently going under Billy Napier. To hire someone that they’d want as his replacement, though, won’t be as simple as they think says Pete Thamel.
Thamel laid out the scenario of what that process would look like for the Gators during the ‘College GameDay Podcast’ on Monday. He just doesn’t think that some fans understand how that would go now for a program to make a major hire such as the one that they’re hoping for in Gainesville.
“I don’t know if the complications of hiring a coach in 2024 have really been fully articulated,” Thamel said.
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To explain, Thamel started with the potential options. His example included the very top targets across the country for Florida to best get his point across.
“Let’s just say you get a Florida fan wishlist, right? You start with Lane Kiffin,” said Thamel. “Other names? If you’re going big-game hunting here – wishlist, fever dream, message board list, right? Kiffin, James Franklin, Eli Drinkwitz, Matt Campbell, Matt Rhule, Mike Gundy. Like, if you are saying Florida Football is a top-five job in the country and we’re going to go recruit the best coach, that’s a reasonable, high, high-end list.”
“Not saying those guys would come,” Thamel added. “I’m not saying it’s inevitable but that’s a pretty good wishlist there.”
Well, when it comes to those names, each of them are currently coaching teams that are ranked. That has them all hoping to somehow be in the College Football Playoff. If that’s the case anyways, some of them would wonder if they’re not already better off where they’re at.
“All those guys right now are in playoff contention,” said Thamel. “Now, that’s obviously – somebody is going to lose somewhere in all that. I just think, especially with Lane Kiffin, right, who’s going to be the speculative focus of this search? He has a playoff team. He has a playoff roster.”
However, the real problem of that is the crossing timeline of the offseason and postseason.
Let’s say that the Gators move on from Napier before the end of the season. That gives them a certain amount of time to zero in on options before roster construction starts. With that said, regardless of who’s interested or not, some those names will likely be preoccupied either in big bowl games or as part of the expansion of the College Football Playoff.
That kind of wait could be what really messes up a possible search for a school like Florida and could then set them back for that eventual hire’s debut season there.
“So, say you want to put a coach in place on November 15th, right? If you’re going to fire a coach early, you want to get going. Obviously, you’ve got the portal and the signing day are now in early December – in that last week of November, first week of early December period. You’ve got to get everything together,” Thamel explained. “There’s a really good chance that – I think a lot of casual fans probably don’t know the College Football Playoff title game is January 20th. So, even say you want Georgia DC Glenn Schumann, right and that’s the guy you want and you can go hire him on November 15th? He may not actually come to campus to be your coach for seven weeks. That’s wild.”
“There’s going to be an interesting dance here,” Thamel continued. “You almost now, if you’re a Florida fan and you want Lane Kiffin to be your coach? You’ve got to wake up every day and root for the Rebels to lose, right? That’s really the most realistic scenario.”
Florida’s position has to come open first before anyone thinks too hard on this would take place. Still, if or when it does, the Gators may have a harder time than they imagine if for no other reason than the new world that the sport is currently living in.
“I’m not saying that it’s impossible for a big-time school to make an early hire off a playoff contender but it is impossibly awkward,” said Thamel. “It could happen but, boy, those are going to be some tricky timing dynamics in this new era of college football that we’re going to be facing if you’re going to make a hire like that.”