![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talks with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4205,h_2365/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01k615z168d0xak53sxf.jpg "Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talks with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]")
Around this time last year, rumors and innuendos were running rampant as to whether or not the Florida Gators were going to fire Billy Napier after his 1-2 start. There were reports that Florida had raised the then $26 million buyout needed to send Napier on his way, but Scott Stricklin never pulled the trigger to get a new coach in Gainesville.
A new Lane Kiffin documentary just dropped on ESPN, and in a follow-up, Ryan McGee of ESPN revealed just how close Florida was to going after Kiffin.
Florida Gator boosters wanted Lane Kiffin
Appearing on the Saturday Down South Podcast, McGee dove into the Kiffin documentary and talked about how he feels Kiffin has evolved since his early days in coaching.
Then the topic of Florida came up, and McGee basically confirmed a report that was floating around last year:
"I was last year in the 2024 season, we did Marty McGee and SEC Nation in Gainesville week one and three. And week three, we had to go to this mandatory dinner at (Scott) Stricklin's house... and all those boosters were saying 'We'll have (Kiffin) here by the end of October.
Obviously, Billy Napier saved his job, but now it's happening again, and (Kiffin's) name is coming up for a lot of jobs. And you're right, I think the list is extremely short (of places Kiffin would leave Ole Miss for), but I don't know that there is a list (of places Kiffin would go to)."
Has that ship sailed?
As Florida fans start compiling a list of potential replacements for Napier, Lane Kiffin is among the candidates at the top of the list. But the new E60 documentary makes it seem like Kiffin is perfectly content in Oxford, MS.
There is also the rumor and belief that Scott Stricklin himself is not a fan of Kiffin and wouldn't consider Kiffin in a new coaching search.
Kiffin has his quirks, and up until now, he hasn't ever been a consistent winner at the D1 or NFL level. However, he appears to have found a winning formula at a place that has historically been a consistent underachiever.
Maybe the ship has sailed, maybe it hasn't. But if Kiffin is willing to take your phone call if/when Napier is let go, then the powers that be better keep calling.