While there is a chance Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin could come to Gainesville next season, there are no guarantees incumbent DJ Lagway would be his starting quarterback. With Billy Napier out of the picture and Billy Gonzales handling head-coaching responsibilities in the interim, all eyes are on who could be the next Florida head coach. It could be Kiffin. He does seem to have interest in the job.
That being said, there is no foregone conclusion that Lagway would be his quarterback if he were to pack up his bags and have The Lane Train heading eastbound out of Oxford Station to Gainesville. Florida did beat Ole Miss a year ago in a game where Lagway dazzled. Unfortunately, he has been a turnover machine for the better part of this season, as illustrated by him getting benched last week.
In Edgar Thompson's post for the Orlando Sentinel, Kiffin let it be known that Lagway has stagnated.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen growth. I do know this, I watched the guy beat us last year and play great and have one of the highest yards per completion of any player in the country last year. I know the guy can play as well as anyone in the country at times and we gotta make sure that’s not against us.”
It is kind of a back-handed compliment in a way. He knows the talent Lagway possesses, as Florida did beat Ole Miss last season when it counted. That loss effectively knocked the Rebels out of the playoff picture. In short, Kiffin admits that Lagway has been poorly coached throughout his Florida tenure. Could Kiffin be the one to unlock all of his potential? It really depends on if he wants to do it...
For now, Kiffin seems to be a bit more focused than usual, knowing he needs this win for the playoff.
Lane Kiffin goes to bat for DJ Lagway in a way Florida might not want to
Looking at the crux of what Kiffin had to say about Lagway during his pre-game press conference earlier in the week, Lagway does seem like a quarterback Kiffin could be intrigued in working with in the future. Truth be told, he may just be speaking complementary about the guy because that is how coachspeak works. Kiffin tends to speak more off the cuff than others, but he has a job to do here.
As more and more Florida fans have argued that Lagway only came to town for a cash grab, it will be interesting to see what happens on the coaching carousel for the Gators. Lagway could be seen as either an asset or a liability on the coaching market. It really depends on the eye of the beholder. For Kiffin, Lagway may be a selling point for him to come to Gainesville. Of course, money is what will talk.
Even though some legions of Gator Nation had enough of Lagway's nonsense during the unthinkable loss to rival Kentucky, maybe we will not see Tramell Jones Jr. in extended action after all? Gonzales is only keeping this season warm for whomever. It remains to be see if Kiffin will willingly abdicate his throne in Oxford for new digs in Central Florida. Lagway has Baylor ties, but that program is a mess...
In the end, Kiffin spoke highly of Lagway because he seems to still be a believer in his five-star talent.