As Florida continues its search for a new head coach, Lane Kiffin continues to be at the center of the search. Gator fans have been roped into an online war with Ole Miss fans arguing about which job is better, while Kiffin has kept things close to the vest as his name gets floated.
At his press conference on Monday, Kiffin noted something that wouldn't be a problem if he were at Florida.
Ole Miss vs. South Carolina is not sold out
Kiffin has noted the attendance before at Ole Miss, and Monday was no different. During his opening statement at his press conference, Kiffin challenged Ole Miss fans to show up for their night game against South Carolina this Saturday:
"I hope our fans have a lot of energy and create a really great atmosphere. We've all wanted night SEC games here and have one (now). So I really hope we'll be able to sell the game out. (Our AD) told me it's not sold out. I think that would mean a lot to our players that they could be 7-1 and the stadium be sold out.
If you are keeping score at home, Vaught Hemingway Stadium has a capacity of 64,038, and it is not sold out for an SEC night game.
It highlights the backdoor theory of why Kiffin would be intrigued by the job at Florida. Sure, he could stay at Ole Miss forever and have far less pressure than he would in Gainesville, but Kiffin is also a showman at heart. He may claim he doesn't care about the money, and he might be truthful about that, but there are other things he cares about that he is stuggling to find in Oxford.
Kiffin loves the spotlight, and the reality is that while at Ole Miss, he has to beg and plead for the spotlight to find Oxford.
A couple of weeks ago, during an 11 AM local kickoff, Ole Miss struggled mightily to fill sections of the stadium against Washington State. Florida, meanwhile, sells out against Long Island University without question.
So it will be worth monitoring what the attendance looks like this Saturday, and if it is just one more angle Florida can sell to get Kiffin to make the jump.