From the start of the Lane Kiffin saga, the approach the Florida Gators took was to "move in silence." There had been next to zero positive news going public in Florida's favor, while all the public momentum seemed to be in LSU's favor.
But Florida insiders kept hinting that Florida still felt like the Gators were in a solid position to land Kiffin as recently as yesterday.
A new report from On3 makes it seem like the dream of Kiffin to Gainesville is all but dead.
Florida seemingly out on Lane Kiffin
Zach Abolverdi of On3 has reported, and it's been confirmed by Chris Low, also of On3, that sources within Florida's camp do not expect to land Lane Kiffin and that it is down to Ole Miss and LSU at this point. Pete Thamel of ESPN has also backed up this report.
Sources: Florida does not expect to land Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and is closing in on other targets.
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) November 28, 2025
In recent days, sources said Kiffin’s erratic communication and behavior has led UF to think he may be more interested in his other options.
DETAILS: https://t.co/a3rTUflBOp pic.twitter.com/X23Z3xE24R
In one breath, Florida has been doing its due diligence and has been interviewing other candidates in preparation for not landing Kiffin. Tulane coach Jon Sumrall and Washington coach Jedd Fisch are the two names being tossed around the most.
But in another breath, it makes it feel like Florida was living in its own little world while the rest of the country could see what was coming.
We had hypothesized a pathway Kiffin was going to wind up in Gainesville despite all the smoke that pointed elsewhere, but we also stated that this was a Scott Stricklin-led search after all. Stricklin has botched almost every single hire he has made in Gainesville, and to put faith that he was going to pull this off felt foolish.
It's not over until it is over, but if Florida blows this with Kiffin, it will have no one to blame but itself. The Gators opted to hang onto Billy Napier one more year when it would have had a free runway at Kiffin last year, and it allowed LSU to enter the picture this year.
Keep in mind that these "leaks" are always intentional. The fact that Florida strung this along as much as they did, making it seem like they were in the running for Kiffin and feeding the Florida insiders the "move in silence" narrative, is going to make whatever Plan B option they go with a tough sell to Gator fans.