As the timeline for Lane Kiffin to make a final decision on where he will coach in 2026, there has been an undeniable narrative surrounding the Florida Gators. Members of the national media seem determined to paint a picture that Kiffin would be making a massive mistake if he were to leave Oxford and head to Gainesville.
Whether that is true is to be determined, but what's also been notable is that those same people seem to be concerned only with Kiffin, not the inevitable 10 other coaches who will jump ship elsewhere this offseason.
ESPN runs another Lane Kiffin piece
ESPN ran a piece today where the opening line stated:
"Lane Kiffin will always regret it if he quits on his Ole Miss team."
It's sappy, it's heart-tugging, and it's also laced with the type of hand-wringing no other coach is having to go through.
This cycle alone, you don't see these types of puff "Please don't go" pieces being run on Eli Drinkwitz, Keny Dillingham, Jon Sumrall, Alex Golesh, Jeff Brohm, Brent Key, Clark Lea, or Jedd Fisch, among others.
And if one is thinking "Well those coaches haven't made a playoff with their team and Lane Kiffin is about to," where was this concern for Kalen Deboer, Lincoln Riley, Luke Fickell, or Brian Kelly when they left teams they had taken to the playoffs for a new home?
Because it's not just this one piece from ESPN, it's been a constant deluge of national media members who seem perplexed that Kiffin would even consider coming to Gainesville. They have been borderline pleading and begging for Kiffin to stay and have been hell-bent to keep him in Oxford.
Did these same concerns exist when Dan Mullen was hired from Mississippi State?
No, in fact, ESPN ran a piece when he got hired titled "Florida swings for the fences, ends up with safe pick in Dan Mullen."
To channel our inner Brian Windhorst meme, why would they do that?
Because the thought of Florida being back on top terrifies the old guard of the national media. For whatever reason, there is a segment of national media that just can't seem to give Florida credit for anything it does because Florida wasn't good at football during the days of black-and-white television.
In addition, if Kiffin comes to town, has success, and potentially wins a national title, it also means that Kiffin goes from a cute side show at Ole Miss to the main character of college football. He's no longer the enigma they don't actually have to respect because they have been able to hold on to, "Well, he can't win the big one because of who he is."
And that terrifies them, too.