As the Lane Kiffin saga continues to evolve day by day, it is clear that Florida is no longer the 100% slam dunk to land Kiffin that it seemed this time last week. Betting odds swung so far in Florida's favor to land Kiffin at one point that the sites offering odds on the coaching search took them down.
But now that a new contender to land Kiffin is gaining public steam, the betting market is catching up to the idea that Kiffin could leave Ole Miss but not wind up at Florida.
Lane Kiffin the betting favorite to land at LSU
Updated odds have been posted on who the next LSU coach is going to be, and Kiffin has surged to the top of the list:
- Lane Kiffin Even
- Joe Brady +600
- Jon Sumrall +900
- Nick Saban +900
- Jeff Brohm +1100
- Jon Gruden +1100
- Alex Golesh +1300
- Frank Wilson +1600
Now, it should be noted that Kiffin at even money is still not the slam dunk that Florida's odds were, which got as low as -150 before they were pulled down.
But as recently as Thursday morning, the odds were at +300 for Kiffin, which means a surge of money is coming in towad the current Ole Miss coach.
And it also feels telling that, at least in the public eye, no one else seems to have steam towards LSU. Joe Brady would be intriguing for LSU fans, given his role on the 2019 national title squad; it's just a matter of whether LSU could pluck him from the NFL.
Nick Saban feels like genuine wishful thinking, and Jon Sumrall is a growing wildcard for LSU, Florida, and Auburn.
There is a growing belief among Ole Miss insiders that LSU is in the driver's seat, not Florida. Who knows whether that is true, but it's been fairly quiet this week on Florida's side, with no new news or updates.
There is no getting around the fact that Florida losing out on Kiffin to LSU would be a massive blow to the program, especially considering Florida probably could have landed him last year if they had the conviction to fire Billy Napier at the time.
Either way, the bidding war taking place between Florida, LSU, and Ole Miss is going to leave Kiffin as a rich man once the dust settles.