We are still a couple of weeks away from the college football coaching carousel getting crazy. A lot of the big-name head coaches are expected to fill some of the openings and are still in pivotal parts of their seasons before they end in four weeks.
Some high-profile jobs need to be filled, and the biggest openings are at Penn State, Florida, and LSU. Names continue to be linked to them by different college football insiders and writers. One job that is going to draw a lot of attention is in Florida. The Gators are an opening that is a spot that could quickly turn into a winner with the right hire.
Who that hire is going to be remains to be seen, but Paul Myerberg of USA Today predicted a high-profile SEC coach to make the jump to Gainesville.
USA Today Predicts Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin to Jump to Florida
Myerberg predicted who would fill some of college football’s openings, and he continued the Lane Kiffin to Florida hype.
“The best odds at this moment have Kiffin either staying put or replacing Billy Napier with the Gators. One thing that can’t be overlooked but has been largely ignored during the will-he-or-won’t-he debate: Kiffin has established a consistent contender and might be drawn to finish what he’s started after leading an itinerant coaching career before his arrival in Oxford,” Myreberg wrote.
Whether it’s Florida, LSU, or any other opening, Kiffin is going to be a big name this cycle. Whether he jumps or not may very well depend on how the season finishes out for Ole Miss. In Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings, the Rebels were ranked sixth. That has them on course for a home CFP game next month. Myerberg believes what a lot of other people believe: Kiffin would be a home run hire in Gainesville.
“He’d clearly be a home run for the Gators, though he wouldn’t be the first in recent history to earn that label — in one form or another, each of Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen, and Napier were viewed the same way. But none of those coaches had won at Kiffin’s level in the SEC,” Myerberg also wrote.
Another SEC Coach Predicted as Florida Hire Should Lane Kiffin Pass
If Kiffin passes on the Gators, then Myerberg labeled another SEC coach as a potential hire at Florida, in Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz. To be honest, Drinkwitz has been a name to watch this cycle as jobs have been opening up.
“If Kiffin does stay put, look for Florida to pivot to Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz. He shares many of same traits that have made Kiffin the hottest name in this year’s coaching cycle and has the personality to handle the pressures of the position,” Myerberg wrote.
Like a lot of the other jobs around the country, Florida needs to hit it big with this hire. The Gators are falling behind in the SEC. They need someone to come in, quickly build up a roster that will compete as early as 2026. Kiffin is the best choice to do that, rather than Drinkwitz.
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