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andrea adelson
What would Lane Kiffin do? That’s the question that has turned all eyes to Oxford, Mississippi, for the past two weeks.
Pundits and fans alike have been left to closely analyze tweets and interviews to figure out where the coach will line up next season. Will Kiffin stay at Ole Miss, where he made program history? Would he leave his job at LSU for one of the best jobs in the country? Or will he return to Florida State to coach the Gators, a place that has sentimental meaning to him?
Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said a resolution is expected Saturday, the day after the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. In anticipation, we’re making a case for each school in the race for Kiffin.
ole miss
If Kiffin stays he has a chance to put his face on the Mount Rushmore of Ole Miss legends. Look what he has done to the rebels in six years. Their four 10-win seasons in the last five years exceed the team’s win total in the last 50 seasons.
This season may be Kiffin’s best work yet, as Ole Miss is on the verge of a CFP berth. A win in the Egg Bowl would almost guarantee the Rebels a spot in the 12-team field. If Kiffin has done this in just six years, imagine what could happen with six more years and even more investment in football. If resources begin to flow more freely now that Kiffin has proven he can build a winner, it’s not unreasonable to think Ole Miss could become a consistent contender. Kiffin has shown he can win, even if it’s not at one of the biggest programs in the country.
He has also proven that he can effectively develop quarterbacks no matter where they are and finding that position is probably more important than anything else when it comes to winning championships. The transformation of Trinidad Chambliss from a Division II quarterback to an elite SEC player in one year is the latest example. Last year their quarterback, Jackson Dart, was an NFL pick in the first round. And the fact that Kiffin has done it at Ole Miss, where predecessor Matt Luke failed to achieve a winning season, shows that it is possible to win at a place that has had more mediocre seasons than good seasons over the past three decades.
However, perhaps most of all, Kiffin says he has found happiness at Oxford. He is joined there by his family, including his son Knox, who is the quarterback on the Oxford High School football team. It may sound cliché, but it’s hard to put a price on happiness, even if that price is $98 million. And it’s not as if life on the field would be any better; If it was so easy to win at LSU and Florida, why couldn’t their last coaches do the same?
The Tigers invested heavily in their roster this year, but struggled and Brian Kelly was shown the door. Florida has not won an SEC title since 2008. Ole Miss offers more known quants than other programs. The edge is clear: starting over is hard. Why do it if you don’t have to?
LSU
Put aside the dysfunction that has already been a part of the LSU coaching search, including the looming legal situation with former coach Brian Kelly. Put aside the fact that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has strong opinions and may have interfered a bit with the school’s search for a new coach. “This state depends on success. The governor told me last night that his best Monday is after a win,” Kelly told ESPN over the summer. That statement, in a nutshell, explains LSU’s position.
Is it that bad? It’s the kind of passion that drives programs to do everything they can to win. LSU now has everything it needs to win. Well, almost. Its facilities were completely renovated to keep it on top of the SEC; Tiger Stadium is one of the best venues in college football – nearly 40,000 seats larger than Ole Miss’ Vought-Hemingway Stadium. And LSU is the only Power 4 school in the state of Louisiana, making the talent-rich state easy to own from a recruiting standpoint.
On top of all that, LSU is invested in getting the right coach, no matter the cost. If Kiffin takes the LSU job, not only is he set to receive a reported $98 million deal to become the highest-paid coach in college football, but according to Yahoo Sports, the school has promised to increase NIL-related roster investments by more than $25 million. That’s quite a commitment for a school that spent $18 million in hopes of competing for a championship in 2025.
The three coaches who preceded Kelly – Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron – all won national championships. Since the turn of the century, only Ohio State has managed to achieve that level of success under three different coaching regimes. Maybe that should be as good a selling point for Kiffin as anything else.
Florida
Kiffin is Steve Spurrier 2.0, and he fits the Florida ethos to a T. He is an offensive guru and quarterback whisperer. He would theoretically be a perfect fit at a school that has three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, all of whom have statues in front of their stadium. Kiffin’s late father-in-law, John Reeves, was an All-America quarterback at Florida. Kiffin himself has stated how much he loves the state and how much he enjoyed his time at FAU. Kiffin wears a visor to look like his ideal Spurrier. He also trolls rivals in the Spurrier-esque clip. Kiffin and Florida seem like a perfect match.
When Spurrier was the head coach, he changed the perception of Florida and used his wide-ranging attack to win the school its first national championship. Urban Meyer only enhanced that reputation as he led the Gators to two more titles. But since then, Florida has been wallowing in the wilderness, losing its lead over rival Georgia and cycling through coaches at an alarming clip. The fan base still has images of Spurrier and Meyer dancing in their minds, but Florida has been slow to adjust to the changing college football times.
But now the Gators have their eyes wide open: A new $85 million football facility opened in 2023, and a $400 million renovation of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is planned to begin in 2027. The Swamp rivals Tiger Stadium at night as one of the best home environments in the country for a high-profile game.
Florida gave Billy Napier money to invest in his staff and players. A strong group of young offensive players will be set to return – including running back Jadan Baugh and receivers Vernell Brown III, Trey Wilson and Dallas Wilson. Imagine what Kiffin will be able to do with quarterback DJ Lagway. Florida is just waiting for the right coach to actually get a win in Gainesville and put them back in the national spotlight.
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