Lane Kiffin Reportedly Florida's Top Choice as Next HC to Replace Billy Napier

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin sits atop Florida's wish list as the school weighs up the candidates to replace Billy Napier, according to On3's Pete Nakos.

Nakos reported Tuesday that "it is clear that Lane Kiffin is at the top of the board for the Gators." He added that Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Louisville coach Jeff Brohm "continue to come up in conversations with industry sources."

Among the coaches the Gators could realistically land, Kiffin is perhaps the most obvious replacement for Napier.

Ole Miss has won double-digit games in three of his first five seasons, and the Rebels' 6-1 start in 2025 has them in contention for their first College Football Playoff berth. Kiffin is also well-versed in the SEC thanks to his previous stops at Tennessee and Alabama, and his time at Florida Atlantic got him familiar with the Sunshine State.

Whether Kiffin would want to jump from Oxford to Gainesville is the big question.

College football has evolved quite a bit since then, but Florida's three national titles under Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer provide a proof of concept. For all of Ole Miss' recent success, the Rebels haven't claimed a championship since 1962.

Kiffin and others might be a little scared off by how long Florida has been chasing the heights of the Meyer era, though. The Gators are moving on to their fifth permanent coach since Meyer stepped down in 2010, and there are some consistent themes across the tenures of Napier, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen.

Napier was only fired days ago, while more than a month is left in the regular season. Targeting a coach who's leading a CFP-bound team would mean having to wait even longer to make an official hire.

For now, Kiffin is the clear standout choice for Florida. In a few weeks, the landscape could look a lot different.