Lane Kiffin, UF’s top target, in unenviable position amid ‘systematical problem’
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GAINESVILLE — Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin is the hottest coach on the market and a case study.
Florida’s top target to replace Billy Napier has to decide among the Gators, LSU and his No. 6 Rebels (10-1) while also preparing his team for a critical Nov. 28 visit to rival Mississippi State to continue Ole Miss’ push for bid to the 12-team CFP.
The complicated dynamic has created conflict with his current school and within Kiffin himself as he juggles a life-changing decision with unprecedented success at Oxford. He likened the situation to players entering the transfer portal when it opened up as their teams were still competing in the postseason.
“If a team wanted a playoff coach, this was bound to happen,” Kiffin said during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “I’m just looking at it from the outside — I’m not even talking about myself. There’s a systematical problem, and it used to be players were in it, and they still are a little bit with the portal timing and playoffs and all those things.
“I would hope everyone in that situation was like, ‘Man, that’s a systematical issue, a calender issue.’ Until something changes, it’s going to be an issue for years.”
The CFP’s expansion to 12 teams in 2024 could require a team to play up to four games well into January.
A coach deciding whether to change jobs would leave his current school and his future employer in limbo during Early Signing Day — Dec. 3 this year — and when the portal opens Jan. 2, even after the NCAA moved the date to avoid the chaos of the past.
Kiffin once was a restless soul and coaching nomad. As a head coach, he had a 20-game stint with the Oakland Raiders (2007-08), spent one season at Tennessee (2009), fewer than four seasons at USC (2010-13) and three at FAU (2017-19) before settling down and finding peace and prosperity at Ole Miss the past six seasons.
The 50-year-old now finds himself in an unsettling, highly scrutinized situation.
During the weekly teleconference, Kiffin fielded six of 13 questions specifically about where he plans to coach, along with several variations on the topic.
“I’m gonna stay on what I’ve done for six years, which isn’t talk about other jobs and that situation,” he said. “[Ole Miss athletic director] Keith [Carter] and I — I’ve seen him twice already today. Keith and I have a great relationship. We communicate daily on a lot of things, and I love it here, and it’s been amazing. And we’re in the season, that’s the greatest run in the history of Ole Miss at this point.
“It’s just awesome to be a part of.”
One reporter asked Kiffin if he planned to remain part of the run at next week’s Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, a game played since 1901 igniting emotions in the Magnolia State even when the stakes are not so high.
“Do you know something I don’t know?” Kiffin deadpanned.
Pressed for an answer, Kiffin continued, “Do I expect to coach next week? Why would I not expect to coach next week? I mean, I expected to coach against Florida, too. So I don’t even understand the question how I would not expect to coach next week. Why would I be at work?”
The Gators targeted Kiffin in the wake of the Oct. 19 ouster of Billy Napier, but have been in a battle for Kiffin’s services with Ole Miss and longtime SEC rival LSU after the Tigers fired Brian Kelly Oct. 26.
The Athletic also reported members of Kiffin’s family visited Gainesville on Sunday and Baton Rogue, La., on Monday, visits confirmed a day later by ESPN.
As Kiffin’s three children get older and spread their wings, he said he has weighed uprooting his children’s lives.
“I do think people with time change, maybe when they’re younger you make very fast decisions,” he said. “I’ve gone on record and said that before, in life and situations, and as you get older and more mature and look at them different, maybe you take longer to make the proper decision. I would say that just in general.”
The 12-minute teleconference was generally uncomfortable for Kiffin — and, at times, contentious.
When it ended, Kiffin quipped, “Can’t wait for next week, guys.”
The SEC will not stage a teleconference Nov. 26 because of the Thanksgiving holiday. But when Kiffin is interviewed, he’ll continue to face scrutiny until he makes his eagerly awaited decision.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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