Nick Saban and rest of the College GameDay crew are in Nashville and recently they picked some names who could be the likely candidates for the Florida Gators head coach role after Billy Napier was fired last week.
Apart from Penn State, Florida is another prominent program who fired their head coach after string of poor performances. They need a coach and Saban & Co. provided them with some options they can go after.
Saban & Co. named current Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin as the best candidate for the job. Kiffin has led the Rebels well this season, with the program holding a 6-1 record before their game against No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.
The second candidate they picked was James Franklin, who was fired by the Penn State Nittany Lions after the program lost three consecutive games, with the 22-21 loss to Northwestern being his final game. Franklin led the Nittany Lions to College Football Playoff semifinals last season.
Finally, the third candidate they picked was Jon Gruden, who is currently employed by Barstool Sports but has tremendous NFL experience, even winning the Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Top candidates listed on College Gameday today
1. Lane Kiffin
2. James Franklin
3. Jon Gruden pic.twitter.com/JY2pHBNXqr— Talia Baia (@talia_baia) October 25, 2025
Lane Kiffin Breaks Silence On Florida Coaching Rumors
Lane Kiffin has said multiple times that his coaching is inspired by legendary Florida coach Steve Spurrier. There are a lot of reasons to believe why Kiffin is the perfect candidate for the job in the Swamp.
Kiffin addressed the coaching rumors with his Ole Miss players as well. According to insider Molly McGrath, the Ole Miss head coach said the rumors are testament to their success this season.
“Lane Kiffin told me he usually doesn’t address those kinds of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s so much more football to play, and there’s so many bigger things to focus on,” McGrath said. “But he’s actually going to do things differently today in their team meeting – he is going to address those (Florida) rumors with his players.
“He’s going to talk to them about it and say: ‘Hey, this is what happens when you win. This is a compliment to our players, our staff and our entire program.’ He wants to talk to his players about it because there’s so many new guys on their team this year that haven’t dealt with it before.”
NEW: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin plans to address the Florida job with his players, per @MollyAMcGrath:
"Lane Kiffin told me he usually doesn’t address those kind of coaching rumors in-season, because there’s so much more football to play, and there’s so many bigger things… pic.twitter.com/GD2Q3JT4Tb
— On3 (@On3sports) October 24, 2025
Kiffin has already been offered a six-year, $81 million deal by Florida, according to Gator Bait’s Buddy Martin. Kiffin is not interested in the money though even if the contract means he will become the highest earning head coach in college football. For the Rebels head coach, the overall happiness of his family takes precedence.
Read More News:
College Football Bye Week 9: Full List Of Teams Missing In Action This Week Ft. Ohio State, Georgia
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
