Head coach Lane Kiffin has led the Ole Miss Rebels to a strong first half of their season. The Rebels are the No. 8-ranked team in the nation and have a 6-1 record. However, their success has resulted in Kiffin being named in coaching rumors. Notably, he has been linked to the Florida Gators.
Former Florida head coach Billy Napier was fired on Oct. 19 after the Gators got out to a 3-4 start. It was the middle of Napier’s fourth season with the squad. If the team continued at that pace, Napier would have only finished with one winning season in four years (8-5 in 2024). Kiffin has been someone who has appeared in rumors as a possible replacement for Napier after the season.
On Saturday, the Ole Miss Rebels are playing the No. 13-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Early in the game, Oklahoma fans taunted Lane Kiffin by making the ‘Gator Chomp’ motion with their arms.
“NEW: Oklahoma students taunt Ole Miss players and Lane Kiffin with the ‘gator chomp.'”
NEW: Oklahoma students taunt Ole Miss players and Lane Kiffin with the “gator chomp”💀
(via @BlakeAntkowiak)https://t.co/3DUQkukRMB pic.twitter.com/f3e2YfL1eW
— On3 (@On3sports) October 25, 2025
Lane Kiffin Responds to Florida Coaching Rumors
Lane Kiffin’s appearance in Florida coaching rumors is not something he wants to impact the success of his team this season. According to a report from ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath on Friday, Kiffin explained that he will speak with his players and explain that these rumors are a result of the success they have had. He wants the players to look at it as a compliment.
“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 to focus on,” Molly 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.”
If Kiffin decided to leave the Rebels, it would not be the first time he left a team in controversial fashion. He famously left Tennessee for USC after one season in 2010, drawing a lot of criticism from fans.
Read More:
Lane Kiffin’s Son Knox Makes Thoughts Clear on Ole Miss HC’s Potential Florida Move
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