If Lane Kiffin stays at Ole Miss, Florida search becomes more complicated.
Louisville’s Jeff Brohm profiles as interesting Plan B for Gators.
If no Kiffin or Brohm for Florida, search gets muddy.
Here’s the stark truth about Florida’s coaching search: If Lane Kiffin stays at Mississippi, the Gators lack a slam dunk choice.
And Kiffin moved a step toward staying put Saturday after Ole Miss beat Oklahoma 34-26. With every Rebels win, they move a step closer to a quality College Football Playoff seed, and a playoff run would erect roadblocks to Kiffin exiting.
“This was a big win,” Kiffin said after his first win against a ranked SEC opponent at Ole Miss.
For so many reasons, was it big.
The Gators still could make a good hire not named Kiffin. Look at Texas A&M. The Aggies backed their way into their choice of Mike Elko after flirting with hiring Mark Stoops.
So, yes, Plan B could work, but, for so many reasons, Kiffin had to be Plan A. He fits Florida like sunshine and a Tommy Bahama chair. His coaching style is an homage to Steve Spurrier.
Kiffin would offer Florida the assurance of a high floor and the potential of an untapped ceiling. He’s not the only candidate who could thrive in Gainesville. He’s just the only one who offers guaranteed success — or, as close as a guarantee exists in coaching hires.
If Florida misses on Lane Kiffin, eye Jeff Brohm
If Florida can’t land Kiffin, the Gators should target Louisville’s Jeff Brohm. This guy’s a winner.
You might recall Brohm led Purdue to a blowout win over Ohio State in 2018. If you’d forgotten that, surely you recall his Cardinals beating Miami just a week ago.
He’s a proven quarterback developer, a sharp offensive mind, and he’s got some swagger, though not as overt as Kiffin. At Louisville, he’s coaching in his hometown. He lacks SEC experience. I’d still make him Plan B. He’s not a slam dunk for success at Florida, inside a conference where he’s never coached, but he’s a high-percentage jumper.
If the search must go past Kiffin and Brohm, then the waters really start to get boggy.
Florida coaching search becomes roll of dice if no Kiffin, Brohm
Eli Drinkwitz’s record the past three seasons is nearly identical to Kiffin’s, but he presents as such a Natty Light version of the good stuff. He’s like if Kiffin had a goofy cousin. If Kiffin could be Spurrier 2.0, then Drinkwitz could be Dan Mullen 2.0, in personality and fit.
You see it, don’t you? Mullen wears a visor, and he could try to be funny (and come off goofy), and he had a good history with quarterbacks, and he knows X’s and O’s, but it just never came as naturally to Mullen as it did to the Head Ball Coach — or, like it does for Kiffin.
Think Gators fans watched Missouri score 10 points in a loss to Vanderbilt and got hyped about a Drinkwitz candidacy? Steady though he’s been, Drinkwitz’s record in marquee games lingers as a concern.
So, too, is James Franklin’s.
Franklin had a big game problem at Penn State. Well, look around the SEC. Big games happen a lot more frequently in the South than they do in the Big Ten. Franklin would be the definition of a conservative choice, designed to avoid a repeat of Billy Napier’s 22-23 record, with the acceptance of a ceiling that’s short of a national championship.
I could make an elevator pitch for Alex Golesh, even after his South Florida Bulls lost to Memphis. It goes like this: His offense is potent and fun. He’s on the rise. He’s already established inroads in Florida recruiting.
But, after whiffing on Sun Belt Billy, Florida surely will want to avoid hiring again from the Group of Five ranks. Also, Golesh’s loss to Memphis complicates selling this hire to Gators fans, who set their sights set on a big fish.
Speaking of fish, Washington’s Jedd Fisch would amount to a shot in the dark. Maybe, it could work with this Florida alumnus. Maybe, he’d go bust. He’s not coached in the SEC since he was a grad assistant for Spurrier. He had one really good year coaching Arizona. Does that portend future greatness? Who knows. A roll of the dice, this one.
Georgia Tech’s Brent Key looks better all the time. If only he could bring sixth-year senior Haynes King with him, and if only his exit wasn’t complicated by playoff contention. The ACC is so flimsy, but the Yellow Jackets’ rise nonetheless inspires belief in Key. File this option under the maybe-it-would-work heading.
Or, as they say in the South, might could. Would Key thrive at Florida? Might could.
That’s the reality of Florida’s search, if Kiffin stays put. There’s the high-percentage jumper in Louisville who’d need to leave his alma mater. There’s few might coulds. There’s the Missouri imitation who’s got a big-game problem. There’s the conservative choice from Penn State’s scrapyard who’s also got a big-game problem.
There’s one slam dunk. He becomes more inaccessible with every Ole Miss victory.