Here are the top 3 coaching candidates Florida should be looking at
Florida continues its search to replace Dan Mullen after the fourth-year coach was fired following a loss to Missouri in overtime on Saturday. Nothing solid has emerged yet, but one would think that UF athletic director Scott Stricklin will look to get this hire done sooner rather than later with the LSU and USC openings potentially targeting the same coaches, not to mention the importance of getting a coach in with time to recruit before the December early signing period.
A lot of names have been thrown out for the opening, and some are more realistic than others. But cutting through the muck, there are a few candidates that stand tall above the rest as guys that the Gators should be targeting.
Here are the top three, in my mind.
Louisiana coach Billy Napier
AP Photo/Matthew Hinton
Napier seems to be the current leader in the clubhouse to get the Florida job, and for good reason. He’s coached under two of the game’s greats in Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, and he’s built an incredibly successful program at Louisiana, where he’s won double-digit games the last three seasons.
He also seems to fit the profile of the kind of coach UF is looking for. He’s a passionate and detail-oriented recruiter, and that approach has landed him the best class in the Sun Belt for the last three years. He’s assembled the closest thing you’ll find in the Group of Five to an SEC-style large staff, which is a major reason for his success.
There are some minor red flags, of course. Napier was fired by Swinney as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, and he’s struggled in big games at points in his Louisiana career. Though the Ragin’ Cajuns have made it to the Sun Belt Championship twice under Napier, they’ve lost both games. Still, I think Napier is a hire that would prove to be massively successful for Florida.
Oregon coach Mario Cristobal
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Cristobal is likely the highest-profile coach who is a legitimate candidate for this job (sorry, Bob Stoops), though the coach hasn’t really done or said anything to indicate he’s willing to leave what is arguably the best job in the Pac-12 right now in Oregon.
Still, it’s worth double-checking that Cristobal is happy in Eugene. The Pac-12 isn’t an ideal conference for building a blue-blood within, and there are a number of baked-in disadvantages, namely the fact that it’s only been represented in the College Football Playoff twice, the least of any of the Power Five conferences.
He’s an elite recruiter who served as Alabama‘s recruiting coordinator under Nick Saban. He’s a south Florida native who could wreck recruiting in the Miami area, which is certainly attractive to the Gators. But as a Miami alum, would he be as interested in this job as we make him out to be in the media?
There’s also the question of his success at Oregon. For how well he’s recruiting, this year’s team is likely about to become just his second double-digit win squad since being promoted to head coach at the end of the 2017 season, and even the 2021 season has been disappointing. The Ducks beat Ohio State and seemed to be heading for a playoff spot even with a loss to Stanford, but they suffered a blowout loss to Utah last week, ending their chances. Still, Cristobal’s recruiting makes him a prime target, and stealing a coach from Oregon would certainly make waves.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin
John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Kiffin’s name always seems to get thrown out there whenever there’s a job opening, and it makes sense why. He’s done a very impressive job at Ole Miss, building what is one of the best offenses in the country behind quarterback Matt Corral. He solidified a 10-win season with a victory over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Thursday night, and he is apparently open to leaving.
He’s reportedly interested in the Miami job, though it hasn’t opened and likely won’t as the team conducts a search for a new athletic director. But could Kiffin have interest in heading to Florida, regardless?
It’s hard to imagine Kiffin wouldn’t listen if the Gators were to offer, but I have him below the two names previously mentioned in the hierarchy of targets, and that’s because Kiffin certainly has red flags. He’s got a bit of a brash personality, and he attracts the spotlight. Considering the disastrous way some of his previous tenures have ended, that’s not ideal.
He also isn’t a particularly proven recruiter. Despite having a team that could be pushing for a top-five spot by the end of the season, he only has the 10th-best 2022 class in the SEC right now. He’s known as an offensive schemer, but UF just tried that approach with Mullen. It didn’t pay off as he couldn’t get the talent in the building.
Kiffin would bring a lot of excitement to the program, but I think he should be further down the list of potential candidates than Napier and Cristobal.
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