Head Coaching Candidates 2025 (Here we go again!)

[DRU2012]

I don't particularly like ANYTHING here after Lane, all the way down to the bottom (Joe Brady) whom I know practically nothing about (which makes him a "possibility", I suppose, based solely on the idea that, for me at least, an "unfamiliar winner from the pros" is a more attractive choice than all these others between he and Lane).
By the way, notably (but not surprisingly) absent of course is Jon Gruden's name from this list.
I know that there was never much chance of Stricklin EVER even interviewing Gruden, let alone hiring him: With so many out there dismissing the idea (if they mention him at all), and loudly highlighting his past flaws and missteps while ignoring those of many others, our AD has all the cover in the WORLD in rejecting any thought of him now, while exposing himself to enormous criticism and consequential risk of reflexive firing were he ANYTHING but an immediate success at UF.
(Of course, lost in the noise "out there" is the simple truth that the same people who are loudly and relentlessly warning one and all about the dangers of even GOING NEAR Jon Gruden are the exact same people who always get it wrong, have gotten it wrong regarding UF hires multiple times before, and are presenting us with this collection of bland shots at "better than Napier" (which is NOT GOOD ENOUGH) NOW.
If Lane stays put, I am just HOPING we somehow find and choose someone of vision, passion and drive--and aside from Kiffen, so far I personally haven't recognized such an individual on any of these "lists".)

 

[Escambia94]

I am not saying “Lane Train or bust”, but I am saying that unlike 3 of the last 4 hires and all of the 2025 candidates we have a candidate who checks all the boxes:
- 3-year test: Winning record in G5 and P4
- NIL/ Transfer Portal: Demonstrated mastery of current college football landscape
- Culture: Offensive minded coach with experience recruiting the state of Florida. Bonus points for Spurrier-like personality.

Lane Kiffin has realized the ceiling at Ole Miss. For 3+ years Kiffin has taken one of the least talented rosters to a top 15 finish.
Recruiting rank —> CFP rank
2020 - 34 —> 22
2021 - 18 —> 13
2022 - 23 —> 12
2023 - 30 —> 11
2024 - 18 —> 14
2025 - 16

Compare that to Dan Mullen and Billy Napier:
2018 - 13 —> 7
2019 - 10 —> 6
2020 - 8 —> 6
2021 - 21 —> NR

2022 - 13 —> NR
2023 - 10 —> NR
2024 - 16 —> NR
2025 - 4
If Kiffin’s trend of elevating talent ranked 16-30 and finishing in the top 15 holds, he would walk into the Florida position with an automatic roster upgrade and an even higher ceiling. Even with NIL, transfer portal, and revenue sharing, Ole Miss struggles to finish in the top 15 without a generational coach at Ole Miss. At Florida, even Billy Napier’s average team can beat Lane Kiffin’s best team.

 

[DRU2012]

@Escambia94, @Leakfan12,
I preface the following with the admission that turning to "betting odds" in such matters is useless to the point of irrelevance, but I was cruising YouTube first thing this morning and (inadvertently but nonetheless FOOLISHLY, as it turns out) tuned in on Hightop and his partner (the kid who is always slamming beers at 9 am; yeah, they keep insisting that he "works at night--this is my end-of-day WIND-DOWN!" --LOL--Matters little to ME, dude) and they were making a big thing out of how "The coachIng odds have shifted BIGTIME with the opening of the LSU job..."
There are so many red flags in taking ANY (let alone ALL) of this crap seriously that more than ever I caution Gator fans against letting such talk, allowing even the SLIGHTEST additional concern to creep into whatever ongoing angst you may well already be marinating in over OUR complicated "waiting game" with respect to whatever "teetering hopes" we may have condemned ourselves to in recognizing and going AFTER our perceived-"unicorn" in Lane Kiffen.
Those "odds", supposedly having "shifted dramatically with the firing of Kelly at LSU", are themselves so rife with judgments and assumptions that are strictly subjective (not to mention completely based on the emotional reactions of bettors and where they are compulsively and reflexively moving cash, vainly trying to cover their LAST wager), as to render them USELESS as any kind of real life barometer of what is actually going to come to pass.
These particular "cited posted odds" have Lane further down the list now (3rd on the one that Sheldon was getting so worried about)--and now has Eli Drinkowitz as a solid (now almost RUN AWAY) favorite to be our next Head Coach...and Sheldon is "terrified" at such a prospect (rightfully so, were it objectively accurate--which, as I am insisting IT IS NOT).
Drink is an above-average, aggressive young Coach who has been the beneficiary of some relatively EASY SEC schedules and a slack period in our Conference's successive waves of domination. Hire him, and we'll find ourselves right back here in the same sort of tangled bind (and similar discussions) in 4 years as we are in NOW...under which circumstances the only improvement (albeit a LARGE one) would be the likely (and long OVERDUE) replacement of one Scott Stricklin as our AD.
The only reason Sticklin is (at the very least going through the MOTIONS of) waiting on Lane to "first say 'NO' to us" is that if he WERE to come over, Stricklin wouldn't be directly blamed if THIS hire didn't work out: For once Gator NATION is solidly lined up for "a ticket on the Lane Train", as the current corny chant continues to spread.
And with good reason.
This ISN'T any kind of "sure thing"--Clearly, in modern college football THERE IS NO SUCH THING. But it IS the most hopeful and promising choice and FIT for the FLORIDA GATORS at this crucial moment in our long history.

 

[DRU2012]

(...Mind you, I cannot deny that it triggers enormous anger and resentment in me hearing, as we do NOW seemingly/SUDDENLY EVERYWHERE on the close heels of the Kelly firing.
I dunno: Is it my "orange-and-blue GLASSES"?
It is easy to dismiss when Gator-Hater Emeritus Tim Brando says it: I know THAT guy is wrong just by the fact that his LIPS are moving.
But things have widely deteriorated to the point where once generally mainly "even-handed" featured media spots like ESPN's "College Football Final" are now making categorical pronouncements like "LSU is far and AWAY the better job than Florida"! Not only do I dismiss that out-of-HAND, but back before the Napier years (and not THAT long back before them) SO WOULD THEY.
I know we must ignore and endure in these dark and stormy seas, that little is presently within our direct control, and only a wholesale course change and our eventual return to national dominance can show them all--ie. SHUT THEM ALL UP!!!)

 

[DRU2012]

This whole “rising status of Drink in the Florida coaching search” thing (and ESPECIALLY its citing a BETTING site’s rating him at #1 with the only Negative Number—as if THAT were some penetratingly valid insight rather than the shot-in-the-dark result of totally uninformed emotional factors it truly IS) renders this whole process absurd.
IMHO: Eli Drinkowitz would win a few more games than “Smoke-Blower Billy”, but would continue to “LOSE THE BIG ONES”, as is his wont (and we face a LOT of “big ones” at UF)—and quickly wear out whatever welcome he got here at the start…
We’d just find ourselves all too soon back here on the scrap heap AGAIN.
I don’t know about y’all, but if we cannot get someone that inspires a positive united enthusiasm here at UF, then maybe it is better to just stick with a loyal and honorable “Interim Place Holder” (Billy G?) until we CAN…
Obviously, I’m not at all really serious about this last—it won’t, CAN’T HAPPEN here: not now, not EVER…There’d be an uproar, a PR failure of the highest order!
But unless we can get this right, we certainly WILL face an expensive dive into long-struggling irrelevance.
Don’t look now, but we are almost there RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

 

[Escambia94]

There is no way to predict these coaching moves under these new variables of NIL, transfer portal 3.0, and revenue sharing. The betting odds are just there to illustrate that Florida is competing against LSU for a head coach and that complicates matters. Even if Kiffin made up his mind to choose Florida last week, his agent, Jimmy Sexton, now gets to jack up Kiffin’s price from $13.5M to something larger and with a larger buyout.

 

[DRU2012]

As usual, I "Like" (as in "positvely AGREE with") the note above, but in truth REVILE the reality of the situation we find ourselves entangled in!
E-- is right, of course--more's the deepening pity...
And WTH can we DO about it? SFA, is what.
This is gonna get even MORE expensive, as if that registers with us in any meaningful way anymore! Everywhere I watch, look or listen nowadays I hear various hosts and commenters say (only HALF-jokingly), "Hey, who cares? It ain't MY money!"
Though there are some caveats there, I understand the sentiment, but the truth is that it is is one more factor that is ALIENATING ME personally: That pile of negatives regarding modern college football continues to grow precipitously now. As it begins to teeter, I can now foresee the day when in a perfect storm of obnoxious moves and continued Gator irrelevance it all finally comes together and precipitates my disgust and ultimate rejection of the sport.
It happened fir me over time with other teams and leagues--though admittedly my attachment, the long identification and shared history with UF Football, goes considerably deeper.
I don't WANT to get there...
But I begin to recognize the possibility.
We got some real "a**holes and idiots" running things in college football at large--and at least ONE in charge of this hire (and TWO of the last three failed Head Coaches here too, lets face it).
Our sole hope at the moment is that smarter, better people are riding herd on him this time around.
Not exactly "money in the bank"...

 

[Leakfan12]

Whose a worse AD, Stricklin or LSU's Woodard?

 

[DRU2012]

Whose a worse AD, Stricklin or LSU's Woodard?

Well, the imbalance here for ME of course is simply in the fact that in the final analysis I care a WHOLE lot more (INFINITELY more) about OUR AD’s relative skill and performance (or lack thereof) than I do about Kelly’s: I REVEL in Kelly’s missteps, while I am long since SICK of Stricklin’s—so it’s more a matter of not giving much of a sh*t about LSU’s problems, while caring way too MUCH about ours. So I sort of default to choosing Stricklin as my direct choice to your direct question.
However, plenty of high profile folks are publicly messing with Woodward and the LSU situation altogether:
First the LA. Governor comes out and rips their AD—AND then Sexton (Lane’s agent, by the way) TOO, by the way. Then just a day later perennial loudmouth and Gator Hater Paul Finebaum is picking LSU as the “bigger, better job” and laying claim to the supposed likelihood that Lane Kiffen will be heading THERE rather than to Gainesville.
Personally, I continue to be pretty certain that LANE’S choice regarding his future remains either coming to UF or staying at Ol’ Miss.
NONE of us are in Lane’s head (thank goodness), so better just to clam up, wait and see.
I’m in no hurry to “settle” for most of these other jokers who’ve been widely bandied about ANYWAY.
I don’t KNOW, nor do I care to comment on, even LESS to involve myself IN the various efforts and back room complexities at work that cloud or clarify the forces affecting the eventual outcome of all these ongoing moves and comments.
I hope (and now believe) that our AD has either been “given the word” or come around on his own to the same guy I and MOST Gators are strongly lined up behind, and after that, well, I guess I am more and more “hesitatingly preparing to settle for” a “personal second choice”—but I prefer to just keep that to myself at this point and simply settle in for the duration, HOPING FOR THE BEST.

 

[Escambia94]

Whose a worse AD, Stricklin or LSU's Woodard?

Neither. The decisions they made were driven by the market that is dominated by sports agents. Any candidate that an AD would like to hire has a 75% chance of being managed by Jimmy Sexton. Put yourself in the shoes of the athletic directors at TAMU (Woodard was AD when Jimbo Fisher was hired), LSU (Woodard was AD when Kelly was hired), and Stricklin (AD when Napier was hired). There is no negotiation leverage for the ADs.

Name	Candidate	Championships	Exp	W-L	Team	Agent
Lincoln Riley	?	0	9	82.60%	USC	Trace Armstrong
James Franklin	y	0	15	69.00%	Penn State	Trace Armstrong
Eli Drinkwitz	y	0	6	67.50%	Missouri	Jimmy Sexton
Lane Kiffin	y	0	16	64.00%	Ole Miss	Jimmy Sexton
Jeff Brohm	y	0	11	62.60%	Louisville	Shawn Freibert
Brent Key	y	0	3	60.98%	Georgia Tech	Jimmy Sexton
Ed Orgeron	?	1 (2019)	10	58.80%	LSU (2021)	Jimmy Sexton
Alex Golesh	y	0	3	57.14%	USF	Jimmy Sexton
Jedd Fisch	y	0	4	43.80%	Washington	Doug Hendrickson

 

[Leakfan12]

Trace Armstrong the Gator legend is an agent for some of the guys?

 

[DRU2012]

@Leakfan12,
Apparently he is Lincoln Riley's (my own "distant second choice", by the way).

 

[DRU2012]

Meanwhile, the names continue to stream onto the growing "List Of Absurd Candidates" that this thing has become...
Latest is Georgia DC Schuman being touted.
Only positive there would be that after at most another TWO SEASONS of futility we'd be rid of he AND Stricklin.

 

[DRU2012]

I do increasingly get the growing feeling that our top choice (and in my opinion, rightfully so) as our next Head Coach, Lane Kiffen will NOT be choosing to become a Gator...I don't think he's going ANYWHERE.
AND here's the thing:
If he strings us along all the way well into January--which ONLY happens if he is in constant backroom contact with us through his agent to start with, there will be a widespread and strong backlash impression that he did that mainly in order to further DAMAGE us--a level of cynical and vindictive longterm gamesmanship lacking ANY HONOR or decency, by the way--he will then have converted what has been a stirring reevaluation of his personality and value from positive to negative extremes. He will (rightfully have made himself persona nongrata everywhere in Gator Nation forever more.
But I suspect that one way or another, we will be forced to move on in our "search" to somewhat more risky and problematic candidates we'll before the New Year hits.
The thing is that I don't particularly CARE for MOST of the touted alternatives...and am not even sure we are seriously including the couple of "maybe decent ones" I personally think might decently fit the bill. So the longer this goes on, the darker my overall mood is concerning our future. The best we can do after Lane is probably a longshot crapshoot to start with--and I see little evidence that we are even in The Game.

 

[DRU2012]

…and ONE of my (cue cartoon cattle-skull-in-the-desert crying out in that classic whining voice, “You’ll be SORRY…”) definite NO WAY warning going out on Eli Drinkowitz—along with James Franklin, Jed Fisch, not to mention the LONG list of DEFENSIVE-minded candidates that are suddenly somehow being considered as “promising”, or at the very LEAST “acceptable” now as the “quiet time” lengthens and the pressure just naturally ratchets up…
As the weeks inevitably accumulate, the bumbling back room cowards who are doing the most talking now one-by-one are losing their imagined little game of “choice chicken”!
Geez—as far as those who MAKE THE HIRES (as opposed to the “talking heads” stirring the simmering pot of rumors) are concerned, the current crop are the LAST people I’d want representing me in what amounts to the ultimate round of “Liars’ Poker”!
How in blankety-blank did it COME to this?

 

[Escambia94]

Trace Armstrong the Gator legend is an agent for some of the guys?

That is correct. The one and only Gator Great, Trace Armstrong.

 

[Escambia94]

Here is an expanded look at the head coaching search that includes potential OC and DC hires. The reason Ole Miss is clicking in all phases is that that have a good head coach, OC, and DC. Kiffin is a top-10 HC. Weis is a top-10 OC. Golding is a top-30 DC. There is a strong argument for Drinkwitz, but I am not buying it due to Missouri's soft schedule and Drinkwitz's inability to beat slightly better teams.

Name	Record	Team	OC	Off Rk	DC	DC Rk	Agent
Lincoln Riley​	82.60%​	USC​	Lincoln Riley​	12​	D’Anton Lynn​	24​	Trace Armstrong​
Eli Drinkwitz​	67.50%​	Missouri​	Kirby Moore​	8​	Ryan Smith​	14​	Jimmy Sexton​
Lane Kiffin​	64.00%​	Ole Miss​	Charlie Weis Jr​	3​	Pete Golding​	29​	Jimmy Sexton​
Jeff Brohm​	62.60%​	Louisville​	Brian Brohm​	22​	Ron English​	10​	Shawn Freibert​
Brent Key​	60.98%​	Georgia Tech​	Buster Faulkner​	47​	Tyler Santucci​	64​	Jimmy Sexton​
Ed Orgeron​	58.80%​	LSU (2021)​	TBD​	n/a​	TBD​	n/a​	Jimmy Sexton​
Alex Golesh​	57.14%​	USF​	Alex Golesh​	65​	Brian Blackmon​	47​	Jimmy Sexton​
Jedd Fisch​	43.80%​	Washington​	John McNulty​	35​	Steve Belichik​	31​	Doug Hendrickson​

 

[DRU2012]

Here is an expanded look at the head coaching search that includes potential OC and DC hires. The reason Ole Miss is clicking in all phases is that that have a good head coach, OC, and DC. Kiffin is a top-10 HC. Weis is a top-10 OC. Golding is a top-30 DC. There is a strong argument for Drinkwitz, but I am not buying it due to Missouri's soft schedule and Drinkwitz's inability to beat slightly better teams.

Name	Record	Team	OC	Off Rk	DC	DC Rk	Agent
Lincoln Riley​	82.60%​	USC​	Lincoln Riley​	12​	D’Anton Lynn​	24​	Trace Armstrong​
Eli Drinkwitz​	67.50%​	Missouri​	Kirby Moore​	8​	Ryan Smith​	14​	Jimmy Sexton​
Lane Kiffin​	64.00%​	Ole Miss​	Charlie Weis Jr​	3​	Pete Golding​	29​	Jimmy Sexton​
Jeff Brohm​	62.60%​	Louisville​	Brian Brohm​	22​	Ron English​	10​	Shawn Freibert​
Brent Key​	60.98%​	Georgia Tech​	Buster Faulkner​	47​	Tyler Santucci​	64​	Jimmy Sexton​
Ed Orgeron​	58.80%​	LSU (2021)​	TBD​	n/a​	TBD​	n/a​	Jimmy Sexton​
Alex Golesh​	57.14%​	USF​	Alex Golesh​	65​	Brian Blackmon​	47​	Jimmy Sexton​
Jedd Fisch​	43.80%​	Washington​	John McNulty​	35​	Steve Belichik​	31​	Doug Hendrickson​

I’M not “buying Drinkowitz” either—and for pretty well the exact same reasons.
Your usual penetrating calculations have Lincoln Riley at the top of the above “if not Lane”-list;
I don’t know how that figures in your actual preferences, but I have been clear in my recently having come to him as the top name on MY (admittedly very SHORT) similar such list.
I gotta tell ya, aside from a few longer-odds but still “interesting and promising” pro-OCs, most of the names the blathering “media talking heads” are throwing around just put me OFF—or WORSE:
A few scare the SH*T outta me (as in where they might leave the program when they inevitably crash and burn!).

 

[DRU2012]

I think Lincoln might need US as much as we need someone like HIM—which (by my definition) might make him a very good “fit” indeed—especially if it turns out that Lane and Sexton are dicking us around in the backchannel “discussions” (let’s face it: GAMES) we all KNOW are ongoing.
No WAY we wait until January based solely on hope, faith and silence.

 

[Leakfan12]

@Leakfan12,
Apparently he is Lincoln Riley's (my own "distant second choice", by the way).

I like suggestion Lincoln Riley but they would need to compete against LA and he left Oklahoma to get away from the SEC.