In what is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable coaching carousels in college football history, Florida remains one of the premier jobs on the table.
After firing Billy Napier on Oct. 19, the Florida Gators and UF’s athletic director, Scott Stricklin, have begun a nationwide search to find the team’s next head ball coach.
“My sense is we will have a wide variety of candidates,” Stricklin said Oct. 20. “We want people who can win championships at the University of Florida. That's going to be our goal.”
With plenty of candidates, a few names have shot to the top of the betting leaderboards, with the primary talking point being Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.
However, if Ole Miss makes a College Football Playoff appearance, Kiffin might opt to stay in Oxford at the program he has grown over the past half-decade. This would also throw a wrench into Florida’s plans to hire a head coach before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2. Those factors led to Missouri’s head coach, Eliah “Eli” Drinkwitz, emerging as a favorite for the job.
Drinkwitz arrived in Columbia, Missouri, in late 2019 to take the reins of a program that had suffered through a turbulent decade.
The Tigers moved to the Southeastern Conference in 2012. While they initially had some success under head coach Gary Pinkel, they floundered following his retirement.
The program was also hit with NCAA sanctions in 2019 following an investigation, leading to recruiting violations and NCAA probation just as Drinkwitz took the job as head coach.
Despite this, Drinkwitz had a solid but unspectacular first three years at the helm for the Tigers. He led Missouri to a 17-19 record from 2020-22 while earning bowl eligibility all three years.
However, the tides shifted in 2023, when Drinkwitz led the Tigers to their best season in a decade.
After being projected to finish second-to-last in the SEC East, Missouri exploded to a 11-2 record, capping off its season with its first-ever New Year’s Six Bowl victory in the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.
Missouri once again won double-digit games in 2024 under Drinkwitz, finishing 10-3. The Tigers currently sit at a 6-2 record thus far in the 2025 season, including a 2-2 conference record.
However, Kiffin has been more successful at a comparable Ole Miss program. Taking over a team that had gone 15-21 in three years under Matt Luke, Kiffin led the Rebels to a 5-5 record in 2020, followed by a 10-3 record in 2021.
After a solid season in 2022 with an 8-5 record, Ole Miss has put together back-to-back double-digit-win seasons and are well on track to make it three consecutive years. The Rebels are 8-1 and rank No. 7 in the nation.
Drinkwitz’s struggles, however, have been against the college football elites. In his coaching career, he is 7-16 against top 25 teams, including a 1-9 record against top 10 teams. That includes losses to then-No. 8 Alabama and No. 10 Vanderbilt this season.
Kiffin, however, has been solid against top 10 teams during his Ole Miss tenure, holding a 5-7 record. His record against top 25 teams is 10-10 with the Rebels.
Both coaches have also been effective recruiters. Drinkwitz’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 18 in the On3/Rivals National Rank, good for ninth in the SEC. He has also brought in the top 36 classes each season during his tenure. His predecessor, Barry Odom, peaked at No. 36 in 2019, which was his only class ranked above the top 40.
Meanwhile, Kiffin has had consistent top 30 classes during his tenure, peaking at No. 17 in 2021. His 2025 class came in at No. 19 in the On3/Rivals National Rank.
Both have also embraced the changing tides of college football and the transfer portal. Drinkwitz has brought in back-to-back top-15 portal classes, according to 247Sports. His 2025 portal class ranked No. 7 in the nation and third-best in the SEC.
However, Kiffin has ingrained himself in the modern college football climate, calling himself the “Portal King.” His 2024 portal class was No. 1 in the nation, with his 2025 class coming in at No. 4.
The SEC coaches have achieved major success in a top conference despite a lack of resources at their disposal. The Athletic ranked Missouri as the 13th most valuable SEC program as it rakes in approximately $48 million yearly in football revenue. Ole Miss was ranked 11th in value with $73.8 million yearly. In comparison, Florida ranked seventh in the SEC with $98.5 million in yearly football revenue.
Florida’s schedule is consistently filled with top 25 opponents, and Drinkwitz’s struggles against these top teams could be the deciding factor in whether he receives the job and why Kiffin would likely be the preferred choice.
Missouri also extended Drinkwitz over the offseason. He is under contract through 2029 on a deal worth $46.5 million. Florida would have to pay Missouri around $28.8 million to acquire the head coach.
Meanwhile, Kiffin’s contract runs through 2031. UF would have to pay Ole Miss about $36.6 million to buyout that agreement.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his sixth semester at The Alligator and now serves as The Alligator's Football Reporter and is a junior sports journalism student. He previously served as The Alligator's Sports Editor, and served as reporter for women's tennis, volleyball and lacrosse. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. He wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and also loves niche professional athletes (shoutout Tomas Fleischmann).
