A new excerpt from John Talty’s upcoming book offers another hint that Florida may have been the early leader in the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes before LSU ultimately pulled him away.
CBS Sports shared a passage from Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football's Agent of Chaos that focuses on Ole Miss’ road win over Oklahoma last year, a victory that all but cleared the Rebels’ path to the playoff. But the moment that stands out has nothing to do with celebrating in Oxford.
According to the excerpt, Kiffin’s first thought after the game was Gainesville. The book says he turned to Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding and asked him, "Are you ready to go to Gainesville?"
Taken literally, that line fits the timeline that had already been taking shape. Florida’s job opened one week earlier, and LSU fired Brian Kelly the day after that Oklahoma win. The version of the search that emerged publicly was pretty simple: Florida appeared to have the early edge, then LSU got involved and won out.
What remains murkier is the gap between what was being said inside Florida and what the broader reporting suggested by November. By then, national outlets and even voices connected to Ole Miss were describing the Kiffin race as a battle between LSU and Ole Miss. Inside Gainesville, though, the message kept being that Florida still had a real chance all the way until Black Friday.
From Florida’s side, the eventual hire of Jon Sumrall looked like a better cultural match than Kiffin. That doesn’t mean Kiffin won’t rack up wins at LSU, but Florida’s interest in him made sense because of the belief that he wants the spotlight.
The problem is that Kiffin has also seemed uneasy when that spotlight actually lands on him. Whether Florida ended up better off won’t be clear until the games play out.
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Floridas SEC Opener Just Got Complicated For Two Key Newcomers
Floridas SEC opener against Auburn already carried the usual early-September pressure, and now it comes with a little more uncertainty for two newcomers who were expected to matter right away. Wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo are both listed as questionable after sustaining lower leg injuries in their season debut, leaving the Gators to sort through their first conference week with a couple of fresh faces in limbo.
Jon Sumrall has made the caution part of the message clear, stressing that there is no sense in pushing either player back too soon and inviting a setback. It leaves Floridas opener with a few moving parts on both sides, since Auburn has one player out and two more listed as questionable, but the Gators immediate focus is less on the Tigers injury report than on whether two important additions can be trusted to go at full speed. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Walks Into A Familiar Auburn Test With More At Stake
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Auburn will also ask plenty of questions of Floridas defense with Brown set to make his first SEC start after transferring from USF, a move that adds another layer to a game already loaded with familiar ties. Sumrall has already noted Browns improvement and acknowledged how difficult Auburn can be at home, which only heightens the stakes for Florida as it tries to leave with more than a hard lesson from another familiar Auburn setting. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas 2026 Schedule Is Already Showing One Serious Warning Sign
Floridas early momentum under Jon Sumrall has given the program a clean start, including a 52-3 rout of Campbell, but the attention around the Gators is already shifting beyond the present tense. A look ahead to the 2026 schedule shows why this kind of early optimism can be hard to hold onto in the SEC, where the teams waiting on the calendar are rarely standing still for long.
A quick scan of those future opponents shows a mixed but dangerous picture for Florida. Auburn handled Southern Miss, Missouri beat Kansas, South Carolina leaned on a dominant rushing day against Towson, Texas stunned Ohio State with a comeback, Georgia looked sharp on both sides of the ball against Western Kentucky, Michigan upset Oklahoma, and Kentucky came up short against Alabama. For Florida, the warning sign is obvious enough: the schedule may already be taking shape as one that could demand a lot more than an encouraging opening run. [Read more 🡒]