Florida next coach odds: Lane Kiffin, Eli Drinkwitz, James Franklin among favorites for Gators job originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Florida Gators are searching for a new head coach once again. Gainesville has seen several head coaches since Urban Meyer left in 2011, including Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen, and Billy Napier.
Despite recent struggles, the programs rich tradition, upgraded facilities, and NIL structure make it a desirable position. Coaches also have the opportunity to recruit talent from the football-rich state of Florida.
As for who might be next in replacing Napier, the folks at Bet Online has odds for Florida’s next head coach. Le’s take a look at the odds for the new head coach in Gainesville.
MORE:Ranking the best fits to lead the Gators in 2026
There might not be a more perfect coaching candidate for Florida than Kiffin. Florida has a rich history, but the program didn’t start winning consistently until Steve Spurrier came along in the 1990s.
Kiffin even has some connections to the Head Ball Coach. He wears a visor on the sidelines because of the former coach, and grew up a Florida fan, watching Gators’ style of play and offense under Spurrier. Kiffin also appears to emulate Spurrier, with his off-field personality, one-liners and constant teasing of opposing head coaches and players.
Kiffin’s ex-wife Layla, who lives in Oxford helping to raise their two children, is the daughter of John Reaves. Reaves played football for the Gators in the late 1960s and early 70s and also coached as an assistant for Spurrier in the early 1990s.
Kiffin checks all the boxes that the last few head coaching hires in Gainesville have missed. Even before becoming a head coach, he earned a strong reputation as an offensive play-caller. He helped Nick Saban transform his offense from a ground-and-pound system to an up-tempo, pass-heavy scheme.
Hes an excellent recruiter and self-proclaimed the Transfer Portal King. The biggest box Kiffin checks is that he is a proven winner at a power-conference school. He led Ole Miss from the bottom of the SEC to three double-digit win seasons in 2021, 2023 and 2024, going 53-19 in Oxford. In just six seasons, he has already become the schools third-winningest head coach.
MORE: Meet Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s family
Drinkwitzs stock may have fallen in recent weeks, as Missouri has lost three of its last four games to top-10 opponents Alabama, Auburn and Vanderbilt.
Still, Drinkwitz is an excellent head coach. He is 56-28 as a head coach, including a 44-27 mark at Missouri. He has led the Tigers to 11- and 10-win seasons the last two years, and Mizzou could reach nine or even 10 wins this season.
Drinkwitz, a native of Norman, Okla., has extensive coaching experience in the SEC and the Southeast. He coached at Auburn and Arkansas State before moving on to NC State and App State.MORE:College football picks and predictions for Week 12
Washington head coach Jedd Fisch has a few Florida connections. For starters, he attended the University of Florida, though he didnt play football for the Gators. From 19992000, he coached under Steve Spurrier as a graduate assistant.
Florida is considered a dream job for Fisch. He also coached alongside NFL stars like Sean McVay and Bill Belichick before becoming a head coach at Arizona. His 29-32 record as a head coach may not meet the level of success Florida needs immediately, but his Florida ties keep him in the mix for the job.
James Franklin was one of the more surprising moves in the coaching carousel, but Penn State fired him after three straight losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern.
Since his firing, Franklin has declared that he wants to coach again, and win a national title. Additionally, Penn State’s $50 million buyout will be mitigated by any future employment for Franklin.
Yes, his record against ranked opponents (12-25 vs. Top 25, 4-21 vs. Top-10) is the big knock against him. But Florida fans would be pretty happy with multiple 10- and 11-win seasons, and Franklin brought several of those to Happy Valley. The good news for Florida is that playing in a conference like the SEC, winning 10 and 11 wins every season should get you inside the 12-team CFP pretty consistently. MORE: How did James Franklin get himself fired at Penn State?
Georgia Tech is 8-1, and has a real shot at both an ACC title and CFP bid. The credit goes to Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key, who is 26-17 over his three seasons.
But Key played football for Georgia Tech, and seems committed to wanting to build something special at the same place he played offensive lineman from 1997-2000. The same is true for the next coach, in Clark Lea. MORE: Meet Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key
Clark Lea may not want to leave Vanderbilt, as the head coach was born and raised in Nashville and played football for the Commodores. He’s led Vanderbilt to an 8-2 start in 2025, and can help the Commodores reach double-digit wins for the first time in school history.
But the Florida job might be attractive for Lea for a few reasons. For starters, Lea knows what it takes to win at a high level in the SEC already.
He’s been able to turn around a historically struggling program in the SEC in just a few seasons. What could he do at a place like Florida, which has much bigger and better budgets with regards to NIL, facilities and recruiting. Not to mention Lea wouldn’t have to deal with the high admissions standards at Vanderbilt, which would help him recruit well in Gainesville.
Lea leaving Vanderbilt seems unlikely, but the Florida job just might be one he’d be willing to leave his alma mater for. Whether or not he’d want the added pressure at a place like Florida compared to Vanderbilt is another big question to consider.
Current Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall is another hot name in this years coaching carousel, and not just for the Florida job. Thats because wherever Sumrall has been a head coach, hes won — and won big. He led Troy to back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2022 and 2023, captured a Sun Belt Conference title in 2023, and went 95 in his first season at Tulane. The Green Wave also reached the AAC title game last season.
Tulane is 62 so far this season, and has a real shot at making the CFP with a Group of Five bid. Born in Texas and having played football at Kentucky, Sumrall could be a fit for any of the other SEC openings, including LSU, Arkansas, and Auburn.