Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (collapsible
furniture sold separately in Columbia, S.C.). Second Quarter: Which Teams Are Winning the Close Ones, and Which Teams Are Blowing Out Opponents? Third Quarter: James Franklin’s Rebound. Fourth Quarter: Zeroing in on Candidates for Coach of the Year … and Not Coach of the Year.
First Quarter: Lane Kiffin’s SEC Conundrum
The perpetual mess that is the college football hiring cycle hovered over Oxford, Miss., Saturday. Lane Kiffin (1) and his 10–1 Mississippi team are authoring a special season, one of the best in school history. Yet it has become almost a sideshow to the drama about whether Kiffin will stay with the Rebels or go elsewhere—particularly Florida (2), Ole Miss’s Saturday opponent, or LSU (3), which also has a blueblood opening.
Unlike pro sports, college football has long tolerated the overlap of the coaching carousel with the actual competitive season, often with ruinous effect. Bowls have become farcical exhibition games with skeleton coaching staffs. And even the regular season has been compromised, with coaches who are under contract negotiating with future employers and scuttling their current teams.
For historical record of that, look at none other than Lane Kiffin. He was the top candidate at Auburn in 2022 after that job opened during the season, and while that search was in its critical stages Kiffin’s Ole Miss team went in the tank—the Rebels were 8–1 entering November and finished 8–5.
It’s a regular occurrence to see a “hot coach” take a perplexing late-season loss while negotiations for a new job transpire behind the scenes. Instead of running everything through third parties, there is more direct communication now between coaches and the schools tampering with them while they’re under contract. Zoom-call job interviews are commonplace, and even some face-to-face meetings during the season.
Luke Fickell, while at Cincinnati, famously resisted talking to potential suitors during the season. He was committed to the cause. It cost him a shot at at least one job, so he changed that policy and wound up at Wisconsin. Hasn’t worked out too well.
(You may have noticed a subtle change in the standard verbiage of a job search. Coaches who are candidates elsewhere now rarely say, “I’ve had no contact with State U,” usually because they have, indeed, had contact with State U.)
This hiring dance has only gotten worse with the increase in transfer rates and the lengthening of the College Football Playoff. Schools want everything lined up for next season earlier and earlier. The season runs later and later. And the more the playoff expands, the more coaches are going to wind up being torn between two motivations: seeing it through with their current team, or planning their next move (and where their next roster is coming from).
Since the oversight of the sport is balkanized—every conference for itself—there essentially are no rules governing tampering with someone else’s coach. Even within the same conference, it’s a free-for-all. Which brings us back to Kiffin, and whether the pursuit of him by the Gators and/or Tigers will compromise what could be Ole Miss’s best season since the 1960s.
I asked SEC commissioner Greg Sankey (4) on Saturday in Athens, Ga., whether SEC-on-SEC coaching crime was a concern.
“I think we have as many presidential openings,” Sankey said. “Nobody reports about those and nobody really talks about the timing of those being filled. I can control what I can control. I don't worry about things like that. That's not something that I control. I would anticipate the coaches that have dedicated the whole season to a team, recruited young people onto their team, would fulfill that obligation to their team. But we're going to have to see what happens.”
As for what Kiffin should do with his life? It’s increasingly possible to win big almost anywhere, as long as that school hires well, works the portal smartly and is willing to fund the NIL war chest. Indiana and Vanderbilt are the most striking current examples of that, but so is Mississippi, itself.
It still is easier to build at LSU or Florida, where the local recruiting numbers are advantageous. But if Kiffin is telling the truth when he says he’s the happiest he’s ever been, maybe he shouldn’t mess with happy.
No matter what, he shouldn’t mess with this season. Even if that means sticking it out with the Rebels into January. Sometimes, next year just has to wait.
James Franklin Watch Continues in Blacksburg ... and Elsewhere?
The Florida-Mississippi game wasn’t the only one played amid coaching drama Saturday. Virginia Tech (5) played at Florida State (6), and the hottest topic was whether either of them might end up with James Franklin (7) as its next coach.
Tech and the former Penn State coach have been talking for weeks, with the Hokies pushing in the last couple of days for a commitment. That hasn’t come, at least publicly, which increases speculation that Franklin has stashed Virginia Tech in the back pocket as a fallback option while eyeing other jobs. Specifically, Florida State.
The Seminoles (5–5) are unhappily wed to Mike Norvell (8), with a massively expensive buyout (in the $60 million range) keeping them together. For now. Florida State is spending a fortune on facilities currently, which makes taking on another massive expenditure hard to justify. But it’s also hard to justify sticking with a coach you have lost faith in.
Norvell already blew out both coordinators after last season. The reboot has been more successful than the 2–10 bottoming out of 2024, with a 7–5 finish possible. But the Seminoles are far out of contention in an underwhelming ACC, and a Florida State program operating at anything remotely close to peak form would be in the title chase.
Getting the fan base to buy in on another staff overhaul would be difficult. Paying Norvell to go away would be difficult. Being absolutely sure Franklin can compete for national titles would be difficult.
From Franklin’s perspective, either ACC locale should be alluring. With the Clemson
juggernaut waning, there is no hard ceiling at the top—and not a lot of perennial depth, either. If the knock on Franklin was being able to beat top 10 competition, well, there is not of that currently in the ACC. A good coach with a competitive NIL budget can win league titles at Virginia Tech. Or Florida State.
If Franklin becomes the big fish Virginia Tech hooked but couldn't get in the boat, the backup plan might start with Bob Chesney (9) of James Madison. While that could work out well, the unmistakable irony is that Tech probably could have hired the previous, super-successful JMU coach instead of the failed Brent Pry back in 2022. His name: Curt Cignetti.
This Week’s College Football Playoff Bracket
The big shake-up over the weekend was the home loss by Alabama to Oklahoma (10). While that alters a few things, it doesn’t change this from last week: The SEC is still a five-bid league.
Seeding
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Georgia
- Texas Tech
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- James Madison
On the Bubble
- Texas
- USC
- Michigan
- Vanderbilt
- BYU
- Georgia Tech
First Round
No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Texas Tech
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Mississippi
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Oregon
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma
Quarterfinals
- Orange Bowl: No. 4 Georgia vs. winner of No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Texas Tech
- Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. winner of No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Mississippi
- Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Indiana vs. winner of No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Oregon
- Rose Bowl: No. 1 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Forde-Yard Dash: Lane Kiffin, James Franklin Face Momentous Decisions on Future.
