The Florida Gators are prepared to go all in on poaching Lane Kiffin from the Ole Miss Rebels. All the way in.
As Swamp247's Zach Goodall reported, the Gators do not currently have a plan B if they don't land Kiffin. They don't view Eli Drinkwitz like the Missouri media does or James Franklin like the Virginia Tech Hokies do.
"Since day one, Kiffin has been Florida's top choice, a sentiment shared by athletic director Scott Stricklin, the university's most influential boosters and fans. That interest has, unsurprisingly, already led to conversations between the Gators and Kiffin's camp in recent weeks without Kiffin directly involved yet, according to multiple sources," Goodall wrote.
"No clear Plan B has emerged in Florida's coaching search, according to the individuals Swamp247 spoke with. Potential candidates such as former Penn State head coach James Franklin and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz have been floated as exactly that, potential candidates, but nothing more.
"Neither Franklin nor Drinkwitz has drawn consensus backing as a fall-back option, either."
UF has been irrelevant for as long as Auburn, and has won a championship less recently. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis showed up at the Gators' 34-24 loss to the Rebels this past Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Tigers might not be prepared to meet the all-out financial assault UF is about to unleash on Kiffin. And that may be a good thing.
Florida may have helped lower Jon Sumrall's value for Auburn
Jon Sumrall isn't an option for Florida either. At this point, there's been little smoke for him to go anywhere but Auburn. UF may have given AU a hand with lowering Sumrall's public perception, too, since it became known that Kiffin had a much better package from the Gators waiting than Sumrall.
Of course, the Tulane Green Wave making a run to the College Football Playoff, via winning the American Conference and nabbing the Group of 5 auto bid, could throw a wrench in those plans.
But anything short of the Green Wave in the CFP field could mean Sumrall returning to the state of Alabama, where he grew up in Huntsville and won the Sun Belt title twice with the Troy Trojans a few years ago.
Who knows? Maybe Sumrall will become a steal of a plan B, while Kiffin ends up a disastrous first choice for whoever has him on their sidelines next fall.