Florida vs Mississippi State in 2025

Billy Napier is, metaphorically speaking, a dead man. He began this season, his third in Gainesville, on the hottest of hot seats after losing seven straight games. And he's done nothing but stoke the fire with lopsided home losses to Miami in the opener and Texas A&M last Saturday.

Napier is finished, despite an acquisition equal to the GDP of a small country. The bar is set too high in Gainesville. The last three coaches Florida fired, Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp, all had 10-win seasons on their resumes but still couldn't survive. Napier is light years away from winning double digits, so it's only a matter of time before the administration turns off the money.

So where does Florida go from here as it tries to bridge the gap to the Urban Meyer era when it was still expected to win a title? The Gators need to think big and keep an eye on DJ Lagway. The franchise QB that Napier signed MUST be kept out of the portal or this program will sink deeper into despair.

Fisch attended Florida to learn from Steve Spurrier and later served as GA on the head ball coach's staff. That alone will make him very popular in Gainesville. More importantly, Fisch has had a very good coaching career, most recently reviving Arizona, which was on a drip when he arrived in 2021.

Stoops has done the unimaginable in Lexington. He made football relevant at a basketball school. In 12 years, he has built a great foundation at Kentucky, winning 10 games twice and finishing in the rankings. The Wildcats are excellent on defense and in the trenches, but Stoops' offense has been sluggish, which could make it harder to hold Lagway.

Drinkwitz is a rising star in the coaching ranks, and he's only 41. He's a well-loved program builder who brought Mizzou into the national spotlight after taking three years to lay the groundwork. Drinkwitz, like all the coaches on this list, knows the SEC, and the relative limits of ability he faces in Columbia wouldn't be a problem in Gainesville.

If there's a home run signing for Florida, this is it. Kiffin checks all the boxes: offensive system to keep Lagway (and attract more like him), proven success at Ole Miss, and the recruiting skills to thrive in the Portal era. When the Gators have been great, offense has always been the driving force. Kiffin in the Swamp is a perfect fit as Florida looks to regain its national relevance.

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