Danny Wuerffel debunks misinformation around Lane Kiffin, Lincoln Riley in Florida coaching search

Throughout Florida’s coaching search, the rumors swirled as fans waited to find out who would replace Billy Napier. With Jon Sumrall now preparing to take the helm, Danny Wuerffel addressed some of the “misinformation” about the situation.

Lane Kiffin’s name was front and center during the Florida search before the Gators ultimately pivoted toward Sumrall, as On3’s team of insiders reported. But there was also a rumor Wuerffel saw on social media about the relationship with TurnkeyZRG, the firm brought in to help with the search.

In addition, a rumor connected Lincoln Riley to the Florida opening, and Wuerffel said UF was interested in speaking with the USC coach. With it, though, he praised the experience of the search process.

“One of the things that shocked me was how much misinformation was out there,” Wuerffel said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “It was almost like everything that was being on the message boards and out there was not true. One of them was that TurnkeyZRG fired us. That’s crazy. We had a great relationship all the way through. There’s people mad that said Lincoln Riley reached out to talk to us and we wouldn’t even talk to him. That was, like, the farthest from the truth. We were doing everything we could to talk to him.

“And a lot of the stuff was around Lane was just kind of silly. That was a great experience and ride. He was, obviously, a top-tier coach. We went all-in after him.”

Danny Wuerffel: ‘You might’ve got a dude and … might have dodged a bullet’

As the search process went along, the sense among Florida fans was that Lane Kiffin should still be the top option. However, the Gators had to pivot to Jon Sumrall last week, and Danny Wuerffel saw the reaction from the UF faithful.

But he also noted the upside of Sumrall’s hiring, especially after his strong debut in his introductory press conference. Wuerffel also quoted Chris Doering when saying Florida also could have “dodged a bullet.”

“I think, though, the feeling that Gator fans had a week ago was this paranoia or just furiousness that we screwed up the Lane thing, and who’s this other guy?” Wuerffel said. “But already by now … it’s like, ‘Hey, man, you might’ve got a dude.’ And you might have, as Chris Doering said the other day, you might have dodged a bullet, too. So we’re thrilled with how it ended up.”