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Shane Matthews: Ole Miss fans 'nervous as hell' about Lane Kiffin and Florida talk

79417-removebg-preview (1)by: Corey Bender9 hours agoCorey_Bender
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Former Florida quarterback Shane Matthews isn’t shying away from the conversation surrounding Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and his potential interest in the Gators’ job.

During his Pod Up With Matthews In The Morning Podcast on Tuesday, Matthews spoke candidly about the idea of Kiffin leaving Oxford for Gainesville, pointing out that in college football, things aren’t always as stable as they seem.

“Coaches always say they’re happy and they got a good job, but then they haul ass,” Matthews said. “Let’s use our greatest coach of all time (Steve Spurrier), the greatest Gator of all time. Did anybody think he was going to haul ass to the National Football League?”

Matthews continued by addressing the speculation that Kiffin wouldn’t want to leave Ole Miss.

“The people that sit here want to tell you, ‘Did you see the documentary? Lane’s family and his brother’s family at the dinner table?’ Well, folks, there are these things called houses that you can buy wherever you move and you can have a dinner table at that house,” Matthews said.

The former Gators star also pointed out that Kiffin is a major reason Ole Miss has risen in the college football ranks.

“God bless Ole Miss, God bless their fans, because JC, you know how they are; you know a lot of them, but they’re nervous as hell and they have a right to be nervous,” Matthews said.

“Here’s what I wanted to bring up today too because I get all these people texting me, ‘why would Lane come to Florida? The Ole Miss program is way better than the Florida program.’ If we’re talking about the last 10 years or since Lane… you know why Ole Miss is better than the Florida program? Because freakin’ Lane Kiffin is the coach.”

Shane Matthews is no stranger to Ole Miss

Matthews’ perspective carries extra weight given his family ties to Oxford. His father, Bill Matthews, played and coached at Ole Miss, and both of his parents graduated from the university. The Matthews family grew up Ole Miss fans before Shane made his mark at Florida.

Matthews was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a Heisman Trophy finalist for the Gators, leading the program to a 28-8 record from 1990 to 1992. He ranks among the school’s all-time leaders in passing yards, completions and touchdowns and was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

After his college career, Matthews played 14 seasons in the NFL with six teams, including two stints with the Chicago Bears.

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