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Lane Kiffin acknowledges Florida job talk with team, praised by SEC Nation

IMG_6615by: Blake Alderman6 hours agoBlake_Alderman
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Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (Photo credit: USA Today Images)

It’s becoming a yearly tradition for Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin to find himself linked to job openings around the sport. Kiffin is once again a topic of discussion as the coaching carousel heats up this year. With the Florida Gators looking for their next head coach, Kiffin is the overwhelming favorite among Gators power brokers and fans to replace Billy Napier.

Kiffin addressed that speculation about his future with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath on Friday. McGrath also reported during a Friday hit on SportsCenter that Kiffin planned to also address those rumors with his team ahead of Ole Miss’s game against Oklahoma.

Lane Kiffin confirmed that report on SEC Nation

SEC Network’s weekly traveling show, SEC Nation was in Norman, Oklahoma this weekend for the showdown between the Sooners and Rebels. The cast of Laura Rutledge, Tim Tebow, Paul Finebaum, Jordan Rodgers, and Roman Harper asked Kiffin about the report of his discussion about the Florida rumors with his team.

Kiffin softly confirmed that report and discussed his message to his players.

“I just mentioned it to them [Friday], Lane Kiffin said on SEC Nation. “That’s a product of having a program with a lot of players and coaches doing a really good job. I probably wouldn’t even have mentioned it, because they’ve been through this every year. Probably four years in a row, but we have so many new guys. I just told them, ‘Hey guys, that’s what happens around here because we win games and people like the style that we play in. ‘ That’s all a compliment to the players.”

SEC Nation crew praises Kiffin’s handling of this topic

One Lane Kiffin wrapped up his chat with the SEC Nation cast, and they discussed his handling of the rumors. They also praised his thinking of the players, whether they are tracking what’s being said about their head coach or not.

“He’s telling the truth that he’s accurate about it,” former Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow said. “For the last four years, every job, we can mention a bunch in the SEC and around the country that have brought his name up. He has been speculated about, talked about, and I know a lot of teams have talked to him and approached him. It’s not new for him and this Ole Miss team, but it is new for some of the players. That’s why I think it’s appropriate the way he addressed it.”

Paul Finebaum also commended Lane Kiffin for handling things differently than most coaches in the sport do.

“I like what he did; he didn’t attack the media like two other SEC coaches recently did,” Paul Finebaum said. “Just saying it’s all fake. It’s not fake. It’s real. Kiffin’s name is out there, and I think that is the way you do it as opposed to obfuscating against everyone and act like nothing else is happening. It is happening.”

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