Paul Finebaum names top SEC coach who can replace Billy Napier at Florida & bring a national championship

American sports personality Paul Finebaum expressed belief that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin will be chosen as Florida's next head coach and the man who can lead the Gators to their fourth national championship.

Finebaum made the prediction during the Matt Barrie Show, which was recorded before Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin announced the news about Billy Napier's firing as Gators head coach on Sunday.

Kiffin has been linked to be the next chief tactician of Penn State, another high-profile college football program that fired longtime coach James Franklin after a 3-3 start to the 2025 season. But the veteran columnist felt the 50-year-old coach could be headed south — in Gainesville, to be precise.

"I think Lane Kiffin, not at Penn State, but Lane Kiffin at Florida, is going to win — would win a national championship," Finebaum he told Barrie.

Florida is on a 17-year national championship drought after winning three titles in 1996, 2006 and 2008. And under Napier, the Gators were at best in the middle of the pack of the SEC.

On the other hand, Kiffin, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native, is in his sixth season as head coach for No. 8 Ole Miss, which is in contention for the SEC title race with a 3-1 record and 6-1 overall this year.

Kiffin had four straight winning seasons between 2021 and 2024, including three seasons with 10 or more wins. He led the Rebels to victories at the Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

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Lane Kiffin has the experience to boost Florida's offense if he gets hired as head coach

This season, Florida averaged 22.4 points per game, which ranked 104th in the nation. In losses against USF, LSU, Miami and Texas A&M, the Gators scored 16, 10, 7 and 17 points, respectively, as Billy Napier couldn't manage to get his offense going.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi, Lane Kiffin has taken Ole Miss' offense to a whole new level, despite backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss being at center. The Rebels are 16th in points per game (37.4 ppg) and eighth in passing yards at 304.1 yards per outing.

Kiffin, who played quarterback at Fresno State, possesses vast knowledge on the offensive side of the ball, having worked with Pete Carroll and Nick Saban at USC and Alabama. The son of former NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin served as tight ends, wide receivers, and quarterbacks coach while doubling as an offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator.

Kiffin had a head coaching stint at Florida Atlantic from 2017 to 2019 and won two Conference USA titles before taking the Ole Miss job.

Florida had issues on the offensive side of the ball when Billy Napier was head coach, with quarterback DJ Lagway becoming error-prone with nine interceptions this season. In comparison, Kiffin has been able to guide Chambliss to the right spots, with the Ole Miss signal-caller recording only one pick.

Over the past five games, Kiffin converted Chambliss, who is also capable of rushing the football, into a passing machine with pinpoint accuracy, connecting on 62.5% of his passes and throwing at least 250 yards each game.

Lane Kiffin could be the answer for Florida's lack of offensive creativity that haunted the Gators this season. However, it's up to the school to decide if they'll pursue him or find another coach who is more suitable for the job.